With arthrosis of the knee joint, exercise on an exercise bike is not only acceptable, but is also a good assistant in rehabilitation. The presence of this disease can make every movement during training very painful. However, in order to prevent further destruction of the joint, sports exercises cannot be abandoned. An exercise bike does not have a strong impact on the knee joints, so people who have suffered joint injuries can also exercise on it.
The benefits of exercise for arthrosis
The knee joint itself assumes the most important functions of ensuring movement and supporting a person’s weight. The destruction of this joint is often associated with a lack of regular physical activity. A sedentary lifestyle causes nutritional deficiency in the joints.
Lack of stress is not the only factor that causes destruction of the knee joint. Excessive exercise can also cause arthrosis. This happens most often with professional athletes. This happens due to the fact that they have to train almost every day, which means that sooner or later some damage to their knees will still occur. The combination of old and new injuries leads to a lack of nutrition, which subsequently turns into destruction of the joint.
If arthrosis was caused by injury, then playing sports as a means of rehabilitation should be approached very carefully and only under the supervision of a doctor. All training should be gentle and limited in time.
Also, if arthrosis appears as a result of severe trauma, then most likely it will be accompanied by an inflammatory process, which is practically absent in other cases of the disease. In this case, you should refrain from any sports activities so as not to cause further harm.
Before building a set of exercises on your own, you should definitely consult a doctor to determine the stage of the disease. It is on the basis of this indicator that it will be possible to establish permissible loads that will not lead to negative consequences. After determining the training program, you should definitely follow it, because only in this way can you return the previous mobility to the joint. It is important to remember that exercises should only be performed during remission.
Due to the fact that sports contribute to better tissue nutrition, using an exercise bike can stop the degenerative-dystrophic process. The development of muscle atrophy will also be eliminated.
Osteoarthritis of the knee joint is a fairly serious disease that can very quickly destroy the joint. When the first signs of the disease appear, you should consult a doctor to prescribe medication, which is the basis of the fight against this disease. Physical activity only promotes a speedy recovery, but does not serve as the only remedy for arthrosis.
In the first two stages of the disease, it is very important to pay attention to walking, cycling and exercise on an exercise bike. Moreover, the latter is the most convenient from all sides. After all, when exercising on an exercise bike, the load on the knees, which comes from the weight, is already significantly reduced. This unit can be installed at home and exercised in any weather, and in order not to spend extra money, you can rent an exercise bike only for a certain period, which is provided for by the training program.
What are the dangers of sports with an endoprosthesis?
Any endoprosthesis is a “weak link” in the body, no matter how high quality it is and no matter how well it is installed. This must be understood, realized and always remembered.
Destruction of the acetabular component.
During active sports, the load on large joints increases. And if a person has an endoprosthesis installed, he inevitably suffers. And this is fraught with loosening of the implant at its border with the bone and the early development of instability. As a result, within a few years a revision, that is, repeat, operation may be necessary. But it is more complex and has worse prognosis than the primary installation of an endoprosthesis.
Destruction of a polyethylene cup.
Even after a severe injury to a healthy joint, a person can have surgery and return to their normal lifestyle. But after repeated joint replacement surgery, the chances of a full recovery are much lower. And there is a high probability of developing complications. Therefore, you should not take another risk by recklessly overloading the installed endoprosthesis.
Rehabilitation of the knee joint on an exercise bike
To recover through exercise, you need to accept some discomfort or even pain. In addition to the positive effect that appears directly on the joint itself, excess weight is reduced, which only causes extra stress.
In addition to pain, arthrosis of the knee joint causes rapid fatigue and weakness, pressure is felt in the joint, which reduces activity. All these indicators make training much more difficult.
It will be useful to combine exercise on an exercise bike with other loads. Swimming, gymnastics or walking are recommended. But walking puts more stress on the knee than exercise on an exercise bike, since in addition to the pressure caused by the movement, the load from the weight is added.
Modern exercise bikes provide the opportunity to select different load levels, which allows you to choose the optimal mode and make your workout more effective and useful. Another important advantage of the simulator is the ability to install it at home or in another convenient place. If you need it only for the duration of rehabilitation, then you can rent an exercise bike.
Also, the exercise bike can be adjusted to suit exercises for any degree of arthrosis. But walking and a regular bicycle will be useful only in the first and second degrees of arthrosis.
Pool
Swimming in the pool is not only allowed, but even recommended after knee/hip replacement. And special water gymnastics are even included in the rehabilitation program. Therefore, people who love swimming can be completely calm. After endoprosthetics, they definitely won’t have to give up their favorite physical activity.
You can use the pool as soon as the stitch heals.
Exercises on an exercise bike for arthrosis
If you have the physical ability to exercise with arthrosis, then you should resort to them only under the supervision of a doctor, who will establish permissible loads that will not harm your health. After all, if you approach this issue incorrectly, you can provoke the occurrence of injuries.
It’s worth starting your classes with short workouts that won’t put a lot of stress on your joints. If you have an exercise bike at home, then it will be useful to perform such exercises several times a day, spending 3-5 minutes on them. It is best to combine the start of using an exercise bike with therapeutic exercises. After 10 days of such training, you need to gradually increase the load.
The specificity of exercises on an exercise bike allows you to avoid muscle atrophy. The whole set of exercises takes a long time. So, over the course of 2-3 months you need to come to workouts lasting 30 minutes, which also need to be performed several times a day.
The loads during exercise should be constantly monitored so that they only bring benefits. This should be done under the supervision of a doctor, as self-medication can only worsen the situation. This can be expressed in pathological changes. The doctor will help you set the intensity of your exercise correctly to enhance the recovery process.
Run
Jogging after surgery is fairly harmless and is generally okay to do. However, it is important not to overdo it. When running, it is better to take small steps, minimizing the “flight phase”. In this way, the operated joint will be less injured when the leg collides with the ground.
If possible, it is better to replace running with walking, in which there is no “flight phase” and sudden jolts. It will be much safer.
Rules for working on the simulator
- The duration, frequency and intensity of training should be determined by a doctor.
- The resistance of the pedals should be set so that you do not have to exert much effort when turning them. The pedal stroke should be quite smooth. Avoid sudden movements.
- The body position should be as comfortable as possible. You need to hold the steering wheel freely with your hands, without straining, so as not to hurt your back.
- The knees should be directed forward or slightly inward.
- You must press the pedals with your entire foot, and not with your fingertips, otherwise cramps in the leg may occur, which will lead to severe pain in the knee joint.
- You need to exercise regularly, gradually increasing the load.
- You can't exercise while overcoming pain. Contrary to popular belief that it is necessary to develop a joint in any case, training through pain will only give a negative result.
- The exercise must be stopped if discomfort or pain in the joint occurs during training.
- You must train in shoes.
- To reduce possible negative consequences and discomfort, after training, wear special elastic knee pads, which can be purchased at a pharmacy or sports store.
- The benefits of training will be more noticeable if you combine them with physical therapy.
If you feel acute pain in your knee, you should postpone training until the discomfort goes away completely.
REFERENCE. Exercise on an exercise bike should not replace, but complement the main treatment prescribed by the doctor. For osteoarthritis, only complex treatment is possible.
Doesn't steam break your bones?
Visiting a sauna or bathhouse is useful for many problems with the musculoskeletal system, and arthrosis is no exception. Thermal procedures lead to increased blood circulation and improved nutrition of the joints.
Heat helps relieve muscle spasms, which often occur in the affected area, and strengthens and makes the ligaments more elastic. And profuse sweating allows you to remove decay products from the body and activates regeneration processes.
Keep in mind!
- The question of visiting the bathhouse should be discussed with your doctor in advance. Thermal procedures are prohibited if there is inflammation in the joint. Arthrosis is a disease primarily caused by metabolic disorders rather than inflammation. But at certain stages inflammation may occur, at which time you should avoid visiting the steam room.
- Hypothermia of the joints is extremely undesirable, so you should not dive into the font when leaving the steam room. Take a warm or cool (not cold!) shower.
Article on the topicHow to treat the joint? The most common methods of getting rid of arthrosis
Features of the training process
You can start training on an exercise bike when inflammation in the knee joint has been neutralized. Otherwise, the patient's condition will worsen and surgical treatment will be required.
To select the optimal training regimen on the simulator, the patient undergoes an examination, based on the results of which the doctor determines:
- The presence of dystrophic processes in the knee joint;
- Stage of the disease;
- Pain intensity;
- Localization of the source of pathology.
If you correctly approach the preparation of a training plan on an exercise bike, physical activity will bring obvious benefits:
- Motor activity is restored;
- Blood flow in the knee joint is activated;
- Degenerative processes are slowed down.
Moderate exercise prevents the development of muscle atrophy. The training process is combined with drug therapy to eliminate inflammation.
There are several types of exercise bike workouts:
- Intensive;
- Moderate;
- Long-term or short-term;
- Step by step.
Training schedule on the simulator
Training can be done in:
- Physiotherapeutic office;
- Gym;
- At home.
The doctor will suggest the optimal place for training and draw up a scheme according to which the patient should train.
It is strictly forbidden to show excessive zeal; this can lead to improper distribution of loads, as a result, training will be harmful and, what is even more dangerous, will provoke the development of other joint pathologies.
Let's sum it up
After joint replacement, you can play sports, and you are allowed to do this within three to four months after the operation. And here it is useless to prohibit anything. If a person wants, he will engage in weightlifting, lifting hundred-kilogram barbells. This is his right and his choice.
But is it worth doing?
If you can give up dangerous sports and live happily for 20-25 years, without pain and restrictions. Or you can continue to play football on a weekly basis in a team and after 5 years you will again end up on the operating table, after which any sport, at the level of medical advice, will be strictly prohibited.