Screwed knee = screwed diver???

[Drewpy]

I have had two knee surgeries, no major issues but sometimes the boat ladders are a bitch. If you boat dive maybe take off your bc in the water and have someone haul it in till you are up to speed.
I use a Tusa Zoom split fin that has an exaggerated angle to it that seems to help..

 

[Randy g]

I am rebuilt from shoulder, plated/screwed arm to rebuilt knees/legs, more or less a Borg, and have no problem diving and most of the breaks are from racing dirt track and road racing. Knee was the last and latest piece of kit that was added after dislocating my knee and breaking my leg 2" below the dislocated knee from a white water kayak trip. Sold the 2 Motards in 2010, Husky SM610 and a WR250X and just got deeper into diving every since.

Get a Scooter for diving. It is as much fun a sportbike without all the necessary and complimentary broken bones. I am REALLY diggin my Hollis H160.

 

[Steve_C]

Depending on how you are after you are done recovering, on many dives it is possible to don and doff in the water if you let the crew know. That takes a lot of load off getting in and out of the boat.

For shore dives you might get a dive sherpa. Instabuddied a few years ago with a pair of divers. Old very experienced diver with a host of injuries from bikes, fights, and hard living. Dive buddy was a tense young lawyer from a well to do family. Young guy carried all gear to the water and got it into the water. Carried all gear back out. Old guy just dove and told war stories on the SI. Young guy got a lot of instruction and got to hear about a way of life that was as far from his experience as one could conceive.

They were pretty good stories.

I have limited shoulder mobility due to rotator cuff issues. Crews on my regular boats are great about helping me into and out of gear. I keep in mind that they work for tips.

 

[TSandM]

Assuming you get all the function of your knee back, there should be no contraindication to diving. There is a theoretical concern about DCS risk in scar tissue, but no studies that prove it really happens. I have plates and screws in my right ankle, left knee, right forearm and right collarbone, and have had no problems at all.

 

[HowardE]

Look at these guys at SUDS Diving | Soldiers Undertaking Disabled Scuba They don't have any issues diving, and several of them have prosthetic limbs.

 

[islanddream]

I shattered my ankle while out running in the ice and snow back in 2001. Ended up with eleven screws and a metal plate. The metal plate and seven of the screws have been removed but I'll always have the other four screws. I've never had a problem setting off metal detectors because the screws are titanium.

The best advice I can give you is get into physical therapy AS SOON AS YOUR DOCTOR RECOMMENDS! Do what the therapist says....stick with it. After nearly three months in a cast, I got a walking boot and started therapy. A month after therapy started I went to Europe for two weeks and did a whole lot of walking (used an ankle brace and a cane at times). I know I wouldn't have been able to do what I did without the therapy.

I got scuba certified in December of 2001 and have never had any problems with my ankle. I hope once you're healed and have physical therapy you can get back to scuba! Best of luck!

 

[tanksforthememories]

Thank you for the encouragement guys and gals. I am in physio now and am working on range of motion. For a guy that was mountain biking for hours a day it is frustrating to not be able to turn the peddles of my physio stationary bike even once, half a turn is hard right now. Time and effort should change all that though.

 

[Peter69_56]

Had my right knee replaced totally. Yes get used to always setting off metal detectors. I went back to diving after about 6 months and was fine no issues at all, decompression diving to 55m with no issue.

 

[AfterDark]

Thank you for the encouragement guys and gals. I am in physio now and am working on range of motion. For a guy that was mountain biking for hours a day it is frustrating to not be able to turn the peddles of my physio stationary bike even once, half a turn is hard right now. Time and effort should change all that though.

Wow sounds rough! I'm going to have my left knee done this Fall, total replacement. Every muscle in my left leg is smaller than the ones in my right leg from years of using the right more to avoid pain in the left knee. I suspect I'll have a hard time getting back. Good luck hope you're back diving soon. A friend had partial knee replacement and was back diving in a few months. Keep pushing on those pedals!

 

[gypsyjim]

Thanks to a serious motorcycle accident in '05 I have had multiple knee and shoulder surgeries (no screws, as mine was mostly "soft tissue" damage).

Once you have done the PT, and get medical clearance, get back in the water, and swim. Some of the very best therapy there is for those damaged joints (as well as the soul attached) is swimming and scuba diving/snorkeling, but start in slow and easy.

My right knee is ready for a repeat of the surgery, now due to serious arthritis damage, but we have been delaying the surgery as long as possible with meds. My doctor is very encouraging of my diving to keep the knee active as long as possible.