Some questions about swimming's contribution to fitness

I had one knee dislocation and completely tore my ACL/PCL/LCL with peroneal nerve stretching/bruising, ripped lateral arcuate ligament complex from bone, etc. It was a hyperextension injury - the knee was easily hyperextending 45 degrees after injury with zero resistance. I had repair surgery then a later ACL reconstruction when the repair failed. I was off work for 6 weeks recuperating and in a lot of pain from the nerve damage (no painkillers). For 3 months I felt like a zombie, unable to sleep more than an hour or two a night. I was in physical therapy for about 5 months (~12 hrs/week). After the injury I was medically retired from all gravity-bearing activities to preserve my knee as much as possible. I was told I would still need a total knee replacement after 10 years. Swimming is wonderful as an overall fitness activity. My orthopedist loves it. I began swimming as soon as I was off crutches; I joined a Masters team as soon as I was released from PT. During my first entire year I had to wear a leg brace but I had a sports brace that I was able to wear in the pool. During that year I perfected the one-legged flip turn and push-off. All was good except breaststroke. I also continued with rehab exercises and weight lifting to strengthen my legs. Soon after my reconstruction I was cleared to do racing starts "taking it easy". I had to adapt my open turns and backstroke starts to accommodate for knee stiffness. I wore fins as the workout directed, but I didn't kick so hard as to cause joint pain. As time went by, I was able to ditch the leg brace and increase the force I used on starts/turns/push-offs. Breaststroke was still a weak spot - it was painful and I was very stiff, so I limited it to swimming IM in meets or timed swims. I had some slips walking on a wet pool deck which tore some knee scar tissue resulting in 6 weeks of pain but with the end result of increased flexibility. I had an MRI and the orthopedist showed me how bad the joint looks with a bone spur the size of my pinkie finger, fused tibia/fibula, and smaller spurs riddling the joint. This past year I took up cycling on a "real" bike, not a stationary bike. It has been superb for increasing my leg strength. My knee is now in its best condition since I tore it up. It also complements swim training very nicely. With the increased strength and flexibility my breaststroke is better, although I still limit it to avoid knee pain. I would have had a lot more trouble cycling without the fitness I had built up swimming. I'm slow and I don't get much power out of the bad knee, but it is non-weight bearing and the good leg can compensate. Swimming is something I can do when my legs don't want to ride, when weather is bad, etc. I am also able to swim more days/week than I could handle on a bike. My injury was in 1991 so I've gotten 18 years without having to replace the knee and I hope to continue much longer without surgery. Walk slowly like a grandma on the pool deck and be very careful of slips/falls. Swimming is an excellent activity to improve cv fitness and allow you to work your legs as little or as much as you can. Best of luck with your knee.

I had one knee dislocation and completely tore my ACL/PCL/LCL with peroneal nerve stretching/bruising, ripped lateral arcuate ligament complex from bone, etc. It was a hyperextension injury - the knee was easily hyperextending 45 degrees after injury with zero resistance. I had repair surgery then a later ACL reconstruction when the repair failed. I was off work for 6 weeks recuperating and in a lot of pain from the nerve damage (no painkillers). For 3 months I felt like a zombie, unable to sleep more than an hour or two a night. I was in physical therapy for about 5 months (~12 hrs/week). After the injury I was medically retired from all gravity-bearing activities to preserve my knee as much as possible. I was told I would still need a total knee replacement after 10 years. Swimming is wonderful as an overall fitness activity. My orthopedist loves it. I began swimming as soon as I was off crutches; I joined a Masters team as soon as I was released from PT. During my first entire year I had to wear a leg brace but I had a sports brace that I was able to wear in the pool. During that year I perfected the one-legged flip turn and push-off. All was good except breaststroke. I also continued with rehab exercises and weight lifting to strengthen my legs. Soon after my reconstruction I was cleared to do racing starts "taking it easy". I had to adapt my open turns and backstroke starts to accommodate for knee stiffness. I wore fins as the workout directed, but I didn't kick so hard as to cause joint pain. As time went by, I was able to ditch the leg brace and increase the force I used on starts/turns/push-offs. Breaststroke was still a weak spot - it was painful and I was very stiff, so I limited it to swimming IM in meets or timed swims. I had some slips walking on a wet pool deck which tore some knee scar tissue resulting in 6 weeks of pain but with the end result of increased flexibility. I had an MRI and the orthopedist showed me how bad the joint looks with a bone spur the size of my pinkie finger, fused tibia/fibula, and smaller spurs riddling the joint. This past year I took up cycling on a "real" bike, not a stationary bike. It has been superb for increasing my leg strength. My knee is now in its best condition since I tore it up. It also complements swim training very nicely. With the increased strength and flexibility my breaststroke is better, although I still limit it to avoid knee pain. I would have had a lot more trouble cycling without the fitness I had built up swimming. I'm slow and I don't get much power out of the bad knee, but it is non-weight bearing and the good leg can compensate. Swimming is something I can do when my legs don't want to ride, when weather is bad, etc. I am also able to swim more days/week than I could handle on a bike. My injury was in 1991 so I've gotten 18 years without having to replace the knee and I hope to continue much longer without surgery. Walk slowly like a grandma on the pool deck and be very careful of slips/falls. Swimming is an excellent activity to improve cv fitness and allow you to work your legs as little or as much as you can. Best of luck with your knee.