Barefoot running after a Knee replacement???

Horseman42

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Sep 6, 2010
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Alright this is going to be hypothical mostly.

I was talking with my wife's uncle, and he recently (this fall) just had surgery for his knee and had a total knee replacement. He was stating that his doctor stated he can never run again (not that he was much of a runner before). I inquired if this also included barefoot running, and he stated that he actually made this inquiry (mostly for fun I assume), and his doctor stated "yes". I further asked why this was so, and my wife's uncle stated that it was because of the increased impact force.

Well I'm not a doctor but if I were to decrease the amount of impact I would have recomended barefoot running over regular running unless the impact was still too great. When you have runners who have no measurable impact (like Ken Bob), I would have thought that it may be at least remotely possible if this is the concern.

Is it possible for a person that has had a total knee replacement to run again, and if so would barefoot running be a better alternative to regular shod, coffin shoe running?

Note he is still healing from the surgery, and he is not considering running in the future, but it mostly was a hypothetical scenario. scenarioscenar
 
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I have no answer, but have

I have no answer, but have thought about this several times. I have friends who have had complete knee or hip replacements and they were all told never to run again. Obviously there is still some impact from running, even barefoot and artificial joints rarely last more than 20 years. Would it mean that the joint just needs replaced earlier?
 
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Increase in impact force?

Increase in impact force? Yeah, that's true if you're dealing with a runner in the traditional running shoes. If you want to decrease impact forces, ESPECIALLY in the hip or knee (sorry for the CAPS - sometimes necessary) then you need to do one thing - decrease the loading rate. How do you do that? You get your center of mass over the center of your foot when you walk and run. Typically, but not always, this means you don't heal strike. We all know that the traditional running shoes cause you to heel strike and the center of mass is typically way behind the foot - so impact goes right up to the knees, hips, low back, and up to the neck.

Furthermore, wearing over supportive shoes causes gait and muscle imbalances. Why would you want someone who just had a hip or knee replacement to have a poor gait? Of course you don't - but they stick them in cushiony, high heel, stiff shoes and that's what happens. Then the muscle imbalances result and foot and lower leg muscles, tendons, and ligaments weaken. Natural pronation is lost - that's a major source of shock absorption. So the shock goes right up the body.

The sorta funny thing here is that it's probably the shoes the person was wearing that contributed, and maybe even caused them to need to joint replacement in the first place. Sure other factors - diet, lifestyle, injuries have their part too. But now they're being told to do the exact same thing all over again - walk in poor shoes and don't run - especially barefoot, because that's "bad" for you. Moving naturally has suddenly become their major restriction. WTF. What a disaster the system is.
 
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BF running is less impact

BF running is less impact than shod running. And BF activity (walking and running) puts less impact on the knee than shod walking and running (I did a post on my site about research on this not too long ago).

So, I think your doc is being safe and conservative. Read my review of the science on this on my site and decide for yourself.
 
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I don't question that a more

I don't question that a more appropriate running form (feet under the hips, etc. as Dr. SD said) reduces loading in a variety of joints - including the knee. I'm curious, though, to get your take as to whether that reduced loading is reduced *enough* to enable a knee replacement patient to run.

I have a friend who has had a knee replacement and I believe he has been cleared to ski. (He hasn't yet - he is almost literally at his 12 month post op but he is planning on testing it out on the slopes this season.) I would guess skiing is harder on a knee - natural or artificial - than MR/BFR is.

Thoughts?

Jim
 
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Dick Beardsley is now running

Dick Beardsley is now running well after 2 knee replacements (trauma related and not running related). He has perfect running form . So yes it can be done but only if the initial cause is corrected.

Skiing. Yes also if done wisely and one has rehabbed well. There is more risk is sitting down all day.



Dr. Mark
 
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Yes, I agree with Mark on

Yes, I agree with Mark on that. It's individualized - if there's still weakness, muscle imbalances in the area then he will have problems again. But if everything is corrected then no need not to use the body to its full potential - that will only create more problems.
 
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Alright this is going to be hypothical mostly.

I was talking with my wife's uncle, and he recently (this fall) just had surgery for his knee and had a total knee replacement. He was stating that his doctor stated he can never run again (not that he was much of a runner before). I inquired if this also included barefoot running, and he stated that he actually made this inquiry (mostly for fun I assume), and his doctor stated "yes". I further asked why this was so, and my wife's uncle stated that it was because of the increased impact force.

Well I'm not a doctor but if I were to decrease the amount of impact I would have recomended barefoot running over regular running unless the impact was still too great. When you have runners who have no measurable impact (like Ken Bob), I would have thought that it may be at least remotely possible if this is the concern.

Is it possible for a person that has had a total knee replacement to run again, and if so would barefoot running be a better alternative to regular shod, coffin shoe running?

Note he is still healing from the surgery, and he is not considering running in the future, but it mostly was a hypothetical scenario. scenarioscenar
Hi, I had bilateral knee replacement surgery 3 months ago. My surgeon knew I was a bf runner. When I had my recent visit to the surgeon I told him I have been running. No discomfort at all and no soreness post run. The surgeon then tried to scare me by telling me that that running will erode the thin plastic sheath of the new knees. He also commented that I will probably tear a ligament. I tried to explain to him that bf running is not the same as shod running. e.g. less impact and less chance of over training.
I thought about giving up running for a day. Now I am back at it. I experience no pain whilst running and no post run. There are so many reports on the web of people running post surgery. BTW My surgeon did admit that the knee replacements we use now are so new we dont have any long term data. My take on it is....if I wear out a knee replacement I will have it replaced.
 
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I'm 64 years old and I'm a barefoot runner, and I had a total knee replacement (TKR) 9 weeks ago (8/16/2023). I've found that I'm currently able to run, albeit slowly, with no issues at all. I ran from 20-40 as a heel striker and wore my left knee out. I didn't run from 40-50 and put on 60 pounds. Then at 50 I learned how to run barefoot. I lost all the excess weight I had gained and lasted until around 62 years old before my knee became an issue again. I started looking around for recommendations on whether or not I should run again after TKR and being a barefoot runner. Well, I believe the decision is made that I'm going to run, and the reason is that barefoot running minimizes the impact such that as long as I stay in tune to my knee, I'll be good. And the surgeon took away my bowleggedness, at least in that leg, so as Dr. Mark said, the abnormality has been corrected :)
 
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I'm 64 years old and I'm a barefoot runner, and I had a total knee replacement (TKR) 9 weeks ago (8/16/2023). I've found that I'm currently able to run, albeit slowly, with no issues at all. I ran from 20-40 as a heel striker and wore my left knee out. I didn't run from 40-50 and put on 60 pounds. Then at 50 I learned how to run barefoot. I lost all the excess weight I had gained and lasted until around 62 years old before my knee became an issue again. I started looking around for recommendations on whether or not I should run again after TKR and being a barefoot runner. Well, I believe the decision is made that I'm going to run, and the reason is that barefoot running minimizes the impact such that as long as I stay in tune to my knee, I'll be good. And the surgeon took away my bowleggedness, at least in that leg, so as Dr. Mark said, the abnormality has been corrected :)
Good luck with your barefoot running. Enjoy!