I need a some advice

[longyfreshy]

I hope there is a few oldies out there who can give me some advice. I am a 53yr old female and had a knee reconstruction in march of this year. I still do not have full flexibility which is holding me back in my surfing. I was recently in Hawaii for a week and hired a 8'2' mal and surfed the very gentle waves of Waikiki(first surf since the op). I went OK even though I am dragging my back knee across the board which I have the graze to prove it. The surf and the board were very forgiving giving me plenty of time to find my foot placement.
Now back home and excited for my firtst surf on my 6'2" fish it was a disaster and looked liked I had never surfed in my life. I am so upset about this. As I am trying to get my legs up under my body I am landing on the back of the board and the result is as you can imagine terrible. I feel like I am back to square one and am trying to learn to surf again.
I don't want to give surfing away as I love it but was wondering should I invest in a different board like a mini mal or something to get me over this hump or keep at even though I am swearing my head off at myself LOL!

Thanks for any tips. I know I may get a few jokes about this but maybe someone has been through something similiar.
Oh I surf on the northern beaches and mainly freshwater which I must admit wasn't the best the day I went.

[steve shearer]

get the biggest board you can until you are catching waves and getting up properly.

If your knee hurts, get a soft top.

[longyfreshy]

Thanks Steve looks like a trip to Dripping Wet for a 2nd hand board or maybe a cheap epoxy one. I thought if I keep pushing myself on my small board I would eventually get there but having a shit time while doing it. Life is to short and I am no spring chicken. I surf for enjoyment and stress relief and just love being in the water.

[daryl]

i've got a board with some volume that's good for catching waves, if you want to have a go let me know, I'll be on the NB weekends.

[Spoon]

I also have a 8' 1" San Juan mini mal in good nick sitting in the garage if you want to borrow it to get going. PM if you are interested.

[buzzy]

After quite a while out of the water due to surgery and illness I found myself in your position. Very embarrassing squandering takeoffs like that. So I swallowed my pride and bought a mini-mal of sorts, and surfed that for a while as I got my fitness back. What I also discovered is I'd become very inflexible because of inactivity and going to a physio and loosening things up was at least as important as teh bigger board. With increased flexibility and a board which was super cooperative things improved rapidly and I started working my way back to the sort of boards I was surfing before.

[longyfreshy]

Thanks everyone for this great advice. I have been thinking alot about getting a mini mal as buzzy experience is exactly me I have no flexibility and I am still seeing a physio about once a month working on agility stuff etc. Also I think having a mini mal for summer is a good idea they seem to be alot cheaper these days.
I also want to thank all the kind offers of boards, I work most weekends gotta love retail and I might pm you guys and take you up on your offer.
I am an embarrasment at the moment LOL!

[Trev]

^^^
Whatever you do, don't give up surfing.

[mustkillmulloway]

I am an embarrasment at the moment LOL!

without trying b rude

just relax...go for a swim...let it heal

[Nick Carroll]

Hi longy

Don't be too tough on yourself -- six months is not a very long recovery time for a knee reconstruction.

Think of it as an opportunity to expand your skills and knowledge etc. You're never going to surf quite the same again -- but you can surf better. (By which I mean, easier!)

Injury recovery is a good time to try something unlike whatever you've done before in surfing. I may receive some criticism from various forumees for this, but you might want to try a stand up paddleboard -- not so much in any kind of surf at first anyway, but in still water or places where there's hardly any waves. A SUP will do a lot to strengthen the muscles around your knee in a dynamic, waterborne sort of way and you'll still get the kick of a gliding sensation on water. Plus when you ride a surfboard after a SUP, it'll be way easier to move around on it.

Also despite possible mockery -- I want to suggest you get a bodyboard with swim fins and spend a bit of time working your way through surf by simple kicking. You can still ride waves and again the kicking action will engage a lot of lower body muscles without adding bulk or whatever.

You've got to get good phsyio help. Definitely. I would suggest the Academy of Sport physio centre at Narrabeen. It'll only take a dozen sessions and those people will alter the outcome very much for the better. I think Medicare should cover a bit of it?

The physio thing should be a priority, you don't want to get sucked into bad movement patterns thanks to the surgery, and you're right on the edge of doing that.

Listen to the physio and to your own body and when you do start riding a normal board again go a bit bigger -- but not too much bigger. A big clunky board can be really difficult for a still-uncertain knee or any lower leg injury.

pm me if you want help getting hold of any of the above equipment.

[otway1949]

Hi longy

Don't be too tough on yourself -- six months is not a very long recovery time for a knee reconstruction.

Think of it as an opportunity to expand your skills and knowledge etc. You're never going to surf quite the same again -- but you can surf better. (By which I mean, easier!)

Injury recovery is a good time to try something unlike whatever you've done before in surfing. I may receive some criticism from various forumees for this, but you might want to try a stand up paddleboard -- not so much in any kind of surf at first anyway, but in still water or places where there's hardly any waves. A SUP will do a lot to strengthen the muscles around your knee in a dynamic, waterborne sort of way and you'll still get the kick of a gliding sensation on water. Plus when you ride a surfboard after a SUP, it'll be way easier to move around on it.

Also despite possible mockery -- I want to suggest you get a bodyboard with swim fins and spend a bit of time working your way through surf by simple kicking. You can still ride waves and again the kicking action will engage a lot of lower body muscles without adding bulk or whatever.

You've got to get good phsyio help. Definitely. I would suggest the Academy of Sport physio centre at Narrabeen. It'll only take a dozen sessions and those people will alter the outcome very much for the better. I think Medicare should cover a bit of it?

The physio thing should be a priority, you don't want to get sucked into bad movement patterns thanks to the surgery, and you're right on the edge of doing that.

Listen to the physio and to your own body and when you do start riding a normal board again go a bit bigger -- but not too much bigger. A big clunky board can be really difficult for a still-uncertain knee or any lower leg injury.

pm me if you want help getting hold of any of the above equipment.

That Longyfreshy is really sound bit of advice all of it, If the skin and scars have healed there is a Chinese Liniment
Zheng Gui Shi which can help as a rub after stretching and working it helps increase the capillary circulation and encourages healing of the the reconstructed tissue, it also feels great. Smells like mothballs so not a social event and just occasionally some people have a skin reaction to it. Used it in my clinic lots of times.
Good luck no shortcuts take the time you need to heal

[MXNDOG]

get the biggest board you can until you are catching waves and getting up properly.

If your knee hurts, get a soft top.

yeah

[Cpt.Caveman]

My advice is to be really diligent with your rehab. It won't be quite the same knee as you had before post-reconstruction but you can damn well do lots of work to restore the flexibility/range of motion, knee and hip stability, and good knee tracking. All things that are important to keep you lower limb under control during surfing.

Just stick to the rehab program, be super diligent with the stretches and exercises the physio sets for you and you'll be there in no time and your leg won't be dragging behind

[longyfreshy]

Thanks alot everyone for all the great advice. I am seeing my physio at the end of the month who is a sports physio and will be getting into more agility stuff. My knee clicks still as I walk up the stairs and even across the sand doesn't hurt but the sound is off putting. I just have to be patient.
Thanks again everyone

[saucy gibbon]

^^^
Whatever you do, don't give up surfing.

yeah, it's a source.

[Davros]

Agree with it all having been injured. Do some cross training gym and ocean swimming, fitness = confidence the older ya get and get some waves on the soft top long boards they are super fun, i see gals/guys riding them all the time who can ride pretty well. In fact someone told me they start young good surfesr off on these to adjust timing and style etc......forget being embarrassed at our age we are invisible to young shredders unless we are getting in their way and most are respectful and amazed we are still out there.

Also you wearing a knee brace?

Good luck

[saucy gibbon]

yeah, surfers are massively tolerant.

[kreepykrawly]

yeah, surfers are massively tolerant.

Biggest generalisation of the century.

This is worthy of a new topic.

Surfers (they only share the sea ...not the attitude)

You get....fat ones, skinny ones, angry ones , Greco roman ones, yuppies, salty seadog (old), salty sea dog (young), bong smoking surfers, crackhead surfers, legends, smelly ones, serene ones, Big Wednesday surfers,dumb surfers, intellectual surfers, tradies, pro’s, weekend warriors, backpacker surfers, frothing grommets, frothing grownups, Jack Johnson surfers, trippy types, Ozzie Wright ‘types’, journalist types, arthritic surfers, sole surfers, ‘wanna-be-sole surfers, I’m-so-cool-I-work-at-Surfection’ types ect ect ect....