Flying after a knee surgery

[PostmasterGeneral]

Once you're off the pain killers you should be good to go. Probably be pretty stiff getting into and out of the airplane, especially if it's a light twin.

[futboler14]

I tore my ACL back in 2006. I didn't get surgery until Christmas 2014 (too busy flying).

I was off for a couple months while it healed, but was back in the cockpit shortly after. It wasn't a big deal.

Just know your limits. I was flying a 737 at the time so it wasn't a very physical job. I do remember the rudder pedals feeling a little stiff on my knee in question.

[fish4life]

I tore my ACL back in 2006. I didn't get surgery until Christmas 2014 (too busy flying).

I was off for a couple months while it healed, but was back in the cockpit shortly after. It wasn't a big deal.

Just know your limits. I was flying a 737 at the time so it wasn't a very physical job. I do remember the rudder pedals feeling a little stiff on my knee in question.

Did your aviation doc know you were flying with a torn ACL because I’m fairly certain that wouldn’t be allowed. It’s not about day to day it’s about how useful is the knee going to be if you have an engine failure and need to push on the rudder and hold it? how does the knee hold up in an evacuation etc?

[tango308]

Tore my ACL downhill skiing in 2010. I was working the ramp at the time, I took 3 weeks off at the time and went back to work. I've only got it fixed 2 years after that after noticing a frequent "popping" while pushing ULD with my legs loading cargo planes.

Your leg will be really stiff after the surgery, I could hardly fold it. Once most of the pain is gone, physio will be your friend, don't skimp on it. In fact my physio wanted me to do two set of exercises a day, in order to expedite the recovery I was doing at least x3 sets a day. I had crutches for the first month and a half. 6 months post-op I was back to running.

You can roughly estimated to be able to fly (with a instructor at least) after about a month and a half. In the mean time physio, physio, physio.

Good luck!

[PilotDAR]

Just be ready...

When I went back to flying after a leg injury, I felt fine to fly. I wasn't quite so fine to taxi. I was taxiing a Caravan, and had to make a fairly sharp turn toward my less happy leg. The heavy nosewheel steering of the Caravan demanded what my leg could push, not much more. A bit of brake, and a touch of Beta, and all was fine, but is was memorable having to apply a large rudder force for longer than I had expected. I'm sure losing an engine could be similar. The design requirement for rudder pedal force is 150 pounds, so you could have to suddenly apply and hold that - timing may not be your choice!

[Monkey_in_a_suit]

I tore the MCL and ACL in my left knee a few years back. Took me 2 months after the injury to get back in the cockpit then I went for the surgery about a month and a half later. Recovery after the surgery was about another 2 months. The key to regaining your ability to fly again is building stability back in your knee. Given the ramifications of a poorly executed V1 cut due to an injured knee, any surgeon will give a long recovery time. Take physio seriously, it'll get you back to normal quickest. I also found Advil and Tylenol worked equally as good as any opiod. Took perky C's for about a day before the side effects were worse than the pain in my knee.

[Ruger Princess]

This was initially a thread from 2023. BUT since everyone else is commenting. lol

I tore my ACL Oct 2022 with martial arts. Was off EVERYTHING for 5 solid months, needless to say it was a miserable time for my family lol. Even missed my Ti Cats game when they came here to play the Stamps.

Anyway, I spent 2 months on crutches, spent time at the U of C Knee clinic and they decided to try physio first before surgery. So, with 2 shots of Cortisone and 6 weeks of physio and NO flying or martial arts of any kind for those long ridiculous 5 months, I finally managed to get back on track. But def agree with all posters about physio (I used to think it was weak sauce!) but man does it work!! Def do what they say because the rebound is much faster.

Fast forward to today and the cortisone finally wore off but now Xray, MRI and back to the sports clinic to assess. Of course I fly all the time but I will admit sometimes after a long period of sitting, getting out the cockpit my knee is stiff. I'm sure after the cortisone I'll be good to go because what's addiction to cortisone?! lol and if it allows me to continue to 2 different martial arts 5x a week - it's worth it right?! Hahaha. Such a sucker! But yeah, mine was just a partial and so they decided to go with shots and physio. Fingers crossed on this next assessment but pretty sure I missed the surgery boat by a fraction.

[Risenskyimmigration]

I had a similar experience with knee surgery, and once the pain subsided, flying wasn't too much of a hassle. However, expect some stiffness, especially when moving around in smaller aircraft.

If you're still experiencing discomfort, consider seeking help from a physiotherapy clinic like Revitalize Physiotherapy and Sports Clinic. I dealt with Sciatica in the past, and regular massages from professionals made a significant difference in managing the pain. It might be worth looking into for some relief.

[kilocharliemike]

google kneesovertoesguy, bullet proof your knees!

[realtor360]

Flying after knee surgery can definitely be tricky. You might feel pretty stiff when getting in and out of the plane, especially if it's a smaller aircraft. To make the flight more comfortable, consider doing some simple exercises to alleviate body aches.