CrossFit and Total Knee Replacement—Part 1

My journey from CrossFit to TKR and back to CrossFit

Relevant facts: I’m 61 years old, I’ve been a CrossFitter for six years (shout-out to CrossFit Orrville), and I’m going in for a total right knee replacement—three days from now.

I’ve been preparing for this surgery since it was scheduled in September—well, even longer if you count the year I spent researching it before deciding to pull the trigger. I decided to document this journey because I found very little information online about returning to CrossFit (or even weightlifting) after TKR, which is one of my goals. Hopefully, my posts here can help someone else who is dealing with the same issues.

Background: Both of my knees are shot. Bone on bone. I injured my left knee (aka my “good” knee) in a skiing accident in 1979 while on a trip to Cockaign Ski Resort in New York. My foot twisted completely around and hung there while I waited for the ski patrol. They splinted it and took me down the hill. Back then, they didn’t surgically repair ACL tears, so they told me I had “broken” my leg, put me in a straight cast, and hoped for the best. I recovered well enough but would get occasional soreness, which increased over the years. I injured my right knee in 1994 after falling from a stool at work. Because it was locking frequently, I agreed to have it scoped. Those two injuries set me on the path to knee replacement surgery.

I’m an avid CrossFitter—and by that, I do not mean that I’m an RX athlete. I’ve been at it for six years and attend classes 3-4 days a week. Having been basically sedentary until age 55, largely due to crippling migraines, jumping into CrossFit was really a crazy idea, but I caught the bug, and it became a regular part of my life. I can lift a decent amount of weight for my age (squat 250 lbs., deadlift 250), but it’s been years since I could run or jump. I can’t do a lot of the gymnastics movements due to a bum shoulder (that’s a problem for another year), but there are things I can do and try to get a little better every week.

Back in June, I was doing kettlebell swings at a moderate weight when I felt pain in my right knee (at the time, it was my good knee). I thought it was because I had forgotten to wear the knee brace I’d become dependent on, but the pain persisted for weeks after that workout. Eventually, I sought out the knee surgeon who had been giving me cortisone injections for the last few years (which were no longer working), to ask about knee replacement. I was dismayed when he told me I wouldn’t be able to go below a quarter squat with a prosthetic knee and suggested that instead of CrossFit, I pursue things like shuffleboard and paved walking paths.

Not acceptable.

Why would I go through a major surgery only to lose the function I currently have, give up a sport I love, and resign myself to old-people activities?

I decided to seek a second opinion. The new surgeon gave me a thorough exam (something that surgeon #1 never did (except for taking a cursory look) and ordered an MRI so he could determine whether there was something that could be fixed. He was the first doctor I’d seen for my knee (over many years) to tell me that I still had a torn ACL on the left side. The MRI revealed that although there were no tears in my right knee, I had osteoarthritis, chondromalacia patellae, and a synovial cyst of popliteal space [Baker]. I had a total loss of joint space in some parts of my knee, which took me out of the running for a partial replacement. This surgeon was more optimistic about me returning to CrossFit, although he did recommend not running on the new knee.

After that visit to surgeon #1, I was hesitant to commit to a total joint replacement, so I read everything I could, joined a Facebook group for support (more on that in another post), and talked to anyone I could think of who might be able to give me some insight into the surgery. Someone in my CrossFit class mentioned a study she had read about how it’s better to do it sooner rather than waiting until you’re nearly crippled. That made sense, but the downside is that prosthetic knees have a shelf life, and a younger person is at greater risk of needing a new knee later in life. I read many accounts and spoke with several people who were either glad they did it at a younger age or regretted not doing the surgery sooner.

I read a great book called Play Forever by Kevin R. Stone. The orthopedic surgeon has a lot to say about recovering from injuries and getting back to the things you love. It was encouraging to read that you can recover from TKR and remain active with an excellent quality of life. He also gave terrific advice about having the right attitude and mentality going into surgery, which I took to heart. 

I also spoke with strength training coach Mark Rippetoe (from Starting Strength), who assured me he sees people in his weightlifting seminars every weekend who can lift heavy and squat below parallel with prosthetic knees. Based on the successes he's seen in his gym, he encouraged me to go ahead and get it done. He even predicted that I’d be able to lift more with new knees!

If I’m being honest, I’m afraid of losing what I’ve worked so hard for over the last six years. As I write this, I’m just back from my first CrossFit class in ten days. It was a weightlifting workout, and I was frustrated that I’d taken a step back in my training. I know that’s not really true. If I weren’t scheduled for surgery this week, I know I’d be back to form within a couple of workouts. But what is going to happen when I’m off for several weeks—or even months? How much muscle will I lose? How bad will my cardio be? I’m still planning to go through with the surgery, but those questions haunt me and make me want to reconsider. But the pain in my knee tonight reminds me that it ain’t getting any better. It’s all downhill from here without surgical intervention.

I plan to return to CrossFit as soon as physically possible. I need my community and know it will be an integral part of my recovery. Even though I won’t be able to do the prescribed workouts for a while, I’ll be able to do something. I trust that those baby steps in the gym will eventually lead me back to my current level of fitness—and beyond. 

[Read Part 2 of this series here]

In future posts, I’ll talk more about how I’ve prepared for surgery and document both my surgery and recovery. Stay tuned!