Lifting weights after leg lengthening

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The number 1 concern I have about the surgery is being able to lift weights after (and if I can continue to get stronger). I'll admit, it's so important that my decision to have surgery rests on this. Athletes like BodyBuilder or Sweden: how long did it take you to go back into the gym after surgery, and did you notice you were able to (eventually) push or pull the same weight--especially on big exercises like squats or deadlifts? This is a super important issue to me, so I can appreciate some input. Thank you.

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I know last I checked Sweden was more or less conceding that he fully recovered, as he was picked for some national martial arts championship. However, I didn't realize you did LON?

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Quote from: Sambollio on January 21, 2022, 09:07:33 PMMy assumption is that static strength won’t be effected much at all.

My understanding so far is that, beyond a change in leverages, weight lifting is minimally affected--if at all--by leg lengthening.

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Quote from: eric.cartman on January 21, 2022, 09:47:34 PMYou levers change quite a bit after LL - your moment arm will be longer and long levers are inefficient for squats. With longer femurs, you'll immediately notice that you can't squat as deep (ass to grass). I'm not yet 100% fully recovered but I'm confident that my raw strength will eventually return to pre-LL level once the nail is removed, but I'm definitely re-learning/adjusting my squat technique quite a bit.

It seems like tibial lengthening shouldn't affect that, though, and switching to low-bar could help shift that pivot point in your favor.

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Quote from: BelowTheMean on January 24, 2022, 07:23:32 AMI can’t do squats or deadlifts at all yet. Both motions produce quite a bit of pain in my femurs. I’m hoping that it’s due to the nails still being inside. My leg muscles are back to the pre-surgery thickness so I imagine it’s not a strength issue.

Do you think it might have something to do with the Stryde nail itself?

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Quote from: BelowTheMean on January 25, 2022, 01:22:42 AMI don’t think it’s specific to the Stryde nail issues that led to the recall.  Plenty of people have been able to run and work out their legs with their nails still in. I think my legs must be super sensitive to the nail or screws, or something else along those lines. I really hope it’s not due to the change in biomechanics as that probably wouldn’t be resolved by removing the nails.

I suspect it's the screws causing soft tissue pain. A biomechanical change isn't going to induce pain.

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Quote from: BelowTheMean on January 25, 2022, 01:43:40 AMTo be more specific, when I do anything that requires strength in my quads or causes an impact to my femurs I feel some level of pain. I can run, but it hurts my legs a lot each time my foot hits the concrete. I can squat, but it hurts my legs a lot when I do the motion. With no weight added, squats just feel uncomfortable. I can go up to 95 lbs before the pain is too much to bear, but the weight still feels very light to me, so it’s not a lack of muscle. My legs are just as thick as before surgery, even with the extra length and I’m pretty active even with the limitations.

I just hope that when the nails come out I can work out my legs without femur pain, otherwise I’ll have some regrets to the surgery.

Have you brought this up to your physical therapist? this sounds pretty serious to me.

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Quote from: BelowTheMean on January 25, 2022, 02:44:53 AMIt’s been over a year since I had surgery and I stopped physical therapy a long time ago. I consolidated last October and started trying running and heavy weight bearing activities then. I’ve never been able to do any of that without pain. However, when I brought it up with the doctor, he just said my X-rays were perfect (which they are) and that I shouldn’t be having any problems. Not sure what else I can do aside from nail removal.

It honestly doesn’t affect my day-to-day. I’ve been freediving and snowboarding all winter with no problems. It’s only in the gym that I’m limited.

That’s very odd; have you thought about just taking ibu and powering through the pain?

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I imagine it has to be the screws, but definitely try the exercises the other user suggested, too.

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Quote from: LLprime3 on January 25, 2022, 11:38:50 PMThat is one more reason to do something as simple as going stairs up and down, without and with weights. Something that basic is not supposed to hurt, but I also had sharp intense pain just from walking down one one leg 3 weeks ago. It's gone as of today. This is the third time that I fixed pain like that, and the solution has always been the same: Easy exercises that slowly build up in intensity. I don't challenge the pain anymore as I tried before. The pain has to go away through recovery, not by killing pain nerves.
And the reason for recurring pain was laziness after I fixed it.

Whenever I suspected the screws or bones to be the issue, I checked how my legs would feel after exercises. Exercises resolve all the issues concerning the muscles. That means if exercises relieve the pain, it had to do with the muscles since a problem with bones or screws would not disappear from exercises.

I had popping noises, pain that felt like bone issues. It all went away after diligent workout as described above. Workout that is building up in difficulty and feels like cardio workout and not body building.

That sounds promising, then; it means the pain could be diminished by something as simple as stationary biking during the consolidation period.