Swiming is good for keeping fat off and building upper body muscle, makes you look good. But doesn't transfer to much else, I found I was out of breath after so much as a short jog after swiming for 3 months.
Rowing is good (for me) once you start to recover, posibly even more stress placed on the cardiovascular system than cycling, but seems to put less stress on my knees.
Buy loads of tubigrip, helped me no end, just wear it at night and I find my days are much more pain free.
Ohh and when they say "you'll walk out of here this afternoon" they'r not lying, as you'll be high as a kite on painkillers. Its the next two weeks in agony on the sofa you have to be worried about. Took about 5 weeks to get the OK to go swimming, about 12 weeks before I could ride again (there's a difference between their definition of cycling and yours and mine).
Take it easy, mine re-lapsed about 6 months in, if it hurts, stop and call someone for a lift home and rest it untill its completely pain free again, still debating what to do about it (ignore it and live with the pain or go back in for another look).
