TKR kmak's TKR recovery thread

Status
Not open for further replies.

kmak81230

post-grad
Joined
Jun 15, 2017
Messages
1,695
Age
66
Location
Colorado
Country
United States United States
Gender
Female
This site has "saved" me - mostly from myself and my obsession with overworking my new knee which I got on May 9th. I am 59 years young, and was very active prior to the surgery - spin class twice a week, cardio every day, hiking, ice hockey, skiing, and road biking about 1000 miles a year. I was told that you have to work hard right from the start - and boy did I. I had my 6 week post op appointment with the surgeon today. I have been slow to see improvement in flexion and, to a lesser extent, extension and was beating myself up about it, with lots of crying, etc. My PT favors a gentle approach primarily working on functional movement (which I am excelling at) and told me to put away the goniometer (yes, I had bought one!). With the edict from surgeon to be at 110 degrees by today I was beside myself with worry. I was exercising incessantly with ice and elevation in between - and obviously not enough rest. About a week ago I found this site (thank you, thank you, thank you!) and also began listening to others (including my PT) who told me to back off on the exercise and allow my knee to rest and recover -- it was in a perpetual state of swelling and inflammation. I can say that over the past several days the swelling has receded some and on Saturday I was able to make a revolution on the bike while standing up, and today a full revolution seated - YIPPEE! I did not make the flexion goal for the surgeon who told me to be more aggressive with the stretching (with a "threat" of MUA if no gains in another 6 weeks) but I have made some small gains. I am probably at 95 degrees flexion comfortably with 5 extension. I will use the tips from this site on correctly using the bike for stretching (not training!) as well as the suggestions for extension and flexion. I wish I had found this site prior to my surgery and will definitely do things differently when I have the right one done. Thanks to all of the experts on here - my emotional well-being is much better knowing that I am not "abnormal" and that patience and rest will help me in the long run.
 
I wish you had found this place before your surgery, too. I found it about 6 months before mine and I had the same experience of no exercise that is written about here. I've had 11 knee surgeries and never did PT or exercises. I used my knee doing daily activities, taking care of myself and 11 cats. My knees are doing great without the stress of PT. I just used them the way God intended them to be used. Many do chose PT, but find that gentle and slow is the way to go. Aggressive PT causes inflammation, which causes swelling and then the ROM goes down. Low pain=more gain! Good luck!
 
:welome: @kmak81230

I'm glad to hear you are easing off your exercises.
It's not exercising that gets you your ROM - it's time. Time to recover, time for swelling and pain to settle, and time to heal. Your ROM is there right from the start, just waiting for all that to happen, so it can show itself.

Here is a lot more reading for you:
Knee Recovery: The Guidelines
1. Don’t worry: Your body will heal all by itself. Relax, let it, don't try and hurry it, don’t worry about any symptoms now; they are almost certainly temporary
2. Control discomfort:
rest
elevate
ice
take your pain meds by prescription schedule (not when pain starts!)
don't overwork.
3. Do what you want to do BUT
a. If it hurts, don't do it and don't allow anyone - especially a physical therapist - to do it to you
b. If your leg swells more or gets stiffer in the 24 hours after doing it, don't do it again.​
4. PT or exercise can be useful BUT take note of these
5. Here is a week-by-week guide for Activity progression for TKRs


The Recovery articles:
The importance of managing pain after a TKR and the pain chart
Swollen and stiff knee: what causes it?

Energy drain for TKRs
Elevation is the key

Ice to control pain and swelling
Heel slides and how to do them properly

Chart representation of TKR recovery
Healing: how long does it take?

Post op blues is a reality - be prepared for it
Sleep deprivation is pretty much inevitable - but what causes it?

There are also some cautionary articles here
Myth busting: no pain, no gain
Myth busting: the "window of opportunity" in TKR
Myth busting: on getting addicted to pain meds

We try to keep the forum a positive and safe place for our members to talk about their questions or concerns and to report successes with their joint replacement surgery. While members may create as many threads as they like in a majority of BoneSmart's forums, we ask that each member have only one recovery thread. This policy makes it easier to go back and review history before providing advice.
 
Welcome to the BoneSmart way of life. I think you'll find this approach quite successful. This is a marathon at a turtles pace!


Sent from my iPad using BoneSmart Forum
 
Better late than never--glad you found us! It's amazing how a little activity and lots of rest pay off. Congrats on the full rotation! A definite milestone.
 
You'll get back to your active life style, but first let your new knee heal and recover from surgery. TKR takes time and patience. I've no doubt you'll gain ROM by resting, elevating, icing and doing easy stretches with your knee. Don't go crazy now that you can do a full revolution on the bike though! Just a few minutes a day for now will loosen up your knee and help with ROM.
 
It's better to have found Bonesmart late than never; welcome! I resent these surgeons and PT's (not my own, phew) who place arbitrary deadlines on knees to reach random, meaningless numbers. While I understand the need to measure progress, surely function should matter most.

I think you'll see great progress now that you've eased up on all the exercise. It may take a week or so, but time is on your side. Enjoy the rest!:SUNsmile:
 
BTW, I'm green with envy at your full rotation on the bike, lol! No, not really, just kidding.:heehee:
 
Welcome! One thing this forum has taught me is that we are all individuals. No two knees are alike even our own. I'm just doing gentle PT the same way I did my other knee. Believe me your ROM is there just waiting for the swelling and inflammation to go down. Listen to the people on this site. They know what they are talking about.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk
 
Thanks all for the positive reinforcement! Best wishes for your own recoveries :cheers:
 
I think I'm in love with your therapist!!! Sometimes it can be quite difficult to find rehab folks who really understand the concept of a more gentle recovery when swelling and inflammation are present....and who don't beat you up with the "window of opportunity" speech and threats of MUAs. You have found a real gem!

I'm glad you did find us and that you feel more empowered regarding your recovery. There is no one on earth who knows our bodies better than we do. If you listen to your body in recovery, you will instinctively know when to ease off the exercise and activity and when to push forward a bit. You'll just "feel" it. But for most people, in these early weeks of recovery, a more gentle approach to any exercise is usually best. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at how you improve in the coming weeks.
 
Yes - I am very happy with my therapist! I have made many gains in balance, overall strength, and performing fundamental movements correctly (he is a big proponent of the "hip hinge"), and he has helped me to quit focusing on ROM and encouraged me to cut back on the exercises to let my knee rest and recover. I'm in a much more positive frame of mind with his encouragement (and this forum!)
 
:fingersx: 7 weeks in and it hurts so good! I have been resting more, walking more, and exercising less and over the past week have felt better - the stretching actually feels good to me - not painful but productive (hard to explain but it's a good thing). I am sleeping a teensy bit better -- can sleep in multiple positions without pain or pillows everywhere -- and probably get a good nights sleep 3 out of every 5 days instead of 1 in 4 (that's progress :yahoo:). I stopped thinking about numbers - this was very hard for me to do with my exercise spreadsheets and daily measurements that I had been doing (I am a total type A++) - but I think I am making progress as I can pull back further on my heel slides (hurts so good!), I lowered the bike seat by 1cm this week, have an easier time getting in and out of the car, and am almost able to go downstairs step over step. I am using a cane for my longer walks - 20 min +- so I can focus on gait (which is still sketchy) - plus every now and then my knee decides it wants to do the "wobble." I started back to work a couple of weeks ago - just a few hours for the first couple of weeks and am now almost full time - I did join the ODIC last Friday with an 8 hour day (yuk!). My job is flexible in that I can elevate throughout the day, go for short walks to loosen up, and I can take a break at lunchtime for a short spin on the bike. Plus my supervisor is super supportive of my recovery. I have found Pheebs52's suggestions for warming up the quad and hamstring helpful, along with a few of her other stretches - Thanks Pheebs! I like to lay on the floor and put my legs up in the air against a wall for elevation but the ankle on my new leg gets achy when I do so and I have to quit after about 15 minutes - not sure what that is about. All in all it has been a great week and I'm quite sure my spouse is glad to see more smiling, fewer tears, and less crankiness due to lack of sleep. Hope you all are having a great week! :bicycle1:
 
Wow! What an excellent report! It sounds like you have learned your knee and the good things to do to help it!
 
Wow! You're doing great, figuring out all the little things--which exercises, which positions, which tips--work best for your knee. They (knees) are so individual and respond uniquely. Whatever you're doing, you're on the fast track and will be leaving those sleep woes in the dust soon.
 
Wow! Back to work already! I'm glad you've been feeling better! Laying flat on the sofa with my legs up on the arm cushions often helped when my swelling was out of control. Getting down on the floor was not an option. :heehee:
 
The first time I got on the floor I failed to consider how I would get up - oops! :dubious: Lots of rolling about and contortions -- I now have a pretty good system -- it's definitely not an option for our bilateral friends . . . .
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

BoneSmart #1 Best Blog

Staff online

Forum statistics

Threads
65,181
Messages
1,597,078
BoneSmarties
39,365
Latest member
Dave4562
Recent bookmarks
0
Back
Top Bottom