Pre Surgery - Visit with Surgeon

Atlas_aus

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Mar 31, 2019
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Howdy all,

With 2 weeks to go I visited the Surgeon today... We talked about a few things and I told him I had being doing a lot of research and found "2 camps".... One that says rest and heal and the other that says get stuck into it... He was with the latter and said basically use it or lose it.

I am old enough to make my own decisions however and will let my body tell me what to do. :fingersx:

Also mentioned about me wanting to be able to kneel again, he said he had already noted that down (and showed me) and said he will make the incision at the side of my knees, not the front and also mentioned that it was being done more often, apparently.

The other bizarre thing is the last week I have never felt better, can even do a full revolution on the bike.. Amazing.. Will enjoy it whilst it lasts.

As I have had lower back surgery apparently they won't give me an epidural, WOOHOO :dancy:

Now as long as I don't have a catheter I will be very happy !
 
Hi. Its such a leap of faith.
I had both knees replaced.
Knee no 1 was a miserable experience with swelling and pain. I did everything by the book (until the wound fell apart and I couldnt).
Knee no 2 was March this year. I did nothing for 2 weeks except rest, elevate and aggressive icing of knee (Game Ready 2 weeks, Aircast cyro cuff off n on for the next 2 weeks).
Was virtually pain free by 1 week, out to cafes, movies etc and back at work at 3 weeks.

Haven't looked back and can't believe how great it is.
Ice and compression plus total rest (apart from cafes etc of course) was the only difference.
My experience has bern incredible. I dont know if its totally related to that early rehab time. I had a post op appointment with the professor if orthopaedics (so must know a thing or 2?). I had an unforced, voluntary bend of 145 degrees at that stage and total extension. He was incredulous. When he said lets see your ROM I just did it without him touching my knee.
I confessed to rest and doing no PT. He just smiled and nodded and said he usually told patients they had 4 more months to get improvements but I had already exceeded that.
So its anyones guess why its so brilliant!
Kneeling. I can do it on a soft surface. Havent tried a hard surface but I know I could if I needed to. My incision is in the normal place! Best wishes. Rosie
 
Hey Rosie,

Thanks for the reply. The recurring pattern I am reading is that less is more in the recovery process, as I said in another post I will let my body tell me.

I had a post op appointment with the professor if orthopedics (so must know a thing or 2?).

Like "experts" in many fields unless you have gone through it how can they know, sure they past tests and competencies but most of us know what is taught in a classroom rarely reflects the real world. A "children's" expert who have never had kids, really ? Academics at their best....

Either way it sounds like you are going well and hope this continues for you. It is starting to get cold here and my knees are certainly letting me know about it !

Take care.
 
Yes until its you..... It such a leap of faith to step outside convention.
I thought that if this was accidental trauma no one would expect all that PT until healing had occurred to some extent. So I relaxed, snoozed, iced like crazy etc. I had faith that if I started to develop movement restrictions I would know. Instead it just got better and better. With no swelling my knee movement was not restricted (at least that's what I guessed happened). I'm almost 3 months now and though I dont want anymore surgery I know I could do this again. It feels like a 'normal knee'.
Have faith! Better times will be coming for you.
PS I took my left over meds back to the pharmacy and never filled the prescription I was given.
 
I thought that if this was accidental trauma no one would expect all that PT until healing had occurred to some extent.
Exactly! After replacement, your knee needs time to start healing before you stress it with lots of exercise.
 
Yes. I did a search for studies recommending early PT. I'm no slug but I couldn't find anything substantial to reinforce this requirement. Prof Horne just smiled when I said I ignored the recommendations! Got the feeling he wasn't invested in it (or maybe it was my unforced amazing ROM, if anything reinforces no PT it could be that) xx
 
I am no slug either @rosieNZ, and was a worried about "not doing enough" afterwards. I did work hard, every day, in the months BEFORE surgery, as much as my knees would allow. PT exercises, Yoga and cycling. I had found Bonesmart during this pre-hab phase, and pored over many posts, sorting out what post-op approach I would take. I knew that the only exercises I would do for 2-3 weeks would be flexion and extension (exactly as shown here), and walking as necessary only. The rest of the time I was resting, elevating and icing. I knew it was the right approach, I kept on top of my pain relief, and had very little swelling after the first 5 days. ROM just happened. My surgeon and PT were very relaxed about my approach, and of course that helped me immensely. 10 weeks now, life is returning to normal, with none of the ghastly pre op pain. I still get tired when I do too much, but I am now back to Yoga, using my exercycle, walking comfortably, a bit of gardening, shopping etc.
I think what I am trying to say is that taking a very slow, gentle approach will actually get you back to everyday life much quicker than pushing yourself in the beginning.
 
How cool is that!
I felt a little guilty doing nothing but now Im convinced!
Well done you. Irs exciting to move forward to a life withoyr restriction and pain We deserve it but also are so lucky this remedy is available. Imagine if....Xxx
 
Try not to think of resting as "lying around, doing nothing." Instead, think of it as working hard, to give your knee the best possible chance of healing well.
In other words, when you are icing and elevating and watching TV, you are not 'lazing around' - you are "engaging in a carefully considered, proactively designed, heuristically programmed, dynamically structured recovery programme".
 
Try not to think of resting as "lying around, doing nothing." Instead, think of it as working hard, to give your knee the best possible chance of healing well.
In other words, when you are icing and elevating and watching TV, you are not 'lazing around' - you are "engaging in a carefully considered, proactively designed, heuristically programmed, dynamically structured recovery programme".

Love the way you think !! :)
 
Yes until its you..... It such a leap of faith to step outside convention.
I thought that if this was accidental trauma no one would expect all that PT until healing had occurred to some extent. So I relaxed, snoozed, iced like crazy etc. I had faith that if I started to develop movement restrictions I would know. Instead it just got better and better. With no swelling my knee movement was not restricted (at least that's what I guessed happened). I'm almost 3 months now and though I dont want anymore surgery I know I could do this again. It feels like a 'normal knee'.
Have faith! Better times will be coming for you.
PS I took my left over meds back to the pharmacy and never filled the prescription I was given.

Thanks Rosie. You are so right. Taking meds back to the pharmacy, never heard of that before... Ahh the light at the end of the tunnel "normal knees".... It's actually been so long since I had normal knees I am not sure if I recall what it will be like ! :loll:
 
I am no slug either @rosieNZ, and was a worried about "not doing enough" afterwards. I did work hard, every day, in the months BEFORE surgery, as much as my knees would allow. PT exercises, Yoga and cycling. I had found Bonesmart during this pre-hab phase, and pored over many posts, sorting out what post-op approach I would take. I knew that the only exercises I would do for 2-3 weeks would be flexion and extension (exactly as shown here), and walking as necessary only. The rest of the time I was resting, elevating and icing. I knew it was the right approach, I kept on top of my pain relief, and had very little swelling after the first 5 days. ROM just happened. My surgeon and PT were very relaxed about my approach, and of course that helped me immensely. 10 weeks now, life is returning to normal, with none of the ghastly pre op pain. I still get tired when I do too much, but I am now back to Yoga, using my exercycle, walking comfortably, a bit of gardening, shopping etc.
I think what I am trying to say is that taking a very slow, gentle approach will actually get you back to everyday life much quicker than pushing yourself in the beginning.

It is exactly posts like this that gives me great hope in the time ahead. Thanks for sharing. And good luck with the rest of your recovery.
 

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