TKR Kakalele’s recovery

Here's an article about Flying soon after surgery
Yes, compression hose should be worn. Try to book an aisle seat, so you can get up and walk around during the flight.
Most important - book wheelchair assistance - those airport corridors are a long walk.

Plan to arrive early at the airport, because screening may take longer with your new knee implant. Go for the machine that looks like a shower stall, rather than the archway. Expect to be wanded and patted down.

If you can, take a couple of those instant ice packs (the ones you snap and they get cold), so you can ice your knee during the flight.
 
Well, I went on my trip and it was fine on my way there, but on the way back it was pretty bad. However, I made it and here I am.

Bad news, went to see OS yesterday and I will have an MUA next week. I am still in pain and I can’t bend passed 90. This has been a horrible experience and there are more days than not that I feel like I should not have done this surgery. Now I feel like I need therapy just to get through all these emotions. I’m in constant pain and flexion and extension are not good. I hope nothing else happens. MUA is making me feel like I’m a disappointment. Sorry to vent, but no one I can talk to understands.
 
Bad news, went to see OS yesterday and I will have an MUA next week.
You have bad ROM because your knee is swollen, not because you have adhesions. Please cancel that MUA and give your knee more time to heal and get that swelling down. A MUA will set your recovery back to the beginning. It will inflame that soft tissues that are trying hard to knit back together.

Adhesions and scar tissue are two different things. Used correctly, the term scarring refers to the stuff that heals your wounds whether it's a surgical incision or a small cut with a kitchen knife. That is necessary to close your wound. Adhesions are excess fibrous tissue that stick muscles, tendons and ligaments down so they can't move the way they should. It look something like this

adhesions-horz-jpg.71723


Obviously the scarring is necessary and if it doesn't develop, you'd be in trouble with a permanently open wound!
But adhesions are abnormal and actually relatively uncommon. They occur a lot less frequently than 'professionals' would have you believe. But so long as they can convince patients of this 'inevitable' demon, they will get compliant patients! That's the philosophy! Don't fall for it.
 
Please go back and read every post in this thread. You will see the cause and effect of your knee’s situation now and all the excellent advice you’ve been given.

Your ROM is not really all that bad considering how much activity you’ve been doing all along in your recovery, it’s no wonder you still have a lot of pain and swelling.

If you want to feel better and improve you really must cut back your activities and let your knee settle down. That is your answer.

Does your surgeon know you went back to work so early and recently took a trip out of town? He really should look at the whole picture, not just the number of your ROM.
. MUA is making me feel like I’m a disappointment. Sorry to vent, but no one I can talk to understands
I’m sorry you feel like a disappointment. I do understand, as my ROM came back slowly and I felt like everyone thought I was a failure.

You are not a failure. You are doing the best you can with the situation you’ve been dealt. Any one of us who have had to do all you’ve been doing would have the same outcome at this point.

But it’s time to try to take a step back and put your physical needs first. :console2:
 
Well, I went on my trip and it was fine on my way there, but on the way back it was pretty bad; However, I made it and here I am. Bad news, went to see OS yesterday and I will have an MUA next week. I am still in pain and I can’t bend passed 90. This has been a horrible experience and there are more days than not that I feel like I should not have done this surgery.
I’m going to ask @Josephine to come talk to you.
 
MUA is making me feel like I’m a disappointment.
I agree with others. This does NOT mean you are a failure or a disappointment. It just means that your progress has stalled and that's nobody's fault, not the surgeon's, not the PT and definitely not yours!

But you are only 10 weeks out so I do urge you to tell (not ask) your surgeon that you want to leave it another month to see if it time will improve things because it's very likely it will. There is no rush and if the surgeon says there is, read these which confirm what I am saying
Myth busting: the "window of opportunity" in TKR
Myth busting: the "window of opportunity" JBJS.

Also, if you are concerned about refusing this MUA, you need to read this Saying no to therapy - am I allowed to?
 

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