Hello everyone, I thought I'd check in as today I am 5 months post op with my 3rd right knee! I am doing ok and had resigned myself to being stuck at 120 degrees, but that all changed last week and this week. It's not a fluke, multiple times since last week I have now 123 ROM! The best yet with this being the second revision.
Something that may have helped is...you know how my second knee caused me to have a leg length difference of about 1 cm. Well a couple of years ago a podiatrist made me a set of orthotics which raised up my heel on the left side one cm. I never thought that they were right, but had accepted that is was probably as good as it was going to get. Back pain, hip pain, all on the left side, the side raised up.
Well since I am doing so much better now with my 3rd knee I've been able to be more active. So I'd go walk 2 1/5 miles. My knee did fine but my back was crippling me with pain. It would take the better part of a week for my back to ease up some, then I'd walk again and I'd repeat the back pain all over again. I saw my OS and he wrote me an RX to see a Pedorthist. Not a podiatrist but a Pedorthist, someone trained in the foot and ankle mechanics who can make orthotics and modify shoes. Years past it was suggested to me to modify a shoe but I rejected that idea because as some of you know I have about 80 pair of running shoes in my closet and I work in running speciality and I get shoes all of the time. I could not possibly wear ONE shoe!! But, pain trumps fashion. I surrendered.
I spent 1 1/2 hours with this specialist and she made me realize that the orthotics I had been wearing for two years was like walking around in a "heel and a flat" the left side raised up in the heel, the right side flat. What I needed was my entire foot raised up 3/8 of an inch. I took one brand new pair of Asics running shoes and the left shoe was modified, adding 3/8 inch to the entire bottom of the shoe. They do such a good job that no one could even tell. I also bought two pair of Birkenstock sandals and they also modified the left sandal on each raising it up 3/8 inch. I wore these three pair exclusively for 3 weeks. I walked my usual 2 1/2 miles and then I walked 4 miles and guess what? NO BACK PAIN!! So...you know I can't wear one pair of shoes so I took more down there. I now have 5 running shoes modified, two pair of Birkenstocks, (soon to be a 3rd Birkenstock) and a pair of dressy casual shoes I bought and had modified. The difference is incredible.
So with my legs properly aligned with the correct height, I think that it has had a positive impact on not stressing my knee and now has allowed me to move forward once again with ROM. I'm am still learning and still searching for the best answers even now.
I have been drafted to lead a newly formed walking group in the largest running club in Texas. They've never had walkers before now, so when the summer season kicks off, I am their new walking coach with all of my running/marathon experience. You see I had to find an answer since I've made a commitment to do this. I walked another 2 1/2 miles tonight and managed to get my walking pace down the 13:50 minute mile. I cannot maintain that pace yet, as I am just getting my fitness back but I know that it is attainable and I just have to keep working hard for it...and I will with all of my newly modified shoes.
See, never give up, always keep trying, the answer is out there somewhere!!