TKR And the Marathon Begins<<

Ice as long as you want!!! Move it around, stretch, bend, take a walk, grab a snack and the remote and ice some more! After a while, you'll only need ice and no pills--- then nothing
 
Honestly, @nuttybrunette , I think you will be better off if you don't go to this PT place. They don't know how to rehab your knee after a knee replacement.

Why do I think that?
  • It is definitely not a PT's job to change a dressing.
  • They want you to do too many exercises, too early in recovery - and some of those exercises, such as squats, are very bad for a new knee.
  • They are wrong about icing. What they say may apply to sports injuries, but it is incorrect for a knee replacement.
  • They will probably tell you that you have a limited time in which to gain Range of Motion (ROM)and you have to work your knee hard to get there - again, wrong!

Rehabbing after a knee replacement is a whole different ball game from rehabbing after a sports injury. You need to allow your poor knee to be well on the way towards healing before you start stressing it with exercises. You've had bones cut and soft tissue pulled around. You wouldn't start doing aggressive exercises straight away after breaking a bone, would you? If you tore a muscle, you'd let it heal, not exercise it madly. Similarly, your knee needs time to heal.

Icing is different, too. As long as you have some material between your skin and the icing medium (to protect your skin from frost-bite) you could ice all day long without causing any harm.
Don't bother trying to convince the PTs of that. They won't take it on board.

Did you realise that, in the PT situation, you are the boss? Those people work for you and they have to please you. You don't have to please them.
It's your knee and you are the only one who has the right to say what will happen to it.
CONSENT: what it means and how it can be used
Saying no to therapy - am I allowed to?

At this very early stage of recovery, all the exercise your knee needs is to walk around your house every couple of hours. You can give it enough exercise in just your activities of daily living.
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.

There's no need to rush to get ROM (Range of Motion) because it can continue to improve for a year, or even much longer, after a knee replacement. There isn't any deadline you have to meet:
Myth busting: the "window of opportunity" in TKR
 
Then the exercises came. Straight leg lifts, squats, etc. I can’t even lift my leg onto the bed or couch. Need hand assistance. And they wanted me to do 30 straight leg lifts. This is a PT place I’ve been going to for over a decade. What am I going to do‍️‍️
Don't go back to this facility. They will do much more harm to your knee than help it. They are ignorant on how to rehab a tkr!

Many of us never took formal PT or did exercises. I am one of them. I had 11 knee surgeries, 2 of them kneecap removals and 1 tkr. Even after those I never took PT. But, I didn't just sit around and do nothing. I took care of myself, my house and yard as my knee allowed me to do. As I healed, I did more. But, my knee was always in control! This was enough therapy for me and would be for any tkr patient. All the awful pain of PT is so unnecessary.

All you have to do is use it in your daily living! Your knee knows how to rehab itself and doesn't need anyone telling it how. Just use it and it will come back like new! You have to be patient, though, it doesn't happen quickly! ADL,(activities of daily living), going to the bathroom, brushing your teeth and bathing, fixing a light meal, getting something to drink and or a snack, those kinds of things will be all the exercise your knee needs. If you just use it daily in your living, you will have a quicker and less painful recovery. We know what works, we've been there!
 
Squats are hard on a recovering knee, especially early on. I let them talk me into them with the first knee and wound up with lingering tendonitis.
 
She said that after 15-20 minutes that our knees/tissues/cells start a response to that coldness and start "warming" up to counteract the coldness, which isn't a good thing. Can someone please explain why that is faulty or at least a what I should say to her in response.
Well first, don't engage her in any discussion about it. It's none of her business anyway.

And her theory is quite, quite wrong. I've never read anything in the way of research or otherwise to support something she clearly made up herself! The body mass in the knee is more than able to cope with the appliance of an ice pack!
 
I have put ice on my knee in the middle of the night to ease pain and have woken up a few hours later with it still attached. It certainly feels good so it can't be bad for you. I've never been told it's had negative effects.
 
Oh I’m totally using ice. Makes it feel so good. Just wondered about the time part. Yes, agreed, they all need to go to the same school and learn about replacements. It’s not fun having o decipher information and make decisions, especially on pain meds
 
We had a physician coming in daily to check on us in hospital and he was lovely. He said when you get home you can create your own regime. Meaning if you sleep longer then take the tablet. You don't have to wake up to so so. I went to my GP yesterday and currently only taking Panadol and if pain is bad, which it has not been, take that in between the allocated times as I can only have 6 Panadol tablets a day. So far so good.
 
TTKR PT's I think there is something wrong with them, well most of them and everyone I have had.
They made you cry. That makes me very angry. I would like to bend their knee after I hit it with hammer until they cried. You didnt let them abuse you. Don't listen to all that window, ROM, and that nonsense they say.
It's hard to find a good one. So if you go to this one don't let them push your knee. They will probably verbally insult you, like she did. Or look at you like you are a fool.
Imagine they get paid for making you cry and hurting your knee more. I'm sorry my sore spot are PTs
Use your pain pills, everyone told me I'd be ok so I didn't use them, I'm doing so well.
Cheers to you for standing up for yourself
 
MY BUTT HURTS!! I mean it really hurts. I want to go for a bike ride, or walk around in Target for an hour, or would even settle for cleaning toilets at this point. Surgery was 11 days ago and I’m done laying around. Even said put the old dang knee back in and forget this. I get up, go to bathroom, wander the house, did a load of laundry, even managed to push a sweeper in front of my walker last night. Lol. That was a sight. But restlessness has set in!! Feeling physically pretty good. But oh man, my butt, aches from the sitting around.
 
Well I feel the same but my knee is going numb and spreading don't see the doctor till next week. I checked with missing staff it is not normal and to contact the doctor tomorrow
 
MY BUTT HURTS!! I mean it really hurts. I want to go for a bike ride, or walk around in Target for an hour, or would even settle for cleaning toilets at this point. Surgery was 11 days ago and I’m done laying around. Even said put the old dang knee back in and forget this. I get up, go to bathroom, wander the house, did a load of laundry, even managed to push a sweeper in front of my walker last night. Lol. That was a sight. But restlessness has set in!! Feeling physically pretty good. But oh man, my butt, aches from the sitting around.
Resting and doing little else is what you need to be doing for at least the first month after a TKR. Your knee has been cut open, had soft tissues pulled aside,had the ends of two large bones sawed and shaped; your kneecap was turned upside down and later put back in its normal position; you've had large foreign bodies hammered and cemented into two large bones, and then everything has been put back in place and your knee has been sewn together again. That's a lot of trauma and your knee needs rest, so it can start to heal.

I know it's hard to be patient, but you must. It's still too soon to be doing laundry or any form of housework.
If you do too much, too soon, you will set back your progress.
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".

Do read this article again, and try to follow its recommendations: Activity progression for TKRs

I'm sorry your butt hurts, but you can help it by varying your position. Lie down on the couch for a change of position, try a different chair, have a walk around the house.
 
Surgery was 11 days ago and I’m done laying around.
What is the title of your thread? Did you call it a marathon (not a sprint) ?

Hugs to you as you try to reorganize your thoughts about this recovery.

Vacuuming while holding on to your walker? :yikes: Doing things like this right now is going to have the opposite effect of what you want, it’s going to ultimately set you back and extend time to your recovery.

Wouldn’t we all love to be done with recovery at 11 days!
 
Only 11 days ! My butt woukd turn numb! I'm not used to being lethargic either. It's a lot of work and tiring dragging that walker around isn't it? You'll get tired of it soon enough and find your self leaving it behind. Be sure to try to get dressed every day with shoes and socks. At about 3 weeks,I was able to go round the block w my walker but it was such s drag. The cane was better and only lasted two weeks. I couldn't WAIT to get out gardening. You're still pretty fresh so any movement or excercise is productive- if it's 3 ankle lifts, or 3 min standing at the sink, even if you stand and brush your teeth-it all matters- take your meds and keep hydrated- keeps everything flowing - DONT FORGET THE ICE cuz how could you?
 
Uh-oh! Restlessness has set in. Now is the time to remember all the warnings about over-doing it. We (as a whole) feel lots better long before our knee is ready to resume full duties.

I hear you about the walker. I despised mine with a passion. While you need it, though, it's a good friend to have at hand. As Colleen said, you'll start finding you forget it on occasion, maybe a short walk to the bathroom or something of that sort. Keep a cane nearby should you start wanting that instead. I ditched the walker upstairs first, because the distances were short, and just used the cane up there. Little by little, we shed these aids and start walking without them!
 
How about taking a little short walk outside to take care of your restlessness? It’s ok if at first you can only go to the drive way and back. Maybe do a couple of short distance walks in between icing. I don’t know if where you are the weather has turned nice, if so, the sun on your face can do wonders for our psyche. Remember not to over do it and take your walker or cane. Safety first!
 
@VonnieN So sorry that is happening. I'd like to think that has happened to others, that anything that happens to us has happened before, that we are not original with our symptoms, that you are not alone. With that being said, I understand that it is a really big deal tho and I hope you get some good answers tomorrow when they open. Keep us updated. Sending good vibes your way:roseshwr:
 
@Celle Thank you for the reality check!! I read your response to my husband too. Not that he expects anything from me, he has been so wonderful, brings me food, ice, whatever I need. And keeps the kitchen spotless:) But reading it out loud was good for both of us:) :-) (:
@Jockette Yes, yes, yes....marathon, not sprint. Gotcha!:flwrysmile: And I wanted to clear up the visual of me vacuuming....it was a push sweeper thing. We have wood floors in the entire house, and a white cat. We use a smaller version of those big janitor push things, like they use in the halls of school. NOT that it was ok for me to do, I understand, but it was not the push and pull of vacuuming. That would have been crazy. LOL I'll behave now.

@SusieShoes Yes, the walker is still my best friend. Funny thing, when I picked it up before surgery and "practiced" with it, it didn't feel right. After looking into it, most walkers are for people 5'4" or taller so I took it back and traded for a "petite" one, as I am just under 5 feet tall. It's little and light, so I drag it around like a third leg. Always with me.

@Babushelen Your absolutely right. I am driven by the sun for sure so a sit out in it today will be great. And we have already had 90 degree days. Might work on my tan......:rotfl:
 

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