TKR Softtail back for round 2

knee 2.jpg
knee 1.jpg

Pics of 2 legs left at 8 plus months. Right at 3 weeks.
 
Well done @Softtail :thumb:

Your recovery is going great, am amazed how well your ROM is going. I look at your pictures and I can only hope LOL

keep up the great work.
 
What a great bend you have there, Softtail.
 
Thanks time ,and sistersinhim. I feel pretty lucky. Still hoping someone might chime in if they had the feeling that something was catching just under kneecap when they bent knee. Again not all the time and does not interfere with walking or anything, just one of those annoying things that keep you wondering ...did something come loose....
 
@Softtail I had issues with "catching" as well for the first 8-10 weeks. It felt like my kneecap was catching on something and was very painful when it happened. It eventually just stopped, so maybe yours will too.
 
Thanks for The feedback FC. I am on the closing part of week eight now ,and the catch is happening less frequently so I am relating it to the swelling that is still present around my knee cap. Working on stretching and strengthening my quad and hamstring last 3 visits to PT. My bend is great , pretty much maxed out over 130, but my straightening is not quite there yet . Around 3 , butTech wants to get it to 0 so working on stretching hamstring ,which I did a bit too forceably pulling it slightly this week. Gonna have to back off a little on intensity of stretch for awhile. See doctor on this coming Monday, but gonna jump the gun a little and play in golf tournament this weekend. He told me at week 8 I was free to play, so will test out, a few holes today to make sure, but really don’t think it will be an issue, since moving and twisting is more pressure on left knee than right, and that knee is fine. Will see if further structured PT is on the horizon after the visit to-doctor, but I would like to continue it for at least another week or two. I enjoy going, and the Therapist is top of his class in knee rehab. Has students interning with him as he teaches physical therapy also. I have learned quite a bit about knee and how it functions listening to him as he tutors them. Hope my fellow bonesmarties are progressing well. When at the doctors, I am gonna have him xray my hips. I expect somewhere down the road I will end up on hip replacement forum unfortunately. Luckily my knee doc also specializes in anterior hip replacement, which is the only proceedure I would consider. Will start to due my due diligence on this operation to make sure I get the best hip implant available today. Definitely not one metal to metal, which I understand has brought on a pretty big class action suit against some of the major long term manufacturers of the implants.
 
@Softtail good to hear how you are doing. I also have great bend but still a couple degrees short of straight. For me this translates to pain behind the knee walking..hamstring issues. I am going to PT twice a week... we will make it through. All the best with your golf game!
 
Hi softtail. Glad you joined us on bonesmart. I had my Left one done December 10 of 18, and my Right one will be done this coming Monday. Your recovery so far sounds about as parallel to mine as any I have read. I also enjoyed that period before the nerve block wore off. I couldn’t believe it when they got me up the afternoon after my surgery, and I could stand with no pain, and actually let go of the walker. I thought, “Wow! This is going to be a piece of cake.” One of my more gargantuan misconceptions as it turned out. A good friend of mine locally here had his RTKR Monday of this week, and his wife texted us that he was sitting up in his chair, had been standing, and was feeling great. We just said, That’s great!” He’ll figure it out soon enough.

I also had difficulty with the straight leg raises. My routine was 3 repetitions of 10 lifts twice daily. I actually don’t remember exactly where the pain was centered, but I remember it was intense. The first time I tried, I was barely able to even get my heel off of the sheet. My objective was 12 inches, and I think the first day I only managed about 4. By the 3rd day, I was getting my 12. Then, on the first try of the 4th day, I gave my mighty first effort, and almost kicked my wife in the face! Straight up, 18-20 inches. I don’t know who was more surprised, me or her. For the first few weeks, what I referred to as my “static pain level” (just laying there dormant and not bugging anybody) was a pretty constant 3 or 4.

And although I firmly stated at 8 weeks that there was no way I would do that again, it turns out it’s really worth it after all. Hope your second recovery continues well; I’ll be joining you soon.
 
Happy to read your recovery and glad you're progressing so well!
 
I expect somewhere down the road I will end up on hip replacement forum unfortunately. Luckily my knee doc also specializes in anterior hip replacement, which is the only proceedure I would consider. Will start to do my due diligence on this operation to make sure I get the best hip implant available today. Definitely not one metal to metal, which I understand has brought on a pretty big class action suit against some of the major long term manufacturers of the implants.
It's not the "best hip implant available" that matters as much as getting the best surgeon available. No matter what the type of hip implant, they are all very similar. It's the surgeon's skill that is the paramount factor in getting a successful joint replacement.

Since the problems with metal on metal implants were highlighted, no surgeon worth his/her salt will use them.
 
Celle, I believe you . Surgeon is key. The one that did my knee only does knees and hips, and uses the anterior method which is a must for me. Knees are turning out good ,so will most likely have him do my hips when time comes. Hope I can get a bit of healing time in for knees before that happens. I am sure you are right about no one using metal on metal anymore, but having read about the class action suit( which may or may not be real) I will certainly do my research before I have hip done.

Denny, good luck with upcoming surgery. Sounds like you know what to expect. That leg lift problem still sticks with me for some reason. I don’t mean the exercise itself, since it is a piece of cake now that I do every day. It’s the fact I could barely move my leg off bed after surgery that plays in my mind. On home stretch with knees now , just need to continue to heal and get stronger.

Delay and DLR thanks for well wishes, and DLR sounds like you are progressing pretty good also. Now a short recount of golf outing. Got all 18: holes in , but by time I finished my hamstring had gotten tight, so walked with noticeable limp. Also knee was a bit sore,which I suspected, but odd thing was how loud the knee clicking noises got by end of round. Throw in a sore back, and I guess you can say I had quite a day. Plenty of Ice and two days later, knee feels ok and hamstring has settled down. Back still not great ,but that may have its own story down the road. Glad I played, but it did show me there is quite a bit of healing that needs to happen before right knee joins the left one lol.
 
Hey everyone been sometime since my last post. I have a friend just starting her recovery journey , so I pointed out how much support I got from bonesmart , and recommended she jump on board.
On the positive side, my recovery is all I hoped it would be , so all you bonesmart it’s starting out the pain and early suffering are going to pay off nicely.

Both knees are at a max bend point close to 140 that even my surgeon was amazed I got to. My left knee is perfectly straight, and the right knee is near 0 and I expect it to end up just as left leg.

Some of us get there quicker than others, but the result of successful surgery ultimately is a set of like new knees. I know from reading hundreds of posts here that not everyone is as fortunate, but for those just recovering from surgery knowing the majority of knee replacements turn out successfully should look forward to a future with pain free knees.
 

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