TKR Mom2Lucy's Recovery Thread

@sistersinhim
I love that photo explanation of the release cut. I often wonder if something went wrong with my lateral release because that’s the area where a lot of my discomfort is.
 
Not sure what it all means, but I see he did perform a medial release.
And found tightness on the lateral side so pie-crusted the IT band utilizing a 15 blade. Can someone clarify these?
Just found an article where Josephine explained the pie crust , but with a needle. I guess using a blade would make somewhat bigger cuts?
Some surgeons use a needle and some use a blade - either a #15 or a #11. It's all the same! They just use the tip.

no 11 and no 15 blades.JPG
 
Happy to report that after a hideous afternoon and evening in the ODIC club, I recovered well overnight. Went to work and stayed the full day, although my surgeon said to do 3-4 hours.(we moved location and re-opening Monday the 19th, so the pressure was on to be ready). I stayed on because I don’t want to ever be seen as “the weakest link” , no one made me do it but me. Self-imposed pressure.
Could barely move both my knee and my lower back, wow the worst pain in weeks. But I guess the recovery is indeed progressing well, as I woke up feeling much, much better than I anticipated.
Happy to drop out of the ODIC after one night, it used to take days to rebound from that kind of pain.:happydance:
 
Recovering from a day of the ODIC quickly is a sure sign that you're on your way! Now, lay back and enjoy your weekend!
 
You nailed it when you said it's quicker to recover these days. I overdid the recumbent bike and elliptical recently and bounced back quickly. Congrats on a full day of work!
 
Hi everyone! Sorry I haven’t been posting, full time work is really cramping my life, lol. I do quickly check through various new posts every few days to try and feel connected. Tomorrow is my six month knee-versary, and I wanted to give an update. I have been working full time a couple of months now, and I still ice and elevate most evenings. I still have the tight band feeling around my knee and some pain around the ankle and down into my foot.
I still am very slow on the stairs, whether up or down. Mind you, I’ve been slow on stairs for at least four years before the knee replacement, so I guess healing time is going to be longer.
And as I’ve been having constant pain in my lower back, on the right side, my chiropractor suggested a small heel lift in my right shoe. This has helped a lot, although the pain has not been eliminated completely. A ten dollar heel lift was a great treatment. For anyone struggling with back pain after this surgery, maybe check into this for yourself.
And I invested in a lounge doctor, wow it’s terrific.
Overall, I am still healing, life is not perfect with my new knee, but the dreadful bone on bone pain is gone, and I am so grateful for that. I wish I could spend more time here on the forum, it was a lifesaver for me. I send you all my warmest hugs for continued and successful recoveries!:wave:
 
So nice to hear from you! You are coming along well, doing stairs comfortably can take a long while for some me of us. I have only just recently seen an improvement in that area.

I was also still icing at 6 months, then shortly after that the frozen gel pack started to hurt, so I stopped. I guess there was very little swelling at that point to cushion it.

I still use my elevating wedge every night! :roseshwr:

Best wishes for continued healing!
 
I'm at 5.5 months and also have that tight feeling encircling my right TKR knee as well as some numbness that comes and goes along the lateral aspect of my right foot, most noticeable at night when I'm lying in bed trying to sleep. There is a significant leg length discrepancy, with the right leg longer than the left now, because the left unoperated knee joint is distorted. I've been using a contraption called an Even-Up strapped to the bottom of the shoe on my left foot, which has enabled me to walk with less pelvic tilt back and forth, but it's still hard on my lower back. It's like a big external lift. I agree that looking at limb length discrepancies can be helpful to addressing lower back pain. At this point my lower back is more limiting than all the misadventures with my knee. A prime motivator to eventually have a left TKR is the hopes that that will even up my gait. Gait training in PT is taking me a long way but it can't overcome distorted anatomy.
 
Hi everyone, here I am at my 8th month anniversary. Sorry I’ve been very neglectful in coming on here, and then I feel guilty because I know this forum was a God-send to me after my tkr.
At eight months out, I still have the tight band feeling and a fair bit of stiffness. But the bone on bone pain is gone, and I am so happy about that:)
I wish I could’ve stayed off work longer, and I encourage anyone going through recovery to take all the time you can. I think that would’ve helped me.
In the process of trying to heal, I have learned I have a couple of congenital spine anomalies I never knew I had, plus advanced arthritis in the lower spine . Chiropractic treatment and acupuncture bring some relief,and now I’m going to try a cortisone injection in my back. Hope it helps. And knowing a few of us on here struggle with back issues, maybe my learning curve can help someone’s else.
I send everyone my wish that you are all doing well in your journey on this crazy path!
 
Nice to hear from you! You still have healing to do, so try not to get discouraged with the tightness and stiffness.

I’m so glad your bone on bone pain is gone! :yes!:

I hope things in your back respond well to the injection and it settles down. I have back issues, too. :boohoo:
 
Thanks, @Jockette, I hoped that by now I would be more active. Guess I just have to be patient....
 
We are all different as are our healing timeframes. My ROM is still improving and I’m 2 years post op. Who would have thought my bend would continue to improve at this late date!
 

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