incision looks great knee in perfect alignment just don't have the bend that they want. I'm at 3 weeks and 3 days and only 65 degrees bending my knee, surgeon not happy he says in 3 weeks I need to have it at 90° or he's going to do a MUA. He wants me to do pt 5 days a week. Got some hard thinking to do here I know I don't do well with extensive PT
@rtkneeandy
IT sounds to me as if your knee is behaving perfectly normally.
A bend of 65 at just over 3 weeks isn't bad at all.
It will continue to increase as long as you don't stress it and make it more swollen with too much PT.
You see, what is stopping your knee from bending more right now is that it's swollen. Just like a garden hose that becomes stiff when it is filled with water, your knee is stiff because of the swelling. As the swelling goes down, your knee will start to bend more easily.
So, instead of increasing the amount of PT you do, spend as much time as you can resting, icing and elevating your knee.
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.
My surgeon doesn't allow any PT at all for the first month after a knee replacement. He says your knee needs that time, to start on its journey of healing. For that month, we rest, ice and elevate our leg, and walk around the house.
After that month, we just go to PT once every 2 weeks, where we are shown a few new exercises to do at home.
His patients all do well and achieve good ROM, as I did, and he hasn't had to do a manipulation to help with ROM for the past 4 years. I think that speaks for itself.
As for your surgeon saying he will do an MUA if you haven't reached a certain number by your next visit - my, isn't he the impatient one!
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
I want you to know that you have a choice as to whether you have an MUA and also concerning how often you go to PT. It is your body and your knee and you are the only one who has the right to say what will happen to it. Other people, such as your surgeon and your PT therapist, can advise, but you have the right to choose whether or not to accept the advice.
CONSENT: what it means and how it can be used
Saying no to therapy - am I allowed to?
In any case, there's very little merit in having an MUA so early in your recover. It would re-damage soft tissues that have just started healing and it will set back your recovery clock to zero. It's much better to be patient and let your knee heal some more.
MUA: the ineffectiveness of early MUA (JBJS)
United States
