TKR 10k hopeful - May 31, 2015.

[praise1989]

So thankful to have this forum as support.... I decided that if I'm going to endure pain from stretching, I would rather do it to my self on a slower scale. So all weekend I did wall slides and continued pushing my knee to the point of being very uncomfortable. This resulted in a 92 ROM today at PT feels much better when I work hard on it rather than them. When I'm reading the posts on this site, I feel empowered and I don't consider myself to be weak, but when I get in front of the pt people and others who are there doing same pt and being pushed to get higher ROMs, I honestly start feeling the need to catch up. I asked the guy (who was filling in for my regular therapist) - what's the big deal on rom? And he said the sooner is better, as it only gets harder to accomplish later on and I need a certain amount to climb stairs and get in/out of vehicles. He said you don't want to be accommodating for the things you can't do, when you can work hard and accomplish it now. It made sense to hear that and it does feel good having higher rom #s rather than lower.

I have to balance what I read here with my reality, pt and what my OS is expecting when I return on 3/13. Not to mention, I'm reaching for the goal of doing a 10k end of May.

When you know better, do better.....so I will continue doing wall slides and walking the track, which btw, I was able to walk 2 miles on Saturday without cane in hand (35min miles) and I'm taking less medication

This journey is so individual for each of us and I know this process is being used to make me a better person overall and I am so happy to be at this point now rather than the beginning. My thing now is that my swelling seems to have reached a plateau, meaning not much more going down as I had expected. Going into week 5 with positive attitude and really looking forward to more sunny days ahead. Thanks for all you do to inspire, motivate and uplift the people on this forum, as no good thing is wasted and every time we take the time to encourage, offer information/knowledge or add your experience it is greatly appreciated by another God Bless!

 

[Celle]

when I get in front of the pt people and others who are there doing same pt and being pushed to get higher ROMs, I honestly start feeling the need to catch up. I asked the guy (who was filling in for my regular therapist) - what's the big deal on rom? And he said the sooner is better, as it only gets harder to accomplish later on and I need a certain amount to climb stairs and get in/out of vehicles. He said you don't want to be accommodating for the things you can't do, when you can work hard and accomplish it now.

There's absolutely no need to rush to catch up. Your knee will get there without all that pressure.

The PT is wrong. There is no need to rush to get ROM. You can continue to improve ROM for a year or more, with minimal effort. It doesn't get harder to achieve ROM. Have you read these?
It's never too late to get more ROM!
It's worth the wait for ROM

Working hard to achieve ROM is unnecessary and can even slow down your progress.

For what it's worth, I had no PT at all. I just did a few, easy exercises at home, mostly heel slides, and practiced walking correctly. Now, at 5 and a half months since surgery, my ROM is about 130 (and still improving), I can straighten my leg completely, and I am back to a completely normal life.

 

[kneeper]

I got a bit of that unhappiness with my measurement from my PT with this latest knee. But I was swollen and it took a long time to go down. Once the swelling reduced and with regular but not overaggressive exercise I started gaining again. My new knee feels great and I even feel like I can do more as the months progress, just with doing normal activities.

 

[Celle]

I know you've set yourself a sort of goal and deadline, @praise1989 , but please don't let that pressure you into working too hard at trying to improve your ROM. Slow, steady progress is kinder to your knee and to yourself.

 

[praise1989]

3 miles on the track today.....averaging 26min milesfeels so good to be walking at a pace, even if it is a slow one.

Late calling to get my Percocet refilled, so not sure what to expect once I take the last 3 pills. Got some tylenol as a backup, as it's possible I may not get my new meds til Friday. As long as I have one before and after pt tomorrow, I believe I'll be okay Thought I would get them today, but since they require a hard copy from the doctor, it takes longer for a courier to get to the pharmacy close to me.....I shall be patient and call if pain gets unbearable

Week 5 and I am still feeling better everyday even though it seems slow. I'm one of those who watched YouTube videos of people with the quick recoveries and thought surely at my age (48) I would be much further along
I only have to ice a couple times a day now and am able to do much more around the house, and especially happy that I've graduated from carrying cane outside of house. Swelling still kinda bulges through any long pants I wear, but since I've lost 15lbs, it's okay. Hoping I dont gain weight once I get off of meds. More activity should makeup for this right?? Still feels weird to be losing weight with such little activity, when I used to struggle just to get 5-10lbs off walking miles on the cart path, which included a lot of hills...probably loss of muscle that weighs more.

Anyway, I'll see how far I can make it into the night without taking one of my precious 3 jewels...

 

[SuperSnapper]

Good news about the walking. It will speed up and it's better to get there slowly. I think you are doing very well. At your stage, I was still icing very regularly and if you have an increase in pain, ice will help a lot but ring your doc if it gets too much .the fact that you still have quite a lot of swelling, means the ice will really help if you do it very frequently.
Keep on going , you are doing so well.

 

[praise1989]

Thanks @SuperSnapper you really made me think when you said because I still have swelling, I should continue ice regularly. I would normally just ice after exercise or when the knee feels hot/pain, but if I can get rid of more of the swelling, I could do so much more so this morning I'm on ice

Happy to report that I didn't have to take any pain meds last night and I'm not in any pain this morning....things are really looking up I have pt in a few hours so I'll take one pill just before due to the increased pushing of the knee. Something new this morning was when I was going upstairs I could get my operated leg up with no problem and I really felt as if I could climb steps normally, but I only did for a couple of steps because I wasn't sure if I should be doing that. I'll ask the therapist today about it, as I've seen others doing a step exercise but I haven't made it to that level yet.

Have an awesome day.....I know we aren't suppose to focus on rom, but I'm really hoping for an increase up from the 92 on Monday

 

[SuperSnapper]

@praise1989 I hope the icing works for you. I used ice instead of meds after 3 weeks as I have Kidney Disease and try to keep any meds to a minimum. The ice worked wonders and I even went to bed at night with a gel pack on my knee! Be careful not to ask too much of your knee in these early stages. You don't want to overdo it.

I usually climb stairs normally now but going down I still "listen" to my knee and don't yet do it automatically all the time. I did walk 4 and 1/2 miles over rough ground yesterday at about 13 weeks after my partial! I've worked up to that slowly with almost no PT at all just gentle stuff at home and now in the gym.

Good luck with your walking. It's still a long time until May 31st and with steady progress, you can make it.

best wishes and have a good day.

 

[TexasTee]

Hi Praise - good for you, sounds like everything is going great! Congrats on the increasing distance and time. I think we're ok doing stairs normally. I'm a few days ahead of you and I've been doing them for a little while, I'm pretty sure that's one of those things that the knee tells you when its ready to do. Going up is always fine, I'm careful to make sure there is a good rail before I start going down though.

 

[praise1989]

Happy to report 94rom
with no pushing in pt today

@SuperSnapper it is so inspiring to hear that you did 4.5 miles rough terrain...really gives me hope for my 10k and I'm going to do more icing instead of meds, especially since im realizing I don't need as much. I just took my first Tylenol instead of Percocet after pt along with icing and I'm feeling just fine and dandy right now, but of course I'll really know after tonight. Thanks for your kind words

@TexasTee yes, she said I should move forward on the stairs, as we will begin doing it in pt next week anyway. I Pray your infection heals quickly and you don't have too much of a setback. All but 3 of my strips are still hanging on to my knee....I'll be patient with allowing them to fall off. Do partial knees heal faster, or is still the same total? Either way, journey not so fun.

Rainy and temperature dropping in the Atlanta area today, but Saturday will be full sun with no wind, which equals for me.

 

[praise1989]

Hello to all! Just returned from my 6 week follow up appt with OS and all is well except I'll need to get 112 flex ion within the next three weeks to avoid considering manipulation.... I'm currently at 97. She says the numbers aren't as important as the pt stresses and she tends to look more at the activity of the patient, which she was very pleased to hear that I'm walking on the track twice weekly and no longer using the cane. I also realized after Walking down driveway to the mailbox yesterday, that I can walk uphill rather quickly I wasn't expecting that. Anyway, OS ordered me a brace device that will assist with stretching my knee (does the stretching for me). Has anyone ever used something this? They will send someone to get measurements and then have it made to my size and shipped.

I'm down to 2-3 pain pills per day and much more activity. I walked 4 miles on Thursday a few hours after pt and didn't feel exhausted nor did I have any extra swelling. Down to 22 min miles. Feels good to shave the minutes off in such record time. With many warm days ahead, I'm looking forward to being outside and getting back to normal slowly but surely.

 

[SuperSnapper]

You seem to be doing pretty well to me! 4 miles at 6 weeks is very good! Not heard of the stretching device.

 

[SuperSnapper]

I'm doing a 5 mile walk next week. Hope I finish it but it's flatter terrain than the one I did last week. I've been working in the gym so things are getting stronger. I think it's good to work up gradually. If I do a bit much and If my knee hurts I stop and do something easier or go home and have a rest and try again next time.
Good luck with your training but take care, you are still in early recovery really. But you've got a great attitude.

 

[praise1989]

@SuperSnapper that is great! I love walking....my surgeon told me if you were active before the surgery, you will continue to be active afterwards and that is so true! I'm looking forward to being much more active....already signed up for the peachtree road race in Atlanta 10k. Good luck on your 5 miler.... What is your mile per minute time?

 

[SuperSnapper]

@praise1989 hi , not sure about miles per hour but I can do 2.2 in about 55 mins. That's all the way round the area I live in. I'm finding it hard to keep up a constant quick walk as I used to do but I guess that will improve over time. I really hope so as I HATE walking too slowly!
You are doing really well . Walking is great exercise and I like to take my camera out with me so sometimes walks take longer if I stop to take shots!
We have lots of walking groups in the UK . My husband walks a 10-12 miles walk with his group every week and really enjoys it. I do shorter ones with my group and we end up at a pub for lunch. It's a great way to make friends too and healthy! We're lucky as we live in Yorkshire which has wonderful varied walking country to enjoy. Enjoy your walking xxx

 

[praise1989]

@SuperSnapper thats a great pace and yes, I'm finding that it improves every time I go for a walk.... Today I did 3 miles on the track and one of them was a 20 min mile, the other two were 23 and 22min. I had a pace of 15min miles before surgery and 12min before knee got so bad it didn't respond to cortizone shot. I live in an are that has over 90 miles of cart paths with plenty of routes to choose from, but they include hills and inclines for which I'm not yet ready. Soon and very soon I will be back on the cart paths and enjoying the scenery and taking photoslike you. I don't like walking slow either! Happy Walking

 

[TexasTee]

Congrats on the walking Praise - you are doing really well! I'm interesting in the stretching device - is it a CPM? Constant passive motion?

 

[praise1989]

@TexasTee i will take a photo and post the stretching brace once it arrives....I am scheduled to be measured for it tomorrow. It will be a 3 month rental. My OS says it will do the stretching for me. Maybe it is a cpm, I'm not sure, but she believes it will get me higher range of motion. She says the average is 112 and she will be satisfied with that to avoid doing manipulation, which she says will also increase swelling and that's not good. I worked hard this weekend so I'm pretty sure my numbers have increased - I'll find out tomorrow.

Will be happy when I can walk freely without feeling the restriction in my knee...the more I walk, the better it feels.

 

[praise1989]

Great PT today! No measurements included road the bike in full rotation for 10min, then worked on a couple of weight machines. First time on the step exercise and I knocked it out of the park
Heading out for what I predict to be a great walk in this nice weather
HAPPY RECOVERY TO ALL - THINGS ARE LOOKING UP

 

[praise1989]

This is device I just got measured for