MUA 12 weeks post op question<

[Celle]

Icing helps a lot. You can ice for much longer than 30 minutes, as long as you make sure you have some material between your skin and the icing medium, to prevent frost bite. I used to ice all night long.

You can continue to go to PT, as long as you don't do any of the exercises that Josephine recommended you stop. Just using the exercycle, on no resistance, is helpful, and doing heel slides is OK, as long as you do them properly, with no force and nothing to help the bend:
Heel slides and how to do them properly

 

[Josephine]

Wow, Celle - you a mind reader or what?

Also my doctor just referred me for more PT, 10 sessions! What should I do?

I'd politely decline! If you are concerned about refusing to do therapy, you need to read this Saying no to therapy - am I allowed to?

OKAY, so I can get my whole hand under it.

Ah, then +10. But no worries - you still have HEAPS of time for it to improve.

I did try icing for 30 minutes and it felt so good.

Doesn't it just? I just went totally when I iced!

 

[kneeper]

The doc can refer you for 10 PT sessions, that doesn't mean you have to do them all close together--or once you're doing well that you have to use them all. I didn't use all the PT sessions I had allocated for the 2nd knee.

 

[skippyhak]

Also I'm still taking pain meds. Percocet 5-325 twice a day. Morning and late afternoon. I've dropped off the bedtime pill, didn't do much as far as improving sleep. I'm up once each night, sometimes twice. So most nights I get up feeling like I did not sleep very well. Usually dose off once during day.

Overall it sounds like your doing too much. Maybe need additional ice and elevate to see if pain will swelling will improve over a week or so? This is my 3rd go around on replacement and I'm hoping I've just become a "slow" healer and it will all improve over the next 6 to 9 months. I'm worried though.
Anyway....good luck on your recovery. I tried doing this post by coping yours @BarbieQ and then commenting on specific parts. i hope it makes sense.

 

[skippyhak]

@BarbieQ .... my post didn't work out that well!

 

[Ruby9297]

Hey, @BarbieQ, my TKR was on July 11th, just 9 days before your surgery, and I'm still taking pain medication,and I'm not back at work until probably November 6th. While everyone heals at different rates, I think our doctors give us very unrealistic expectations for being back to normal again. I've spoken to several people who've had TKR's, and they tell me it takes an entire year to get back to normal. I can believe it. I think you're doing well, and should cut yourself some slack! Heal well, my friend!


Sent from my iPad using BoneSmart Forum

 

[sistersinhim]

I also had a slow extension. My best way for me was to hold on to my walker and take a stride as long as my leg would let me. The walker kept my balance as I lengthen my steps. This helped me a lot. Oh, and holding on to my rails on my steps, I would step on edge of the step and let my heel drop. It felt so good, but it had to be done very slowly! Good luck!

 

[Josephine]

I agree with that, Paula!

 

[BarbieQ]

Well, now I have to have arthroscopic surgery on my knee! scheduled for November 10. Anyone had this done and any advice for after surgery?

BTW my knee seems stiffer now and my ROM seems to be less:(

 

[sistersinhim]

I have to have arthroscopic surgery on my knee!

Why do you have to have surgery on your knee? Is it your tkr knee or your other one?

 

[skippyhak]

I'm curious if its your TKR knee?

 

[BarbieQ]

Yes it's my new knee. Because I am 15 weeks post op and my range of motion and flexion are not good they are going to break up scar tissue and then back to PT to make it happen with my ROM. Hopefully it works and this knee will bend and allow me to return to work. I've been off work since July 29!

 

[sistersinhim]

What is your ROM? Are you swollen? I hope you're not doing this too soon. Have you been resting your knee, icing and elevating? The worst thing you can do is to go back to PT shortly after this surgery. Your knee has to heal first. Your knee is just over 3 months old. That's 1/4 of the way of being healed. It just needs time and patience.

 

[skippyhak]

Is this an arthroscopic removal of scar tissue or manipulation under anesthesia? I'm 11 weeks and my stats are similar to yours but I still improving slowly as far as ROM and extension. But my future might require another procedure if things do not continue to improve.
I just re-read your earlier post and it said "arthroscopic" so I guess that answers my question. Good luck on how this plays out! I'll be watching closely!

 

[DebM]

I am 9 months out and still improving. In fact my OS says it will continue up to 18mts. Please consider all the advice here before you proceed with further surgery.

 

[Celle]

Because I am 15 weeks post op and my range of motion and flexion are not good they are going to break up scar tissue and then back to PT to make it happen with my ROM.

It sounds to me as if your surgeon wants to do an MUA - a manipulation - rather than an arthroscopy. Do make certain exactly what he is going to do before you consent to any surgery.
MUA (Manipulation under Anaesthetic) and Adhesions
MUA for Stiffness Following TKR
MUA: the ineffectiveness of early MUA (JBJS)

 

[LeeApril26]

OKAY, so I can get my whole hand under it. Also my doctor just referred me for more PT, 10 sessions! What should I do?

I did try icing for 30 minutes and it felt so good.

Thanks for the great advice Josephine.

Your PT makes you work too hard. Mine massaged the area around my knee and did trigger point release of the tight muscles in my legs.
Just did heel slides and a bending exercise at home. Had the massage twice a week for several months.

 

[sistersinhim]

PT won't help that extension anymore than your walking will. But, they can sure aggravate your knee, causing it to swell and then lose some of the extension you already have! You don't need PT. You just need to lengthen your stride when you walk. That's all I did.

 

[BarbieQ]

So I haven't been on here in awhile. I had the arthroscopy done on November 10 and that next Monday was able to ride the bike for 5 minutes with no problem! But on Thursday of that same week my knee was frozen again!

I returned to work part time on December 4 and started more walking and my normal activities which was the best thing I could do! My last PT session was December 14 and my ROM was worse than when I started PT! I was so outdone. How could that be? I stretch and try to bend and straighten my knee IT JUST DOESN'T HAPPEN. I am going to see a pain management doctor on Jan. 25 to see if he can help me as the longer I am on my feet the pain increases. I try to ice but probably don't do it often enough or elevate my knee. Does the icing and elevation become a part of what I need to do EVERY DAY? I am feeling like there is no way this knee is ever gonna feel good. I am stiff and limping through my life now. Sometimes I think that this was the worst decision I've made.

I feel like crying a lot. A LOT! (AND I DO CRY A LOT) when no one sees

 

[Celle]

I had the arthroscopy done on November 10 and that next Monday was able to ride the bike for 5 minutes with no problem! But on Thursday of that same week my knee was frozen again!

Did your surgeon cut into your knee again? I'm just trying to establish whether you had open surgery or a manipulation under anaesthetic.
It sounds to me as if the problem was not adhesions, but soft tissue inflammation, probably made worse by a post-op exercise programme.

I returned to work part time on December 4 and started more walking and my normal activities which was the best thing I could do! My last PT session was December 14 and my ROM was worse than when I started PT! I was so outdone. How could that be? I stretch and try to bend and straighten my knee IT JUST DOESN'T HAPPEN.

I'm glad you've stopped going to PT. Why not stop all the exercises and just do your normal activities of daily living? It's pretty obvious that the exercises aren't helping, so stop doing them and just let you knee calm down. It was upset again by the most recent surgery and it's reacted by getting stiff.

Give yourself and your knee a rest by stopping thinking about ROM. What you can do with your knee is far more important than the numbers anyway.
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.

I try to ice but probably don't do it often enough or elevate my knee. Does the icing and elevation become a part of what I need to do EVERY DAY? I am feeling like there is no way this knee is ever gonna feel good. I am stiff and limping through my life now.

You won't have to keep on icing and elevating for the rest of your life - even though it probably feels like that right now. For now, it will probably help, but as your knee relaxes you will be able to gradually stop.

It's not quite 6 months since you had your TKR, so your knee is only half way through its journey of healing. It's still a work in progress and where it is now is not where it's going to end up. There's still plenty of time for improvement.