TKR 3-17 RTKR and Totally "On Course"

[Phil75070]

@Janet2012 Hesitancy? The first time I went to the range to hit balls I guess I did, but that was at 9 weeks. Prior to that I would pretend swing a club just to kind of "test" the knee to see what it might feel like and compared to the pain I used to experience there was no comparison. The hesitancy with regard to hitting balls went away before I finished that first range session. The hesitancy or carefulness going up and down slopes or walking on uneven ground while playing is still there and may always be there from now on.

You don't hit the ball with your legs. I was at a clinic given by Art Sellinger, long drive champion. He demonstrated that fact by hitting balls standing on one leg, only the right then only the left, and by kneeling. He hit the ball just as far as when taking a normal swing. That was never more evident to me than when I fractured my right leg a few years ago. My ortho, also a golfer whom I had played with, put me in a boot instead of a cast and allowed me to play with that boot on after just a couple of weeks. Being my right, back, leg I wasn't able to "push off" but remained very stable over the ball. I played so well with that boot on I had guys offering to buy it when I was done with it to see if it wouldn't improve their game!

 

[71Beetle]

Hi @Phil75070 great tips on your above post. Do you golf every day of the week? My father-in-law belongs to a senior group at his golf club - they golf 3 days per week but never on weekends. They have a tournament every year as well. He won last year. He is a great golfer. I cannot wait to golf next year! I only get out a few times a year but I do love it. Part of my retirement plan is to live near a golf course (we plan on having a place on a lake that has walleye to suit my hubby).

Hope all is well.

 

[Phil75070]

I play, weather permitting, Monday through Friday. The club offers a weekday all inclusive membership that is less expensive than a full 7-day membership. Weekends tend to be too crowded anyway. The Senior Golf Association has a tournament every Wednesday but I stopped playing in them as it wasn't much fun for me.

I did not play in the club's Senior Golf Championship, which is a scratch event, no handicaps, what you shoot is what you get, but came in 2nd and 3rd the two previous years even though it is competing with guys far younger (low 50's in many cases) that hit the ball a country mile!

My current handicap index is 5.7 but it went up to as high as 7.4 in the last six to nine months because of the pain in my knee but has now started to come back down as I get more comfortable with the new knee and am back to playing on a consistent basis. About a year ago my index was 2.4. I'll get back to that level sooner rather than later!

 

[Janet2012]

Then I guess I'm doing okay. I have to pay attention to not hit my shoulders with the club on my swing sometimes, so I have a lot of upper body in my swing naturally. But I need to get my hips around sometimes and that puts the pivot through my left knee, which is where I think I hold back. Actually, without standing there and doing it, I'm not sure what I'm talking about! Lol!


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[Phil75070]

@Janet2012 Hip turn is good as you want to get your weight finishing on your left side. After you get back into the game and gradually build up you will develop confidence in your new knees and not even think about pivoting onto your left knee. When swinging I have zero, zilch, none, nada, thoughts about my new right knee and expect I will get to the same point when I have come back from having the left one done .

 

[Tamsmom]

Hey Phil ,I finally got out to golf in a scramble last week! I sucked but the knee came through ok!


4/1/2014 TKR

 

[71Beetle]

@Phil75070 those are good numbers! I don't have a clue what my handicap is. My husband would have a smart alec remark to that I am sure

@Tamsmom - happy that you got out on the course and that your knee did not give you grief. That is awesome!

 

[Janet2012]

Fortunately, my left knee is no issue, I think I am just subconsciously hesitant. My right knee is more of an issue, but isn't bothered by golfing. I just have to remind myself to get the hip around when I'm hitting behind the ball on my practice swing. If I played as much as you, I'd be a better player, or a very tired one!


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[JustJeff]

Phil, I just now, at the pharmacy, found an office supply that we could both use.

 

[Phil75070]

Hey Phil ,I finally got out to golf in a scramble last week! I sucked but the knee came through ok!

@Tamsmom That's terrific! It is amazing what we can do with these new knees.

 

[Phil75070]

Phil, I just now, at the pharmacy, found an office supply that we could both use.

That sure works for me! LOL

 

[Phil75070]

I don't have a clue what my handicap is

@71Beetle When I got married I was concerned that the extra weight of the wedding ring on my left hand would have a negative impact on my game. I quickly found out the ball and chain on my right foot had a compensating effect.

@Janet2012 It was my right knee that hurt so bad it affected my game and is what drove me to get the TKR. One would think that the left or forward knee would take more of a beating. (see Tiger Woods).

 

[71Beetle]

When I got married I was concerned that the extra weight of the wedding ring on my left hand would have a negative impact on my game. I quickly found out the ball and chain on my right foot had a compensating effect.

Oh Phil...LOL.

 

[Phil75070]

 

[Phil75070]

Relatives down from Chicago are arriving tomorrow so we are having a big cookout at our place. Just in case I might run out I got a propane exchange for the grill. Carrying that 35-40lb full tank back to the car I never gave my knee another thought, stepping up and down curbs with whichever leg was next. No twinges, pulls, stabs, nothing.

 

[icep707]

Thats great news Phil , you are recovered and successfully to boot. The other day I cleaned the baseboards inside my house. I put kneepads on just to be safe. I spent about half an hour on my knee. Admittedly my knee was sore the next day, didnt need to ice or elevate though. I can kneel ! im glad you are progressing . Keep up the great work . Best wishes Iceman

 

[Phil75070]

@icep707 How did it "feel" kneeling? I realize you had knee pads on but I am curious if it felt "natural" or not. The only kneeling I have come close to was in PT when they had me lay on my stomach on one of the big, low tables to do a specific exercise. Even then with the admittedly little pressure on it I did not feel any pain. It just felt somewhat "strange" is the best I can describe it.

 

[icep707]

It is hard to explain , but 6 weeks from now it will feel even more natural to you. You will improve soo much more. Stairs are too easy. Up or down . It really does feel natural but always thinking to be careful . We are still early on . 5 months for me on the 10th. Honestly I surpassed even my expectations. After reading so many horror stories pre op I thought id still be using a cane or something . Take care BTW nice shoe !! Iceman

 

[DanaDelight]

@Phil75070 I must admit-with some shame-that when I read your first post after your surgery with your list of " I am not one of those people" that it made me smile. If I had to make a list like that it would include things like-if there is a rare side effect-I am one of those people, if you had to get a nutty nurse-I am one of those people, if the doctor needs to see some really weird or messed up case-I'm one of those people, if they swear that it has never happened to a single person ever-I will be the one person. Thank you for sharing your story with what I find is a refreshing sense of humor. I haven't made it through you entire recovery thread so excuse me for asking a question that you have probably already addressed but are you going to have your other knee done? I look forward to reading the rest of your recovery thread.

 

[Phil75070]

@DanaDelight Yes I will have my other knee done. Of the two, on X-Rays, it looked the worse of the two but was not giving me the pain that I was experiencing with the right knee. The original plan was to do the left knee about 3 months after this one, but as sometimes happens the pain of the surgical knee and leg made me forget all about the pain in the other knee. Since I am passionate about golf I didn't want to waste the summer recovering from another op so a shot of cortisone has seemed to help and the new plan is to ideally make it to January, or, at the very least, October.

I've always been the one with the jokes, self-deprecating humor and odd sense of what is funny. Maybe it is the voices in my head that make me that way! I can laugh now on the recovery side as it has been a real piece of cake compared to what it took and some of the scares I had in getting medical approval for the procedure. I've never gone into all of that on this side of the forum. Maybe one day I will.