PKR 4 hour ice pack myth

@Rick951 , you're not kidding, that was rough. Got some sleep eventually. I think the key was finding the right icepack ...... or painkiller.
 
@Woodpusher From all of the reading here, the main thing I've noticed is that recovery from a PKR is not necessarily any easier/better/faster than a TKR---though Drs like to suggest it's easier & faster. Most people that come here seem to agree. I'd cut yourself some slack there. :console2:
 
Ugh, night 4 is like night 2 for me, can't get comfortable to sleep. The nurses are right when they say Oxy only works if you're not already in a bunch of pain. This has gotten away from me a little. I had a good day today and probably got cocky and did too much. Lesson learned hopefully.
 
Rest, rest, rest.

Don’t feel like you’re doing nothing when you rest, because when you rest you are giving your knee the best circumstance in which to heal. It’s a good investment in your new knee.
And this is only a PKR!
I also had a partial (a Patellofemoral) and I thought the same thing. All I learned about partials before surgery said quicker recovery than from a total and a more natural feel. That most definitely has not happened in my case.
 
@Woodpusher We seem to be on similar pages, no matter our activity. I thought the first few nights were ok, but last night was absolute misery. I'm off to update my own thread, but please know you're not alone. The nights seem to just get worse in my opinion, and I hope it turns around soon.
 
The physical therapist who came to my house seems knowledgeable and reliable. She's looking for increased range of motion from me and had stated numerical targets. I think I'm going to err on the side of working the exercises
I had a good day today and probably got cocky and did too much
At only days out of surgery your knee needs only gentle movements. Your numbers will come along fine if you just give your knee a chance to heal.

It’s not exercising that gets our range of motion back, it’s Time:

Time to recover.
Time for pain and swelling to settle.
Time to heal.

Our range of motion is right there all
along just waiting for that to happen so it can show itself.

In the general run of things, it doesn't need to be fought for, worked hard for or worried about. It will happen. Exercise as in strength training is counter-productive and in the early weeks does more harm than good. Normal activity is the key to success.
 
@Woodpusher We seem to be on similar pages, no matter our activity. I thought the first few nights were ok, but last night was absolute misery. I'm off to update my own thread, but please know you're not alone. The nights seem to just get worse in my opinion, and I hope it turns around soon.

I'm going to write a song about our experiences in Am.
 
Rest, rest, rest.

Don’t feel like you’re doing nothing when you rest, because when you rest you are giving your knee the best circumstance in which to heal. It’s a good investment in your new knee.

I also had a partial (a Patellofemoral) and I thought the same thing. All I learned about partials before surgery said quicker recovery than from a total and a more natural feel. That most definitely has not happened in my case.

@Jockette, I was walking wrong, hitting the floor with a bent knee on the bad leg. That was putting a lot of pressure on the patella.

I'm able to do the gentle exercises the physical therapist gave me. To be honest, the ADL's are harder than these exercises.

Thanks for being there.
 
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Hello. You've heard of the 6 week myth of window of opportunity for ROM? How about the myth of the 4 hour cold gel pack? That's what the nurses at the hospital say, switch these packs every 4 hours and you'll be in the correct temperate cycle, that is cold at 1st then tapering off to cool or neutral after 4 hours. Now these are good packs, but that's too long, I'd give it 2.5, 3 hours tops.

Now imagine you get home and that knee is a good 10 degrees warmer than the rest of your skin 24x7. Now its 60 - 90 minutes of useful time. And they don't wrap around the knee like a bonesmart article on icing wants them too. I guess my point is that's a lot of gel packs to go thru. The continuous delivery system is a lot better once it's setup.
Ken
 
I have a cryo cuff, and rather than using ice cubes I freeze 330ml water bottles. I have 6 bottles in rotation and they provide chilled/ice cold water for about 2 hrs when put in ice bucket in pairs. Ice machines in UK are rare, and bags of ice can get expensive so this is a good alternative. If I have to go in car (for PT/Hydrotherapy) I use 2 gel packs with 1 sleeve and a thin face cloth to prevent iceburn and wrap around front and back. There is use of both. Last year when I had had my PKR and had to fly (hand luggage only) I bought an old fashioned style ice bag which when empty was able to go through airport security without restriction, and in departure lounge I asked in coffee shop when I bought a drink if they could fill it with ice. This worked well for the 1.5hr flight.

My point is flexibility is the key and whatever works and is affordable for you or any bonesmartie is key. Continuous ice systems are costly in UK, and Cryocuff is the most affordable if you get the manual system (I got that last year with my PKR, and bought the motorised lid this year with my TKR, which I agree is so much better).
 
I just bought a large pack of frozen sweetcorn from which I made four ice packs in my own polythene freezer bags. This way I was able to have two in the freezer all the time and to have two cold ones on the go (one on each knee as I had bi-lateral replacements). I used tea towels to protect me from freezer burn. Because of the way the sweetcorn moves you can wrap the ice pack around your knee exactly as you need it. I think frozen peas would work just as well too. These were cheap and worked very well.
 
I, on the other hand, recycled the ice packs that came with my antibiotic bimonthly shipment. I got a total of 16 ice packs stored comfortably in the freezer ready to use when needed. Plus, I still have my Dura soft ice knee wrap from my first surgery, in 2012. I ice 3 to 4 times a day and sometimes at night, so ice is in big demand in my household.
 
I have a cryo cuff, and rather than using ice cubes I freeze 330ml water bottles. I have 6 bottles in rotation and they provide chilled/ice cold water for about 2 hrs when put in ice bucket in pairs. Ice machines in UK are rare, and bags of ice can get expensive so this is a good alternative. If I have to go in car (for PT/Hydrotherapy) I use 2 gel packs with 1 sleeve and a thin face cloth to prevent iceburn and wrap around front and back. There is use of both. Last year when I had had my PKR and had to fly (hand luggage only) I bought an old fashioned style ice bag which when empty was able to go through airport security without restriction, and in departure lounge I asked in coffee shop when I bought a drink if they could fill it with ice. This worked well for the 1.5hr flight.

My point is flexibility is the key and whatever works and is affordable for you or any bonesmartie is key. Continuous ice systems are costly in UK, and Cryocuff is the most affordable if you get the manual system (I got that last year with my PKR, and bought the motorised lid this year with my TKR, which I agree is so much better).

@lisabl, I think I have a problem with the sleeves. They're mostly too thick. I'm hoping the warmth of this knee on day 6 isn't unusual. It doesn't feel bad and hasn't alarmed any of the PTs, but it is always warm. Forget about a cloth underneath, with this thick insert in these sleeves, I feel like the knee is warming the ice gel, not the other way around!

The wraps that are all in 1 seem to work best, they're right on the skin. Iceburn? Nah, they go warm too soon. I guess I'm used to a tight fit. When I finished playing tennis I would wrap that sucker tight, 30 minutes max.

How long after your PKR did you need to get on a plane?
 
I, on the other hand, recycled the ice packs that came with my antibiotic bimonthly shipment. I got a total of 16 ice packs stored comfortably in the freezer ready to use when needed. Plus, I still have my Dura soft ice knee wrap from my first surgery, in 2012. I ice 3 to 4 times a day and sometimes at night, so ice is in big demand in my household.

@TimeBuster, 16 packs, that's what I'm talking about! Hey, did you ice more frequent early on? If I could ice 24x7 I probably would. As it is, I mostly break just to reload.
 
@Woodpusher I flew 8 weeks post op with clearance from my OS. I just gave myself longer to get about the airports and through security.
 
@Woodpusher
You'll notice that I have merged your newest thread with your original recovery thread. For several reasons, we prefer that you only have one recovery thread:
  • That way, we have all your information in one place. This makes it easier to go back and review your history before providing advice.
  • If you keep starting new threads, you miss the posts and advice others have left for you in the old threads, and some information may be unnecessarily repeated
  • Having only one thread will act as a diary of your progress that you can look back on.
So please post any updates, questions or concerns about your recovery here. If you prefer a different thread title, just post what you want and we'll get it changed for you.
If you need an urgent response to a question, just tag a member of staff.
How to tag another member; how to answer when someone tags you

Here are the instructions on finding your thread, How can I find my threads and posts? . Many members bookmark their thread, so they can find it when they log on.
 
There are a lot of products out there to ice your knee post surgically. Personally I liked the Breg Ice Machine providing continuous cooling.
For some flying information here is a link to an article in the library. Flying soon after surgery
 
@Woodpusher
You'll notice that I have merged your newest thread with your original recovery thread. For several reasons, we prefer that you only have one recovery thread:

I consider this more of a rant rather than another recovery thread but thank you for merging the two :)

Ken
 
Question on early exercises. The PT has me standing and leaning on the kitchen counter, raising the affected leg to do lifts and extensions, fine. She also wants me to switch legs. This puts a bunch of weight on the bad leg. I thought we weren't supposed to be doing exercises that involved load yet. It hurts a little and I back off. Maybe it's ok since I'm not stretching anything. One of first things the doc said to me after surgery was that he doesn't want me favoring the bad leg, so who knows?
 
If it was me, I wouldn’t do it. You’re only one week post op. You are not weak needing strengthening at this point, you are surgically wounded, needing healing.

@Celle has a surgeon who doesn’t allow any exercises the first month, and his patients have excellent outcomes.

Once again, different opinions.
 

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