TKR 40 yr old mama's recovery journey<

[Jajakio]

While some struggle with pain and swelling from PT, some of us don't find it particularly awful. I wonder if it doesnt have to do with multiple things. Maybe general fitness, quality of the surgery, pain tolerance and more. I did everything I was asked to do in PT and did not find painful or even all that challenging after the first week. I had little swelling after the first few weeks. You learn to assess how much your knee will let you do comfortably. It seems that may be very different for some of us than others.

 

[SpaceGirl]

@JoDeNaCaMo How is recovery coming along? I followed your pre-op thread but some how missed your post op. I know its so hard to sit and do nothing while you feel good and feel you COULD do something. I have read so much on these boards, that when it happens, you (general you) start thinking oh let me cook, or clean, or whatever, because you feel good. Guess what that leads too?? The overdid it club! I have refrained so much from getting up and wanting to do more because I seem well a 7 weeks, but remind myself it's still very early in the game. I do a little more now of course than I did the first 4-5 weeks, but other than walking around the house with occasional exercises (really hardly any) and icing, I just chill and watch tv. I can now do school work with my 7 yr old, we homeschool, because I can do without heavy pain meds.

I hope you had a great Christmas, check in when you can!

 

[JoDeNaCaMo]

I sort of dropped out of sight on this forum - life got busy and I just didn't think of it - sorry about that!

It's been 11 weeks since my TKR.
I'm so incredibly glad I got it done. My left knee is now stronger than my right.
I've been working on strengthening my leg muscles with yoga balance exercises, neighborhood walks and my stationary bike - I can bike again!!
Very little swelling left in my knee and I can now bend it to 130 - which is a miracle, considering that I lived with a bend of 90 or less for the last 25 yrs.
The fact that I can practically run up and down the stairs now is absolutely amazing.
I even started light jogging - which still feels very odd to my body and I've been taking it slow.
The pain never got past a 4 or 5 during the whole ordeal. More aching than anything else. I stopped taking Tylenol regularly around week 7, after my trip to Mexico (which was on week 6).
I started teaching again at week 7 and it feels just fine. I make sure to alternate between standing and sitting - too much of either stiffens up my knee. Some days I'll ice it after work but don't always feel the need to.

One thing that I did that I think helped with the lack of pain was having massage work done on my leg prior and post surgery. I go to a massage therapist that specializes in scar and tissue trauma. She was able to loosen my tissues and leg muscles prior to the surgery and then, a few weeks after, started light massage on my swollen knees tissues. The swelling would immediately lessen after a session with her and my bend would improve. I was also able to get all feeling back on my knee. The surgeon mentioned that he intentionally sniped a small nerve on the left side of my knee (hence the lack of feel) and I assumed I would always have a dead spot there, but a few massage therapy sessions resolved that - it still feels different, a little like pins and needles, but at least the feeling is back.

Last week was my last PT session. I never did weights with him for which I'm glad, yoga or pilates that privileges core strength is more my cup of tea, so we worked more on balancing and bending type of exercises.

I'm looking forward biking outside this spring, once our snowstorm season is finally past

I feel very blessed that this surgery and recovery has gone so well, considering my prior unfortunate history with surgeries, I certainly was not expecting such a smooth ride!

 

[sistersinhim]

What a fabulous post! You are doing very well for so early in your recovery!

 

[KarriB]

Wow! You’re doing great!

 

[kneeper]

Excellent report. It's good to hear these "uneventful" stories. I'm amazed you're doing so well being back at work at 7 weeks, but great to hear.

 

[jandoh]

I sort of dropped out of sight on this forum - life got busy and I just didn't think of it - sorry about that!

It's been 11 weeks since my TKR.
I'm so incredibly glad I got it done. My left knee is now stronger than my right.
I've been working on strengthening my leg muscles with yoga balance exercises, neighborhood walks and my stationary bike - I can bike again!!
Very little swelling left in my knee and I can now bend it to 130 - which is a miracle, considering that I lived with a bend of 90 or less for the last 25 yrs.
The fact that I can practically run up and down the stairs now is absolutely amazing.
I even started light jogging - which still feels very odd to my body and I've been taking it slow.
The pain never got past a 4 or 5 during the whole ordeal. More aching than anything else. I stopped taking Tylenol regularly around week 7, after my trip to Mexico (which was on week 6).
I started teaching again at week 7 and it feels just fine. I make sure to alternate between standing and sitting - too much of either stiffens up my knee. Some days I'll ice it after work but don't always feel the need to.

One thing that I did that I think helped with the lack of pain was having massage work done on my leg prior and post surgery. I go to a massage therapist that specializes in scar and tissue trauma. She was able to loosen my tissues and leg muscles prior to the surgery and then, a few weeks after, started light massage on my swollen knees tissues. The swelling would immediately lessen after a session with her and my bend would improve. I was also able to get all feeling back on my knee. The surgeon mentioned that he intentionally sniped a small nerve on the left side of my knee (hence the lack of feel) and I assumed I would always have a dead spot there, but a few massage therapy sessions resolved that - it still feels different, a little like pins and needles, but at least the feeling is back.

Last week was my last PT session. I never did weights with him for which I'm glad, yoga or pilates that privileges core strength is more my cup of tea, so we worked more on balancing and bending type of exercises.

I'm looking forward biking outside this spring, once our snowstorm season is finally past

I feel very blessed that this surgery and recovery has gone so well, considering my prior unfortunate history with surgeries, I certainly was not expecting such a smooth ride!

Wow! Your post is very inspiring - I am almost jealous. How I wished my left knee would bend enough so I can exercise on the bike; hopefully in time this will happen. Really nice to hear that you’re doing so well. Keep it up!