TKR 5 Years Post Op

[dvannie]

@Spex10 It certainly does! I keep staring at it while it's bent on a chair and I'm finding that I now have habit of leaving my leg fairly straight at its old bend limit when I try to do things that I will need to break.

 

[nensi]

That must be a relief ! Understatement of the decade...
And great that the MUA is behind you, good to relax and ice and let the healing begin!

 

[keefsmom]

So very happy to hear this good news!

 

[Spex10]

Desperately uncool but I'd sit on the loo just smiling at my knee happily bending at 90 degrees. We have a wood floor in our bathroom and previously I could only bend my knee to a certain plank. After MUA I could move it several planks in. It's the little things....!

 

[Celle]

Great news about the MUA, @dvannie .
Look after that knee now, and only exercise it gently.

 

[dvannie]

Oh don't worry @Celle, my baby knee will be completely babied! I'm enjoying the resistence free feeling of my knee when I walk and the 90 degree bend too much to let anyone ruin it!

 

[sistersinhim]

What a wonderful bend! Don't be discouraged if you lose that much bend for a little while. Your knee will swell after you MUA, limiting your bend. But, you know it there and it will come back!

 

[Pheebs52]

Wonderful news @dvannie! Hip-hip-hurray! I'm so glad it went well and you were able to put your feet on the floor! Now, do you have to be told to pamper that knee? No? I didn't think so.

 

[Pheebs52]

BTW, you can still keep your "Slow-Bender," T-Shirt, lol!

 

[KarriB]

Great news! Just take slow with lots of ice and elevation.

 

[knit2tog]

Glad to hear you are back home and the MUA was a success!

 

[Pheebs52]

How are you feeling this morning @dvannie? Sending you some strong (((NO SWELLING))) vibes!

 

[dvannie]

@Pheebs52 Things are going great this morning! Thanks for your good vibes and those of my BoneSmart friends, they are extremely appreciated! I had a really good sleep last night. They wanted me to keep a pillow under my knee to keep it as bent as possible for the next week or two which is a nice treat from just keeping my leg elevated. The swelling is not as great above the knee which is where the adhesions were. It's odd, the scar was pretty puckered, thick and tight along the top three inches but now it's flattened out, so I'm guessing that was the culprit.

I'm going to take it easy this week, and stay home from work and concentrate on keeping and improving the bend. I'm at 90 and possibly better this morning so it looks extremely promising! I cannot say how much of a relief this is! I had been stressing out so much about my husbands upcoming business trip and our cruise in sept so now I'm much more relaxed and I'm sure the hubby is too. The surgeon was pleasantly surprised about how well it went. He thought for sure that the most he could get for me during the procedure was 90 degrees and had given a probability of about 25% that he would switch from the MUA to surgery where he would remove the adhesions by reopening part of the scar since the knee was so stiff.

This has been an extremely good procedure for me and I do believe it has a lot to do with the fact that I had very little soreness and swelling before the procedure since I'm at almost 9 weeks. I cannot even begin to imagine the what the pain and swelling would be like at 3 weeks which is when the surgeon wanted to do it.

 

[KarriB]

Good decision to stay home from work. My advice would be to continue to stay home for the rest of the week and if you return next week, try to phase back slowly with a few hours a day. The less you ask of the knee the more you'll be able to bend it.

 

[Canada35]

@dvannie I am so excited for you! And happy to hear that things are not as bad as you thought they might be.
You will probably see a really marked difference in your ADLs in the coming days! That cruise will be your reward and hopefully it will be pain free!

 

[liam2015]

glad you're feeling so upbeat and encouraged. while you're home from work, recovering, you can plan what you're going to take on that fabulous cruise to Hawaii and maybe do some online shopping. lots to look forward to.

 

[dvannie]

I'm a bit nervous today, I have my first PT today after the MUA. I had the OS recommend a very experienced PT that would understand that there's a fine line between causing pain that leads to excessive swelling and pushing just enough to encourage progress. I was given a lot of grief when I made the appt. The receptionist was certain that I should stick with my last PT at this facility which caused me so much pain and swelling that my ROM went backwards. She kept repeating that they all have the same experience and that this was ridiculous. I just told her that my surgeon recommended this PT and she finally huffed and let me make the appt. What a pain. I didn't hate the other PT, I just associate her with extreme pain and I just cannot do that again!

 

[SusieShoes]

Finding the right therapist is the Holy Grail of Physical Therapy. They may all have the same experience but still have different philosophies and approaches. I didn't hate my therapist either, but he was a pusher and believed pain=gain. I basically put up with him--and reined him in--for six weeks. Better by far to start off with one whose approach is more in tune with yours. Hope this one is that therapist!

 

[Spex10]

Absolutely agree. Who does the receptionist think she is?! I hope all went well at your appointment. I think I already said that at my post MUA PT she worked on practicalities like altering my gait and the best way to do stairs. Helpful, kind and sensible. Experience helps too of course!
Let us know how you get on.

 

[kmak81230]

Susie is so correct - I lucked into an outstanding PT (at a clinic with really nice reception staff) which has helped balance my pushy OS and my own tendency to want to overdo. I hope your session today goes well Dvannie. You know what you need to do (and not do).