ToKnee
new member
United StatesHi. I've been lurking on the forums for quite some time, thanks for everyone's posts! I felt better prepared for the surgery and the recovery.
I am currently 9 weeks post-op of a right TKR. The knee was so arthritic that it hurt to walk, sitting caused it to freeze up, and going up and down the stairs was almost impossible. Really, not much different than now.
I was never able to get a great flexion, in part due to the hospital PT who, the first time I was getting out of bed, "dropped" my lower leg so there was a lot of flex that was painful. I am always guarding when the PT works on my knee now. At 6 weeks I was stuck at 58 degrees, not enough to sit comfortably, drive, or so much of anything. At the 6 week check-up with surgeon we agreed that an Manipulation Under Anesthesia was the next step, so I had that about 2 weeks ago. Post-MUA flexion was at 80 degrees, and I can push it to 90 and 100 with the CPM (which I had to fight for).
I am currently feeling like the surgery was a bust and I won't be able to gain the movement I want to do the things I want to do. I never thought I was such a baby about pain (I have played flag football with a sprained ankle, walked with a broken ankle and was playing tennis post-break. I even walked a 5k in January), but now I am crying every day at PT. I might not cry so much if I wasn't so frustrated and could swear a blue streak. I realize my feeling stuck and my depression is from the surgery, not sleeping, losing my independence for so long, etc.
1. Sitting with a 50 degree flexion, about 2. Sleeping is a 7-8, I am always waking up to shift to a position that will less painful for about 15 minutes. Flexing the knee beyond 80 is 8-9. My lower back shifts to try and absorb some of the movement (e.g. if I am sitting and trying to get the leg down, my right hip will lift off the table) so it is also getting sore (about a 4-5). I have some swelling in calf and thigh, still quite a bit in the knee. I also have a hematoma in the knee capsule from warfarin, this would bulge out and hit the lateral nerve in knee, causing pain and numbness up and down leg. This was about a 9. The hematoma seems to be getting better.
2. Oxy 5 (largely off this)
Norco
3. Greater than usual, not huge, knee is swollen. Foot tends to swell.
4. Flex 100 on a very good day. Extension -3
5. Icing when home. About 5 hours/day
6. I elevate for 15 minutes at a time, leg up against wall, about 2-3 times a day.
7. During the first week, I didn't do much. I did practice walking in Target and Costco which, in retrospect, was too much too early and just served to stiffen my knee. I also started to do yardwork and housework too early. I was doing some trim painting at 2 weeks and then some vacuuming, dusting, cooking, and washing dishes. At 4 weeks I was helping to build a raised garden bed, shoveling dirt, and planting. All too much, but standing and walking was less painful than sitting or bending. Of course all this did was keep my knee stiff. I was back at work (from home) at 2 weeks, gradually increasing hours. I work at a computer, so it is a lot of sitting.
8. See above for all the yardwork, etc. I do wall slides, and extension board about 1x day. Heel slides while sitting I do while I am at computer. My incision is all healed, and has been for a while, so I do some exercises in pool like kicking, squats on stairs, and extension. Most is just floating, though.
I am currently 9 weeks post-op of a right TKR. The knee was so arthritic that it hurt to walk, sitting caused it to freeze up, and going up and down the stairs was almost impossible. Really, not much different than now.
I was never able to get a great flexion, in part due to the hospital PT who, the first time I was getting out of bed, "dropped" my lower leg so there was a lot of flex that was painful. I am always guarding when the PT works on my knee now. At 6 weeks I was stuck at 58 degrees, not enough to sit comfortably, drive, or so much of anything. At the 6 week check-up with surgeon we agreed that an Manipulation Under Anesthesia was the next step, so I had that about 2 weeks ago. Post-MUA flexion was at 80 degrees, and I can push it to 90 and 100 with the CPM (which I had to fight for).
I am currently feeling like the surgery was a bust and I won't be able to gain the movement I want to do the things I want to do. I never thought I was such a baby about pain (I have played flag football with a sprained ankle, walked with a broken ankle and was playing tennis post-break. I even walked a 5k in January), but now I am crying every day at PT. I might not cry so much if I wasn't so frustrated and could swear a blue streak. I realize my feeling stuck and my depression is from the surgery, not sleeping, losing my independence for so long, etc.
1. Sitting with a 50 degree flexion, about 2. Sleeping is a 7-8, I am always waking up to shift to a position that will less painful for about 15 minutes. Flexing the knee beyond 80 is 8-9. My lower back shifts to try and absorb some of the movement (e.g. if I am sitting and trying to get the leg down, my right hip will lift off the table) so it is also getting sore (about a 4-5). I have some swelling in calf and thigh, still quite a bit in the knee. I also have a hematoma in the knee capsule from warfarin, this would bulge out and hit the lateral nerve in knee, causing pain and numbness up and down leg. This was about a 9. The hematoma seems to be getting better.
2. Oxy 5 (largely off this)
Norco
3. Greater than usual, not huge, knee is swollen. Foot tends to swell.
4. Flex 100 on a very good day. Extension -3
5. Icing when home. About 5 hours/day
6. I elevate for 15 minutes at a time, leg up against wall, about 2-3 times a day.
7. During the first week, I didn't do much. I did practice walking in Target and Costco which, in retrospect, was too much too early and just served to stiffen my knee. I also started to do yardwork and housework too early. I was doing some trim painting at 2 weeks and then some vacuuming, dusting, cooking, and washing dishes. At 4 weeks I was helping to build a raised garden bed, shoveling dirt, and planting. All too much, but standing and walking was less painful than sitting or bending. Of course all this did was keep my knee stiff. I was back at work (from home) at 2 weeks, gradually increasing hours. I work at a computer, so it is a lot of sitting.
8. See above for all the yardwork, etc. I do wall slides, and extension board about 1x day. Heel slides while sitting I do while I am at computer. My incision is all healed, and has been for a while, so I do some exercises in pool like kicking, squats on stairs, and extension. Most is just floating, though.
! You’ve probably see this reading list while lurking, but I will now give you your very own copy so you will have it handy in your own recovery thread. 
