All this is completely normal at less than 6 weeks out. Your ROM sounds really good. It will naturally fluctuate in this recovery as your swelling goes up and down.Sometimes I can do that & my knee feels so solid, strong & painless. But more often it hurts making me leery of putting full weight on it. Not sure why this is but I'm getting pretty frustrated with it. Is this common at this stage of recovery?
This old school thinking is handed down and never questioned. Here at BoneSmart we question this and started really looking at what progress was made after these "milestones" imposed by surgeons and PT.Is there some logical explanation why so many of our surgeons & PT tell us this when per Bonesmart members experience, that is not the case?
I have found this to be very true, especially in the last 20 years or so. We are responsible for our own recoveries, not PT or OS.I have always been proactive in my healthcare. Seems like you kind of have to be in order to gain accurate information.
Just an update for those who are apprehensive about gaining ROM:
It has now been 26 weeks and all I do is ADL and this is what my ROM has done:
3.5 wks: 75
6 wks: 85
7 wks: 90
10.5 wks: 95
14 wks: 100
17 wks: 105
20 weeks: 110
26 weeks (where I am today): 120!!!
I did it! My goal of 120! No "pushing through pain", no PT after the first 3 visits, and most importantly to me: No MUA! My surgeon who said I would never get beyond 85 ROM without pushing through pain was wrong, wrong, wrong. I'm excited to see if it gets even better.
When the therapist pushes past your own ability to bend, then it's going past what your knee is ready to do. That causes setbacks in your recovery. Plus, what you can do on your own is what counts, not what someone else pushing on it does. That's a false number.With the PT pushing it I got, without measurement, about, 115. It didn't hurt terribly.
Do you see the relationship between the pushing and the pain? This pushing was bad for your healing knee. Now, your knee has to recover from what the PT did to your knee before it can get back to where it was before it was harmed with that pushing.Friday & today I'm very uncomfortable. Knee hurts more than usual. Hurts to walk on it.
Only you can answer the question of whether to continue with PT. I suggest you tell them "hands off!" and not let anyone force your knee to do anything it can't do on its own. Your ROM will continue to improve as your knee heals. You can not force it to heal any faster than it's going to heal. But, you can slow it down by doing bad PT.should I continue PT but never, ever let them push for flex? Are my present flex numbers something I should be concerned about as I'm made to feel?