Become an Insider

TKR Almost one year, still a bit sore

So I was talked into trying physio after my five week hiatus with the idea that I was going to be in control. Ha!!
Was I ever wrong! The first session was great, he was really gentle, massaged my leg around the back and above and below my knee and he sat in front of me and used his hands as the resistance when I straightened my leg and then pulled against his hands to bend the knee.
I left feeling I'd accomplished something and I wasn't sore. He measured my flexion angle and I was 70 degrees. Not great but I knew that!
Then I went back on Wednesday :bawl: He had talked to my surgeon and went full speed trying to bend my knee. Yes I did gasp several times, yes I had tears on my cheeks and yes I couldn't wait to get out of there. Yesterday I could barely get out of bed, my hamstrings burned, my calf muscles were so tight I could barely put my feet flat. :boohoo:

So I spoke to my husband and my sister who had both encouraged me to try physio and I said No more! I will recover in my own time and I will exercise when I feel up to it and I don't want to hear any more about it. I sent an email to the physiotherapist and explained it just wasn't for me and to cancel all of the appointments. Big weight off my shoulders!

And I know several of you had told me it is not necessary to do the PT prescribed by the doctor - I just had external pressure and I caved! But no more!!

Thank you all for your support :thankyou:
 
wow, good for you.:thumb: it's too bad he had to spoil what started off to be a good thing. my flexion at my first physio appointment at 6 week post op was only around 76. you can certainly rehab at home doing your everyday activities. this isn't a recommendation and it was weeks further along than you that i started these, just telling you what helped me at home and wasn't too strenuous; also i could control it ~ was doing stair lunges and it seemed to take forever to see progress but eventually i did. after awhile i did step-ups leading with my operated leg, just twice a day (if that) and practising walking up and down the stairs. one home exercise i was given probably set me back a couple weeks which was balancing on one leg. i thought i was doing so well i could hold it for 30 seconds x5, but after a couple days my leg was really sore and weak and i haven't done that one since. the one thing i enjoyed about physio was the treatments: they felt good. i don't know if they helped or not as i seemed to plateau.

do what feels good and comfortable to you. if you ever go back to physio, you now know to be prepared to say "no" before he or she goes overboard with bending your knee.:no-fin:
 
@Irelandliz, I would definitely get that temporary permit ASAP. It gives you so much more freedom. I took a look at your Florida rules, and there are quite a few kinds of medical personnel who can sign the form that you would take to the DMV, so your OS doesn't have to be the one. Your general doc, a physician's assistant, a chiropractor, and others are listed. One perk you would have is you could park in a metered parking place FREE for up to four hours! I don't think we have that in Michigan! My temporary permit recently expired, or I would check on that!

@sistersinhim is right: make sure you choose a parking space that has the extra space on the side you will exit from. I also had a very close call where someone parked so close to my door that I could barely slide in. Thinking about sliding across the seats from the passenger side of the car, where the extra space was (the stripes), was painful just thinking about it! :bignono:

You don't have to use your permit all the time just because you have it. It is really important for big-box stores where you will be doing a lot of walking inside. You don't want to expend all your energy parking far away from the entrance in a huge parking lot. That situation is how I finally got my mom to apply for and accept a permanent handicap permit (she's 90). She uses it only when she can't find a close parking space for stores like Wal-Mart. She used to be all tired out by the time she got in the store! Now she parks close and is able to make it around the store without having to resort to those electric carts. They seem like such a good idea, but if I saw Mom coming on one, I would head the other way in a hurry! Her aim and her hang of controls are a bit shaky. :scary:
 
Well done you, for cancelling the PT. :yes!:
You don't need PT like that! It does more harm than good.

And well done for telling your husband and sister as well. It's your knee and you took charge. I'm proud of you!
 
Yippee, no PT. Now, you will recover quicker and with less pain! It works, I know!
 
Hi, @Irelandliz, I saw your comment somewhere else about carbs and thought I would reply on your thread. Isn't it mystifying how surgery on one's leg can affect cravings in the brain? I don't get it! I'm craving carbs, particularly sweet things, and I can barely look at protein.
 
Hi everyone
Thought I'd drop by to say Hello and that the leg is still not bending too much :groan: I am not doing PT anymore (huge sigh of relief) but am finding it hard to motivate myself to do exercises as I ultimately ache afterwards when I do them. I am using my ice machine every evening to bring the swelling down and thank the heavens to the person who designed the Polar cube and to my husband for constantly readying it for my use. I am walking much more, almost always with a cane when I'm outside but I don't use it in the house at all. And as for getting in and out of the driver side of the car :groan: I look around to make sure no one is watching before I hop backwards with my left leg to allow myself space to drag my right leg out of the car!! :gaah: Needless to say I haven't been driving a lot lol
Anyway my spirits are good most of the time and I've gotten back into my jewelry making again which helps me with my psyche...:ok:
BoneSmart keeps me sane so thank you all for sharing your paths with us :loveshwr:
 
:hi:glad your spirits are good most of the time and wonderful you have the motivation to get back into your jewellery making. sounds like your balance has improved since you're not using your cane in the house. i can only imagine how painful and awkward it is maneuvering in and out of the driver's side of your car, being as it was your right knee replaced, but good for you not giving up. walking should help improve your r.o.m. and lift your spirits being outdoors. it is frustrating when the knee is slow to bend ~ i'm in the same boat but it's getting better week by week as it will for you too. thanks for your update; sounds like your doing great with your positive attitude.:SUNsmile:
 
@Irelandliz, as active as you are, you don't need to be doing any exercises. All your activities are your exercises!
 
I agree you don’t really need to be doing additional exercises. Walking and your activities are enough. If while seated you feel like bending your knee a little, go for it. I did that a lot. But otherwise, you are set. I hope your swelling settles down soon and you start finding your walks fun and driving more of a pleasure.
 
Hi Bonesmarties
Well I've just passed week 11 and things are definitely improving both physically and emotionally. Having my sister visiting for two weeks definitely helps of course and she has taken over the driving which I am still finding quite stressful. Moving that leg back and forward from brake to accelerator is no easy feat! I guess it will keep me out of the shops which is always a good thing lol

I have been doing a fair amount of walking in fact yesterday I did over 1500 steps - that polar cube is my saviour though at the end of the day!

I have no way to measure my flexion but it is still not great I don't think I'm even at 90 degrees but I'm praying if will eventually loosen up so that I can sit normally in a chair!!! Getting up off that chair is another story though - holy moly I am sooooooo stiff it takes me a minute or so to get moving! Is this normal!? And if I forget my cane I'm holding on to all the backs of every chair on the way out of a restaurant!

My scar looks awesome though so at least the exterior has recovered! Now waiting for the inside part to cooperate! :beg:
 
Yes, I think all that is normal. I still feel that same way after spending time sitting in a restaurant.

I bet you are more than 90 degrees. I feared I was about that and then at my last check up I was 114 very comfortably and then I was able to lean in on it a bit more, by myself, and my surgeon called it 120. That 120 sounds great but it’s still quite tight and I still feel limited in my movements. I still have that tight band of inner swelling.

I still have trouble driving and finding a comfortable position for my leg, and it’s my left leg. I don’t drive often because I don’t have to. My husband and I pretty much go everywhere together. I’m not crazy about driving anyway.

Glad you had a great visit with your sister!
 
@Jockette i see the surgeon on Thursday and I know he's going to grumble about my not doing the physio but he will get over it lol

You're lucky you don't have to drive :) if I go as a passenger I take a cushion to put under my knee as I find the back of my kneecap and thigh gets sore quite quickly in the car.

My sister is still here until the 16th which is wonderful and as she is moving to the US in April she has been practicing driving on the right side of the road. (Quite challenging at 64!) But she is doing really well. It also saves me having to drive which is the best!!

And that band hasn't released at all above my kneecap and the numbness hasn't diminished yet at all. I have been having those zingers happening again and they make me cry out they're so sharp and painful!! Thankfully they're only for a few seconds!

My knee still looks like a jumbo grapefruit :bawl: Do you ever get a 'kneecap' shape again or is it always going to be round ?
 
sounds like you're doing great. Yes, your kneecap will come back. I love seeing mine. :) I'm 10 months post op.
 
I have a small pillow on the floor of the car for my under my foot. It cushions the bumps and even just that little bit of height allows me to put my leg out further so my knee doesn’t have to bend as much. My seat height is also very good for me, as I still can’t sit comfortably in just any chair. Maybe try that instead of putting it under your knee.

I feel like my recovery is slower than some others and I was so afraid at my 7 month check up in October that my surgeon would not be happy with where I am and ask about PT and then tell me that I wasn’t doing well because I wasn’t doing PT. Well, my rom was better than I thought, and I didn’t let him force my knee like he usually does, I bent it myself, and he was fine with the numbers even though he has gotten much higher numbers in earlier checks because he pushed it. The subject of PT never came up, so I didn’t have to confess I wasn’t doing things his way.

What a shame that I feel I have to hide my choice of recovery approach from my surgeon. I truly believe that the unrealistic expectations are our biggest obstacle in recovery. I think we would accept our limitations and long length of recovery better if we were not so pressured to “perform” and get our rom back quickly.
 
Irelandliz said:
i see the surgeon on Thursday and I know he's going to grumble about my not doing the physio
Click to expand...
Don't tell him! Just smile and say that you're working it. That's not a fib, cause you are! My OS never mentioned PT and the fact that I never took it. There's a good chance that yours won't either.
 
In my experience a little exercise goes a long way. If you're practicing getting in and out of the car that's a kind of exercise in itself. :)
That stiffness when you first get out of a chair is completely normal. It took many months for that to diminish for me but everything turned out great.
 
Sistersinhim is on point here. My OS never (not even once) asked about PT. He only asked if I was moving my knee. And truthfully I was- you don't need PT for that!
 
Ok I am feeling depressed - yet again - Good grief is this knee ever going to look normal!!! And feel normal!!! I still have a very puffy right knee probably from all the running around I did while my sister was here the past two weeks but even all the walking we did doesn’t seem to have loosened up my knee at all. The doc says I’m still only at about 75 degrees flexion, I’m getting worried now! When I try and bring my leg in more it hurts like the devil so I don’t know how I’m going to make it any better. And I do take pain pills if I am going out but it still hurts to bend my leg to get it into the car... I am going to read all the articles in the library again and see what I am doing wrong :-(


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Active Antimicrobial Hydrogel
Corganics CBD

Members online

Total: 778 (members: 2, guests: 776)

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom