TKR An Outdoor Lover's Recovery

[Kneeophyte]

Thank you @Jockette & @FCBayern! This forum has been such a source of reassurance during my recovery, when I was hearing so many scary & contradictory things about what I needed to do to re-gain my knee function.

Now it seems like I constantly run into people in the pre-surgery stage (many at the pool). They always want to know about my experience & recovery. Happy to share that, but I always suggest they review posts & info available on this forum. It is so helpful to hear from so many different people about their experiences, concerns, outcomes.

 

[Kneeophyte]

Fellow Hikers in TKR Recovery,

I’m interested in hearing from others when they noticed being able to handle hiking downhill without having to step S-L-O-W-L-Y through those stretches. I’m at 5 ½ months post-TKR & “mince” is the best way to describe what I’m doing on the downhills right now.

I know we all heal at different rates, but even so, I’m interested in hearing about your experiences of hiking & especially how you are doing on the downhills!

No matter what, I’m glad to graduate from the nearly level trails we’ve been seeking out for many months before & after the TKR (lovely as some of those have been), even if I’m still finding pretty moderate downhills really slow going. It is a relief not to be concerned about making my formerly “bad” knee worse & to assume that the knee will just keep improving.

 

[Jockette]

Great pictures, its always great to actually see what members get back to after their joint replacement!

I’m sorry to report that I still have trouble going downhill, 4+ years post op from “just” a partial, but I’ve had a very poor outcome, so you can’t go by me.

 

[GiantFinnegan]

I can't answer your question because you are ahead of me time-wise and activity wise (there's a small hill on my neighborhood walk and I "mince" (good word) down that every day), but I have to tell you that you are an inspiration to me! I miss hiking so much and am so happy to see you out there! I'll have to do my second knee before I can get out there, but your post makes me happy and have hope that it will happen!

 

[Kneeophyte]

Any other further-along hikers have comments about their post -TKR downhill hiking experiences? Anyone who had a TKR in 2020 (or earlier)?

 

[Jockette]

Here are 2 members from a while back who hiked, you might want to skim through their threads:

TKR - Three years post TKR

I am very glad to have found this forum. I am a 55-year-old male, four weeks post TKR, and I have no idea what to expect. I am a paramedic, but I had a 100 percent quad rupture in my right knee 27 months ago and have been unable to return to work on the advise of the surgeon. My left knee...

bonesmart.org

TKR - Getting back to hiking and climbing.

I have been very active in outdoor recreation all my life. Rock climbing, hiking, skiing, etc. I used to do quite a bit of running as well (including a few ultra distance events). I was doing tons of vigorous activities (skiing, rock climbing, and hiking) with minimal pain right up until March...

bonesmart.org

 

[Mimi55]

It took some time to get diagnosed, but what I'd come down with was a c diff infection. That is truly something one never wants to experience, let alone during recovery from TKR. My surgeon has his patients take an antibiotic (clindamycin) for three days post-TKR. It is supposed to keep us safe from bacterial infection. But it also wipes out helpful bacteria in the gut. In my case, c diff bacteria took over & I was very, very sick. Now at about 10 days from when c diff was finally diagnosed & treatment began, I am still battling that infection, but am at least back to the point where I can do a bit of walking & some knee exercise/stretches. Easy recovery? Not!

I had similar horrible stomach pain and took long time to diagnose H pylori . Finally better but I’m having a retest soon to make so it’s it’s gone .

 

[Kneeophyte]

@Mimi55, sorry you had to go through that.... had to look up what it was. Between COVID19 & C. diff, this past year+ has sure made clear to me just how nasty some viral & bacterial infections can be (if/when there is a C. diff vaccine, I will be first in line).

@Jockette, thank you for the information on those earlier BoneSmart hiker members, I will definitely look at what they posted!

 

[Atkinson8]

I asked my surgeon about the need for pre-dental work antibiotics after replacing 2 hips and a shoulder (not recovering from right knee replacement) - anyway, he said that if a dentist requires antibiotics, he or she is not up to date and I should seek out someone else. So far, my dentist has not even asked about it.

 

[Kneeophyte]

Hi,

I’m wondering about regaining flexibility so my TKR leg can rotate to be close to flat if I have its ankle on the opposite knee (see photos – first one is of the non-TKR leg). Does that kind of flexibility just return gradually & on its own during the year following a TK (I’m at ~6 months)?

When I asked my surgeon’s PA, his response was that they will be happy to prescribe PT for my “complaint”. (I’ve asked again, emphasizing that I was looking for info, not a PT prescription, but I’m guessing I’ll learn more from other sources, like this forum.)

 

[Celle]

My ability to do that came back. For me, it was just a matte of time.

That motion seems to be a matter of rotating at the hip, rather than something to do with the knee.

 

[FCBayern]

I took my first really serious hike at about 16 months @Kneeophyte. It was in Bryce Canyon and was about 4 miles round trip with about a 1500 foot decent, and then the climb out. I had no issues with either direction. I did find that trekking poles gave me much more confidence when negotiating particularly steep or uneven parts of the trial.

 

[Kneeophyte]

Thanks @FCBayern. A 1500 ft elevation loss in 2 miles is steep! I look forward to being able to handle downhills like that (more modest downhills too) with the knee flexible enough to do more than inch along..... I've got some months to go, I guess.

 

[zdclimber]

I had PKR 3.5 months ago. I started hiking 3 weeks ago and did so every week. The first time, I hiked up to about 1/3 of a local hill (entire trail has 2000 ft elevation gain in 3 miles), then it was 1/2, 3/4, and this morning I did 5/6. I was either not carrying anything or just a light pack with 1L of water and a light jacket. Going downhill is not an issue at all with the help of a pair of hiking poles. (I don't put much weight on the poles, except when there are big steps over 1 foot, so the poles make some difference but not that much.)

Regarding the hip flexibility, on my non-surgical side, I can make my lower leg flat. On my surgical side, it started with near vetical, it's now 30 degree and improving. The limitation is the knee, not hip.

 

[Kneeophyte]

@zdclimber, hiking 5/6 of a hill with an elevation gain of 2000 ft in 3 miles (& more importantly, handling that same elevation loss on the return) at 3.5 months post-knee surgery sounds pretty amazing to me! Way to go! (Trust I'll get there in time.)

On that TKR leg ankle on opposite knee & the difficulty rotating the TKR knee towards the ground, I agree --- it definitely feels like the knee is the limiting factor rather than the hip. The knee is where it hurts if I try to force that knee towards the ground.

 

[Geoffa]

Hi,

I’m wondering about regaining flexibility so my TKR leg can rotate to be close to flat if I have its ankle on the opposite knee (see photos – first one is of the non-TKR leg). Does that kind of flexibility just return gradually & on its own during the year following a TK (I’m at ~6 months)?

I took about 10mths to get to approx the level of your left knee pic. No specific PT just stretch and a gentle push.
I was limited by both my knee and tightness in the groin. My recovery was not helped because I had a cardiac ablation at 6mths and the catheters were inserted in my right groin and this procedure did cause some trauma this slowed recovery.
Geoff