TKR Annie's recovery thread

[Jockette]

Unfortunately my story hasn’t had a happy ending yet. I’m 2+ years post op and I feel way better now than I did in the whole first year, in spite of some of my continuing discomforts. My ROM has continued to improve, so don’t listen to those who tell you it won’t after a certain time period.

Many of us underestimate this recovery. Our medical team does not prepare us well. Mine sure didn’t. My first week home was such a shock.

 

[Annie LTKR]

@Jockette that is a very long ongoing recovery. Warm wishes to you. One of the physiotherapists at the hospital told my husband that the ROM I will have at three weeks will be my maximum. I’m hoping that is not the case as it’s about 90 degrees now! I am not looking forward to PT tomorrow as think I will he told I haven’t done enough! Hey ho

 

[Jockette]

One of the physiotherapists at the hospital told my husband that the ROM I will have at three weeks will be my maximum

That is completely false and it makes me angry that patients are told this.

I am not looking forward to PT tomorrow as think I will he told I haven’t done enough!

I believe this:

It’s not exercising that gets our range of motion back, it’s Time:

Time to recover.
Time for pain and swelling to settle.
Time to heal.

Our range of motion is right there all
along just waiting for that to happen so it can show itself.

In the general run of things, it doesn't need to be fought for, worked hard for or worried about. It will happen. Exercise as in strength training is counter-productive and in the early weeks does more harm than good. Normal activity is the key to success.

 

[winemama]

I’m at 12 weeks and just hit 110. Be your own advocate. If you are not happy with your PT, tell them you want someone hands on, gentle massage and stretches. Like Jockette says, this is your knee, you are in charge

 

[lovetocookandsew]

@Annie LTKR What that PT told your husband is totally false! That's one of the many reasons I refused all formal PT after my revision. Most of them want to push our knees far beyond what they're ready for in order to get "good" numbers early on; maybe to justify their existence. My husband says none of them really knows what they're doing anyway. In his case, he went to a few different ones when he had a problem with his arm and all of them gave him totally conflicting exercises and advice, none of which helped at all, and all of which made things worse. He also watched what they said and did with me after my original TKR; it was obvious to him that they were doing everything wrong in the case of my new knee.

Anyway, you will have very low ROM for a while as your knee has just been chopped, sliced, diced and hammered on and it needs time to recover from that assault. Think about how long it takes to recover from a simple broken bone, and realize this is much worse than that. Your knee is swollen and injured and your ROM will reflect that for quite some time. When the swelling, inside and out, finally goes down, your knee will bend nicely as the implant is perfectly able to bend; it's your tissues and the rest of that area that need to heal. Before your surgeon put the implant in your knee, he checked to make sure it worked, so it's there just waiting to do it's job when the rest of the area heals.

If you decide to continue formal PT, make sure you let your therapist know that when it comes to your body and your knee, you're the boss and what you decide is what will happen. You can listen to advice, but the final decision is yours and yours alone. Just as you made the decision to go with a TKR after listening to your surgeon's advice, you make the decision to continue or cancel PT, you make the decision as to how you want to recover and how much PT you will or will not do. If the PT listens to you and follows your limits without questioning, arguing or threatening, then you will be fine. If your PT does any of the above, you need to find a different one asap!

 

[Neesie]

I'm going through a very similar experience. Not being able to read or knit was difficult for me too. I was able to listen to podcasts and that helped. I've found that recovery is certainly not a straight line. At 11 weeks I still go back and forth between intense pain and just stiffness. There doesn't seem to be much rhyme or reason for it and I'm learning to accept that and really appreciate those times where I'm not in pain. Knowing that there are others who understand where I am now has been enormous help. This forum has done more for me than the surgeon and PT combined.

 

[Ladyala]

I'm finding that 2 steps forward & 1 back are the norm for my recovery. Both with my body & emotions!
I'll have a couple good days then crash back into the dumps again. This is certainly a marathon isn't it?

 

[Annie LTKR]

Thank you lovely people!
I saw a doctor today who said that knee replacements aren’t always straightforward! He has said I shouldn’t go back to work until the end of September as my job is so busy and I normally walk around 17,000 steps a day with stairs everywhere. fingers crossed Physiotherapy goes well tomorrow.

 

[kneeper]

One of the physiotherapists at the hospital told my husband that the ROM I will have at three weeks will be my maximum.

Claptrap. My knee was very swollen at 3 weeks and didn't bend much. As the swelling came down the bend increased. I didn't get to 90 until 5-6 weeks and then continued to gain.

 

[InkedMarie]

@Jockette that is a very long ongoing recovery. Warm wishes to you. One of the physiotherapists at the hospital told my husband that the ROM I will have at three weeks will be my maximum. I’m hoping that is not the case as it’s about 90 degrees now! I am not looking forward to PT tomorrow as think I will he told I haven’t done enough! Hey ho

This physiotherapist is wrong. SO wrong. You can gain ROM for years. If I was you, I’d find a new PT. I don’t like the attitude about you not doing enough.

 

[Annie LTKR]

Well just back from physio , she was lovely. My ROM today was 75% but my knee is swollen. She gave me lots of tips to help me increase this and went through walking with both one and two crutches. Going back for a PT class next week but she went through the exercises we can try next week and gave me a sheet of things to try at home and went through goals to aim for. My daughter drove me there in her Fiat 500 which was quite interesting to get in and out.

 

[kneeper]

^the key word here is "try." It's ok to try but listen to the knee and back off if it tells you to.

 

[Annie LTKR]

I’ve had a few active days and am feeling it today. So am icing and elevating all day with a few stretches in between and I will ignore the state of the house! My knee has been more swollen since the clips came out so it’s a definitely times for a very lazy day. Think the novelty of me being more sedentary is wearing off with my teens and husband. I was called ‘demanding ‘ yesterday by my husband. and I’m trying to only ask for things when I really need help. I think they are all now appreciating how much I do at home, at least I am off for the summer as I work in a school so there’s no immediate rush to get ready for work. Wishing everyone a healing, positive and restful day.

 

[luvcats]

I hope your husband was kidding when he called you 'demanding'. This is major surgery and you're only 2 weeks out. Keep having your lazy days. Rest is how we heal.

 

[Annie LTKR]

I think he was just being cheeky! I am a bit of a control ‘enthusiast’ and am very busy at home and work and like an orderly and organised life. He had to iron some work shirts a few days ago so he’s probably in shock! I did manage to do some ironing yesterday but did it sitting down, it’s a bit sad but I like ironing and watching a thriller on tv it’s my normal Saturday afternoon job! My swelling is really diminished after a morning elevation & ice. My night sleep has been getting worse, I normally manage a daytime nap though. I really prefer to sleep on my stomach and that’s obviously not possible!

My daughter is getting ready for pre season sports training and has been running everyday. She took my husband out yesterday and I think he’s broken , think the dog is tired too as she hid under my bed when my daughter arrived in her running kit.

I’ve met a few tkr and thr people recently when I’ve been out ( must be my crutches and lovely bottle green support stocking that gets people talking). People locally are still being really kind. My colleagues from work made a massive berry pavlova yesterday and chatted about funny things that happened in the last week of term whilst I had my leg elevated on the sofa. I’ve missed that interaction!
Warm wishes to you all.

 

[Annie LTKR]

Had a much quieter day resting and icing which is reducing the swelling and tried my new physio exercises which were ok. I’ve moved downstairs to the sofa bed for the night as I’m so restless at night , getting ice packs and trying to settle. So I’ve got everything I need close to me and hopefully will get a better nights sleep tonight. Hope everyone has a pain free evening.

 

[sistersinhim]

It's a good idea to be close to the freezer for your ice packs. I ended up getting an ice machine cause I was going through the ice packs so quickly. Be careful with your new exercises. Just try a few of them at first and see how your knee reacts that night and next day. Things have to be added very slowly for this newborn baby knee of yours.

 

[Annie LTKR]

Thank you @sidtersinhim I managed 6 hours sleep on and off last night so pretty good. Also didn’t wake the entire house up!
Sun is out today so once I’ve elevated and iced, I’m going to walk round the village green again. My husband is going back overseas tonight for four days, daughter is working full time until Wednesday so teen son in on helping mum duties, he’s pretty good with direct instruction.
I’m able to walk around with a single crutch so that’s much easier. It’s 21 days post op today. Have a lovely day bonesmarties and if you are still within two weeks post op it does get better I promise!

 

[Annie LTKR]

I’ve elevated and iced , been for a small walk , practiced walking with one crutch , stretched operated leg out between two chairs, now icing and elevating again by a fan as it’s so muggy here. Can hear the sound of combine harvesters bringing in the crop. I am soooooo bored but on a more positive note I have made a loaf of bread. Well I’ve put the ingredients into a bread maker and it smells delicious and is just baked.
Has anyone got any recommendations for holiday in the United States in mid October for two weeks. I need something to look forward too.. was looking at Cape Coral tng a house and boat but open to ideas. We’ve been to California, Washington , Boston, New York and Florida previously.

 

[luvcats]

October is the time to visit the Northeast in the states. The trees in that part of the country change colors spectacularly. Upstate NY, Maine, Vermont, that corner has a really beautiful fall, and often a lot of harvest fairs and festivals.

I can also recommend Colorado. They have Aspen trees that go gold in the fall and it's also very spectacular natural beauty. Denver has great museums and a zoo and an aquarium. Colorado Springs has a truly spectacular city park known as Garden of the Gods, as well as a good zoo and easy access to the mountains. Even a wolf sanctuary not too far a drive if you are in to that sort of thing. Which I most definitely am.

If you are comfortable driving long distances here, it's also a good time to check out the National Parks in Utah. There are several of them, each differently spectacular. October is much cooler but still warm, and most kids are back in school so the crowds are less. There might be some good bus tours that travel the area, but I have never looked into it.

Small comfort, but extreme boredom in week 3 seems to be right on schedule. I almost lost my mind! It shows you're healing. Another week and your brains may start to feel more normal. I'm still tired and my attention span is shorter than normal, but not like it was.