Just coming up to three months post op and like others here my knee feels like it has a tight band around it I have a bend of 85 degrees , I have been told by my physiotherapist it will go in time ,at times my shin aches but I think it probably due to me overdoing things
TKR Answer to question in tight band round knee
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Sks1997
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I am also 3 months out from TKR and have the tight band feeling. I had it in my other replacement and wish I would have documented more about that. It is probably my worst complaint at this time. Will be so happy when it goes away! I do know it is normal to have it sometimes for several months.
Hi and Welcome!
That tight band is par for the course, I’m sorry to say. Here’s an article about it from the Bonesmart library:
bonesmart.org
And here is another reason:
Stiffness/Tightness is a normal occurrence after this kind of major surgery. Your surgeon did major carpentry work and disturbed every millimeter of soft tissue in this area. You aren't tight because your muscle is underused and needs to be stretched and rehabbed. You're tight because your tissue is healing...and full healing takes a full year or more.
Please give us your surgery date, and which knee it is, and we’ll make a signature for you.
That tight band is par for the course, I’m sorry to say. Here’s an article about it from the Bonesmart library:
Tight Band feeling across the front of my knee
That tight band is caused by scar tissue but not the adhesions type of scar tissue. When the surgeon opens up the knee, he has to undercut the skin and superficial structures from that centre line to each side of the knee in order to get good access all round the bones. Part of the healing...
bonesmart.org
And here is another reason:
Stiffness/Tightness is a normal occurrence after this kind of major surgery. Your surgeon did major carpentry work and disturbed every millimeter of soft tissue in this area. You aren't tight because your muscle is underused and needs to be stretched and rehabbed. You're tight because your tissue is healing...and full healing takes a full year or more.
Please give us your surgery date, and which knee it is, and we’ll make a signature for you.
I will leave you our Recovery Guidelines. Each article is short but very informative. Following these guidelines will help you have a less painful recovery.
Just keep in mind all people are different, as are the approaches to this recovery and rehab. The key is, “Find what works for you.“ Your doctors, PTs and BoneSmart are available to help, but you are the final judge as to the recovery approach you choose.
Knee Recovery: The Guidelines
1. Don’t worry: Your body will heal all by itself. Relax, let it, don't try and hurry it, don’t worry about any symptoms now, they are almost certainly temporary
2. Control discomfort:
3. Do what you want to do BUT
4. PT or exercise can be useful BUT take note of these
5. At week 4 and after you should follow this
6. Access to these pages on the website
The Recovery articles:
The importance of managing pain after a TKR and the pain chart
Swollen and stiff knee: what causes it?
Energy drain for TKRs
Elevation is the key
Ice to control pain and swelling
Heel slides and how to do them properly
Chart representation of TKR recovery
Healing: how long does it take?
Post op blues is a reality - be prepared for it
Sleep deprivation is pretty much inevitable - but what causes it?
There are also some cautionary articles here
Myth busting: no pain, no gain
Myth busting: the "window of opportunity" in TKR
Myth busting: on getting addicted to pain meds
We try to keep the forum a positive and safe place for our members to talk about their questions or concerns and to report successes with their joint replacement surgery.
While members may create as many threads as they like in the majority of BoneSmart’s forums, we ask that each member have only One Recovery Thread. This policy makes it easier to go back and review the member’s history before providing advice, so please post any updates or questions you have right here in this thread.
Just keep in mind all people are different, as are the approaches to this recovery and rehab. The key is, “Find what works for you.“ Your doctors, PTs and BoneSmart are available to help, but you are the final judge as to the recovery approach you choose.
Knee Recovery: The Guidelines
1. Don’t worry: Your body will heal all by itself. Relax, let it, don't try and hurry it, don’t worry about any symptoms now, they are almost certainly temporary
2. Control discomfort:
rest
ice
take your pain meds by prescription schedule (not when pain starts!)
3. Do what you want to do BUT
a. If it hurts, don't do it and don't allow anyone - especially a physical therapist - to do it to you
b. If your leg swells more or gets stiffer in the 24 hours after doing it, don't do it again.
4. PT or exercise can be useful BUT take note of these
5. At week 4 and after you should follow this
6. Access to these pages on the website
The Recovery articles:
The importance of managing pain after a TKR and the pain chart
Swollen and stiff knee: what causes it?
Energy drain for TKRs
Elevation is the key
Ice to control pain and swelling
Heel slides and how to do them properly
Chart representation of TKR recovery
Healing: how long does it take?
Post op blues is a reality - be prepared for it
Sleep deprivation is pretty much inevitable - but what causes it?
There are also some cautionary articles here
Myth busting: no pain, no gain
Myth busting: the "window of opportunity" in TKR
Myth busting: on getting addicted to pain meds
We try to keep the forum a positive and safe place for our members to talk about their questions or concerns and to report successes with their joint replacement surgery.
While members may create as many threads as they like in the majority of BoneSmart’s forums, we ask that each member have only One Recovery Thread. This policy makes it easier to go back and review the member’s history before providing advice, so please post any updates or questions you have right here in this thread.
Thank you for that information, I will make a signature for you.
It is not necessary to edit a post, though I appreciate your effort to do that. In the future, just scroll down to the reply box and type your answer there, or a new topic, there.
I merged your newest thread with your original recovery thread, as we prefer that members in recovery have only one thread.
This benefits you because all your information is in one place, easy to find, and maintains a nice journal for you.
This also benefits our staff, as your information is all in one place, and we often go back through your thread for previous details, so we know what you‘ve been through which helps us advise you better.
So, please keep all your posts in this thread. If you’d like a new title, let us know what you want, and we’ll change it for you.
Many members bookmark their thread in their computer browser, so they can find it when they log on.
How can I find my threads and posts?
Best wishes on your continuing recovery!
It is not necessary to edit a post, though I appreciate your effort to do that. In the future, just scroll down to the reply box and type your answer there, or a new topic, there.
I merged your newest thread with your original recovery thread, as we prefer that members in recovery have only one thread.
This benefits you because all your information is in one place, easy to find, and maintains a nice journal for you.
This also benefits our staff, as your information is all in one place, and we often go back through your thread for previous details, so we know what you‘ve been through which helps us advise you better.
So, please keep all your posts in this thread. If you’d like a new title, let us know what you want, and we’ll change it for you.
Many members bookmark their thread in their computer browser, so they can find it when they log on.
How can I find my threads and posts?
Best wishes on your continuing recovery!
Sks1997
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Stu, I was doing the exercises twice daily but when I was about 2 months out, I stopped doing the second set but I started riding my recumbent bike for 10-15 min in late afternoon/evening.
When I went for my 8 wk check, my Dr didn’t really talk about it. My PT did give me some exercises to strengthen my quads when I was discharged from therapy at 8 wks.
Looks like we had our surgery the same day!
When I went for my 8 wk check, my Dr didn’t really talk about it. My PT did give me some exercises to strengthen my quads when I was discharged from therapy at 8 wks.
Looks like we had our surgery the same day!
You can do the exercises once a day, and not all of them all at once. Just do the ones you like. The purpose of the exercises is to give your knee mobility. You give it mobility naturally, every time you move around the house, go out for something, shop, etc.
Some of the exercises are for strengthening. For a lot of us, it’s better to wait on this kind of exercise until we have healed more, like after 3 months, and start them slowly. Like you said, doing too many of them can cause swelling, and that defeats the purpose.
Some of the exercises are for strengthening. For a lot of us, it’s better to wait on this kind of exercise until we have healed more, like after 3 months, and start them slowly. Like you said, doing too many of them can cause swelling, and that defeats the purpose.
I can certainly attest to that as well .I’m 6 weeks post op .
The swelling as a result of doing the exercises can be enough for me to be unable to bend my knee much at all . It also causes more pain which , for me, leads to more frustration and less activity . I have come to do exercises throughout the day . Bending the knee every time I get up from couch, stretching when I sit down etc. I try to incorporate them throughout my DLAs. That seems to keep the swelling and pain down more in general .
The swelling as a result of doing the exercises can be enough for me to be unable to bend my knee much at all . It also causes more pain which , for me, leads to more frustration and less activity . I have come to do exercises throughout the day . Bending the knee every time I get up from couch, stretching when I sit down etc. I try to incorporate them throughout my DLAs. That seems to keep the swelling and pain down more in general .
Regaining our ROM is more about Time than repetitions of a list of exercises.
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. Normal activity is the key to success.
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. Normal activity is the key to success.
Sks1997
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It’s pretty common around here to be discharged at 8 wks unless you are having problems. I had good flexion early on but I still am struggling with the slightest limp which causes pain in my hips and low back. I am getting better each day with my walking I think.
Prior to my TKR I was aware of the BoneSmart gentle approach to recovery as opposed to rigorous PT. I was lucky enough to find the site before my TKR. Even though I knew about the BoneSmart approach my OS was all about PT and "whatever ROM you have when your scar turns silver is all the ROM you will ever have." He was the trained surgeon that has done many, many replacements, he must know what he's talking about right? So off I went to my first visit to PT, about 2 weeks out from TKR. The next day when my knee was more swollen and I was in much more pain I opted for a BoneSmart recovery. I never went to another PT session. That was one of the best decisions of my life. Not only did I suffer less pain, but my ROM has continued to improve over two years. I've been hiking over rough terrain for good distances, scuba diving, and just living a happy active pain free life with more ROM than I ever thought I would have again after many painful years. I've now had a hip replacement with equal success following a BoneSmart approach. You don't have to suffer needlessly to have an amazing recovery.
Does any one here use a mini trainer looks like a pair of pedals
A friend of mine who had knee replacement used one and said it helped ,I would be interested in hearing from anyone who's used one . anything to help loosen my leg I find pushing the clutch pedal up and down in the car helps
I keep seeing reference to ADL have looked in the abbreviation section and can't see it what is it please
A friend of mine who had knee replacement used one and said it helped ,I would be interested in hearing from anyone who's used one . anything to help loosen my leg I find pushing the clutch pedal up and down in the car helps
I keep seeing reference to ADL have looked in the abbreviation section and can't see it what is it please
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Hi Stu and welcome! ADL means Activities of Daily Living… and lots of us figure out that the exercises are okay if done every once in a while?! I did not do mine very “religiously” at all, and my recovery this time (TKR #2, right, was 7 months ago) was WAAY better and faster than in 2016, which was when I first found Bonesmart. I did the exercises that made my knee feel better, more stretchy afterwards, but definitely not all of ‘em !
I think there are some other folks here who have used the small rotating ankle movement devices. If you can borrow one to try out, I might suggest doing that before investing in one? That way you can try before you buy… perhaps your friend could bring it to you to try out for a day?
But welcome to the group!
I think there are some other folks here who have used the small rotating ankle movement devices. If you can borrow one to try out, I might suggest doing that before investing in one? That way you can try before you buy… perhaps your friend could bring it to you to try out for a day?
But welcome to the group!
Scaredycat10
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Yes. I have been using one for the last two weeks. It has automatic mode, which I'm using at the moment and so the machine does the cycling for me...slowly...and the trad. push motion. The bend needed to push is adjusted by how far away the machine is to your chair. It's one up from a CPM and will be useful as a chair bike for me next week. It's fully adjustable speedwise and has backwards and forwards motion. A decent bit of kit actually.
The machine is a MotorVator Plus which I bought it in the UK. I can't put a link but think huge world wide online retailer.
