TKR Back with a question

[Jockette]

The day my PT discharged me he wanted me to promise to drop him a postcard when I reached full extension because then he knew he’d done his job.

Seriously?

I hemmed and hawed because I am an honest person and I knew I wasn’t going to drop him any postcard because I knew he had nothing to do with my gaining extension.

I guess I could have told him that but I don’t like confrontation, and he wouldn’t have agreed anyway.

I was just happy that he didn’t hesitate when I asked if that day could be my last. We had talked at the previous appointment that this day might be my last.

The only reason I kept going to PT as long as I did (almost 8 weeks) was to make my husband and my surgeon happy. I still let the PT push a bit to measure my flex, I was still somewhat new to Bonesmart and still didn’t have the nerve to say no, and at this point they weren’t pushing as hard as they had earlier. But I didn’t do anything else there that I didn’t want to.

I’m glad all that is behind me. Compared to other’s experiences with PT, mine wasn’t all that bad. All my therapists were pleasant and caring, but I did hear about that “window” and “my surgeon wouldn’t be happy if I wasn’t at 95 at my 2 week check up.” Blah, blah, blah. They put me in the pool way too early and it took me 3 days to recover. That is when I started canceling appointments.

My husband wasn’t too happy when I cancelled some, he wasn’t sold on the Bonesmart way, he was still convinced exercising was required for a good outcome. But he also agreed that what they were having me do was becoming too much for me. We talked and talked about it. So we were both satisfied when I was discharged that I had done most of what they asked of me.

I’ve already told him that next time I won’t go to PT at all and I will do things Bonesmart all the way. He has come to the point that he told me he would support me even though he doesn’t know what he’s talking about!
That is true love!!!

 

[jakeleg]

@kneeper Is it normal for my knee to be so much tighter in the morning? Last night I had pain in my kneecap that woke me.

Did I move some way that I shouldn't have?

I'm overly concerned about my tight quad. It was better yesterday. I did the lying on stomach bend gently. My knee and quad were much tighter today. I have new pain and aching on the outside of my knee. What's going on? Thanks.

 

[Jockette]

I cannot imagine laying on my stomach with my legs hanging off the bed! Gives me the heebeejeebees!!!

My quad was tight for a while but it got better without my help.

 

[kneeper]

Yes, it is completely normal to be stiff in the morning for several months.
You also have probably done too much and your knee is telling you to back off a bit. Oftentimes the "tightness" is not really muscular--it's a form of pain from overdoing.

The knee will also be sensitive to any little jarring etc. for several months. I know I would sometimes move too quickly or awkwardly and it would hurt a bit.
I think your knee is probably telling you to chill out. Time is the main healer.

 

[Josephine]

Is it normal for my knee to be so much tighter in the morning? I did the lying on stomach bend gently. My knee and quad were much tighter today. I have new pain and aching on the outside of my knee.

Well doing that extension thing was definitely NOT a good idea! It doesn't really work anyway and can cause you a LOT of pain. With pain comes swelling. With swelling inevitably comes stiffness. Everything is connected to everything else.

Did I move some way that I shouldn't have?

There is NO movement you can do in bed that would be harmful - short of actually falling out of bed!

 

[jakeleg]

@Josephine or @sistersinhim or someone Yesterday's posts were about my quad. Today my stiffness is a bit less, not noticeably swollen but I won't do the extension thing again. However, I woke up with strong pain in my kneecap just a few inches to the inside.

It got better when I made sure to walk heel -toe. I was up and down with meeting and errands for about 5 hours. I walked slowly heel-toe , but the errands had to be done.

Now I'm resting and icing just because that's what I do when I'm home. If I can't hurt the new knee, what have I hurt? I noticed some other odd pains or sensations a couple of times. Are nerves still waking up?

I am 3 months today. Elevating is not really that comfortable anymore and I seem to be moving my knee more when I'm trying to go to sleep. It's not natural for me to sleep with my leg completely straight. I do sleep on my back 100% off the time and have since 1980. I do not toss and turn so my issue is trying to find a comfortable way to rest my leg.

1980 was when I discovered chiropractic and have been doing it ever since. My neck will not allow any other position. So if this is clear as mud, all I'm asking is where did this new pain come from? Also forgot to mention left side of knee is still numb. Today I don't know if I'm making progress out not.
Thanks

 

[SusieShoes]

I suspect the new pain comes from the soft tissues of your knee, which became unhappy with the exercise you were doing. While it's true that harming the knee implant itself is hard to do, it's also true that putting the implant in place damaged the softer tissues of the knee joint: muscles, tendons, bursae, fascia, blood vessels, nerves, skin, etc.. There's a lot more to the knee than bone, and it gets pushed, pulled, cut, bruised, and it reacts accordingly. It gets inflamed. It swells. And until that soft tissue heals, it is easy to aggravate and cause more swelling and pain.

The left (outside) side of my left knee is still numb from the joint to mid-shin. My right knee doesn't have any significant numb area. Why that is, I don't know. Numb areas come from skin nerves cut during the surgery and go away only when, and if, the nerve ends reattach. It can happen quickly, but usually takes some time, even years, and in some cases doesn't happen. I remember a pinched nerve in my neck/shoulder that caused a numb patch between my thumb and index finger that took two years to go away. If you can, make peace with the numb area. With any luck, sensation will return in time.

Finding a comfortable position for sleep challenges us all. At first, I could only sleep on my back with my legs elevated on a wedge. To this day, when sleeping on my back, I need a pillow under my knees, or I wake up with very unhappy knees (which recover within moments of moving, but the first movement hurts a bit). Any other position is fine. I'm a natural side sleeper, so that works best for pain-free sleep. For you, though, needing to sleep on your back, you'll have to experiment with ways to make your knees happy in that position.

Sounds like you're making progress to me! Think back three months... the progress is there.

 

[Josephine]

If I can't hurt the new knee, what have I hurt?

Honey, there is plenty of soft tissue in there to harm!

Are nerves still waking up?

No, the soft tissues are still healing!

Also forgot to mention left side of knee is still numb

Well that rather depends upon which knee you had done! You haven't told us that. See, if it's the right knee, then it's the inside side. But if it's the left knee then it's the outside side!

all I'm asking is where did this new pain come from?

Perhaps you'd show me where it is using this chart

 

[sistersinhim]

I haven't had surgery on my left knee in about 10 years and I still have numb areas. The tkr's right lower side it numb. But, inside it's not.

You are only 1/4 of the way to a complete healing of your knee. You'll have all kinds of different pains here and there that come up for no reason. Then, they'll go away just as fast.

There is no need for you to have straight legs at night. I kept a small pillow under my knee when I was on my back. That helped the pain a whole lot.

 

[jakeleg]

@Josephine
I see my surgeon on 1/3/18 for the first time since surgery on 10/10/17. I want to be calm when he says "How are you?" After we talk about my knee, I have to tell him, my rotator cuff is giving me problems because my shoulder PT was interrupted by a screaming knee. I did not even get to start strength training so I've been lifting soup cans while I'm icing on the bed.

He's a great guy and I've had meniscus, rotator and TKR in less than2 years - all with him. I don't want him to be disappointed in me. I haven't decided how much to tell him about my 3 months of education on Bonesmart.

Thank you for all your help and advice.

 

[funkymuse]

Hi Jakeleg! How funny, I see my OS tomorrow as well! I'm sure we will both have interesting tales to tell!!!

 

[Jockette]

I never said anything to my surgeon about Bonesmart. I did worry it about it coming up, though, but it didn’t. My husband thought I should fess up that I wasn’t doing all the exercises I was told to do. But as I’ve said before, I don’t like confrontation.

 

[kmak81230]

I did not mention how little I was doing from about 6 weeks on to my surgeon - I just nodded and smiled when he told me to work that knee hard . . . asked my questions, told him I was working hard (I was working hard at healing), and then went back to my limited exercise routine. I am having #2 done in about 6 mos with the same surgeon (I think he's a good mechanic) so did not want him to think badly of me and my recovery. I may fess up after knee #2 is on the road to a good recovery.

 

[jakeleg]

@Josephine Saw my chiropractor today. Told him about leg that was completely numb. Left TKR 10/10/17. He had me do a couple of things then he adjusted L4. No more numbness except around knee. I have been having problems with lower back and I thought that might have caused the whole leg to be numb because it happened almost overnight.

I get adjustments regularly on my neck. I was rear ended in my 20's by a big truck and got a triple whiplash. My chiropractor says most of my problems come from my neck and now a different gait is causing some chaos. I do pretty well as long as I heel -toe walk. He said my knee looks very good for 3 months.

In 2½ hours we'll see we what my orthopedic surgeon says. He has been very openminded about my chiropractic sessions. I told him I've been seeing a chiropractor for almost 40 years. I highly recommend chiropractors who are trained in the Gonstead Method. They have saved my sanity. My neck diagnosis is " really bad". That made me laugh because it's not a medical term , but it fits perfectly.

Best to all, Jakeleg

 

[Josephine]

That's fantastic about your back! I am a BIG fan of chiropractic treatment and have been receiving such treatment for over 40 years myself. Sadly the last chap I was seeing and had been seeing since 2000, recently returned to his home in Australia and I am bereft! Now I have to find another one who can deal with all my aches and pains as well as he did!

BTW, his wife, who used to be a chiropactor, has recently completed her training and is now an orthopaedic surgeon of some standing!

 

[Jockette]

My very most favorite chiropractor lives in Ohio. When I moved from there, she was the hardest person to leave! It had taken me 3 chiropractors to find her. I’m now in Delaware and again it took 3 to find the one I stayed with but I still like the Ohio one best.

Last month I was in Ohio for my daughter’s wedding, and I had a rib out of place bothering me, so I called my favorite and saw her. I got a much bigger welcome back than I expected, she spent about 40 minutes with me, And, she didn’t even charge me! How awesome is that!!!!

 

[jakeleg]

@Josephine @Jockette;@Robinmhs88
My OS was very happy with me; walking, fkexion, extension.

I told him about Bonesmart and not letting anyone hurt me. Also told him that Bonesmart saved all of us when the crying spells, depression and hopelessness hit.

Before I told him about bonesmart, I asked him what would I have to do to make him fire me. He thought about it and said "be mean to my staff".

I decided that I would tell him all about Bonesmart. He even wrote the website down. He thought it sounded good.

I told him that there was an awful lot of information to sort through so it might not be good for all his patients I don't know whether he'll follow up and look at it or not, but we were both very happy today. Now I'm going to go back to four more sessions of physical therapy for my shoulder.

I'm so relieved. I'm almost scared to believe it. Thank you, Josephine and all advisors and Bonesmarties. I hope it goes well for everyone who follows the Bonesmart way.

 

[Jockette]

Interesting!

When I asked my surgeon, at my 6 week check up, if I could stop going to therapy, he told me “ but we haven’t finished fixing you yet” (or something like that). Then he said, “let’s compromise, only go twice a week.” I didn’t tell him at that point I was only going once a week.

So then I asked if he’d be mad if I did stop, and right away with a smile he said, “for about 24 hours”. I figured that was a good deal.

So, my point is, just maybe my surgeon would at least listen to my thoughts on the Bonesmart way. I may never know because at the moment, at almost 10 months post op, there’s no point in discussing it. Next time around I may still not tell him, but maybe I will. I think he might tolerate my not going to PT. We will have to agree to disagree on that issue.

 

[jakeleg]

The cold weather is hard on old bones and fake bones, too. I will try stem cell on my other knee if it comes to that. A woman in my doctor's waiting room told me it costs $2,000 in Vail, Colorado "because they do so. many of them". Is that because people want to get back on their skis. I don't know if it's true, but that's what she said. I told my doctor, I'd put it on a credit card! We are freezing here in Oklahoma!

 

[Jockette]

We are freezing here in Delaware and my knee does not like it!