TKR Back with a question

[Pumpkin]

My apologies for mis understanding your post. I am sorry to hear about your husbands passing.

Happy to read you PT was a much better experience today.
Here is a link to the heel slides we recommend for flexion.
Heel slides and how to do them

Glad you are feeling better about your TKR.

 

[jakeleg]

Thank you for the refresher on slides. I woke at 4am. Grrrr. Got some coffee and assessed my mind and my knee for a bit. Now I understand the rollercoaster. Yesterday was pretty good. I'm stiff this morning. How easy it is to overdo??? I did 3 slides in the chair for a count of 10. I did 3 nice stretches on my books which substitute for a step up box. I'm going to try that again in a couple of hours or so. I want to build up slowly so that even if I get stiff, I don't feel as if I'm going backwards. I've got to learn more about how my knee talks to me. Also, I have to go out today for 2 errands. I have been ordering groceries online and then picking them up. Grocery stores are huge these days. I don't miss hunting for things as I was doing pre tkr. I may do one flight of stairs up or down, I'm not sure. I will have see how much is not too much just like everything else. I certainly can see why several exercises and so many reps in an hour is not the best regimen for me. I'll go back to PT tomorrow now that I have more confidence after speaking up. The funny thing is that nagging thought that I'm not doing enough still pops into my mind. I look forward to any comments if I'm on the wrong track or deluding myself.

 

[Jockette]

The Bonesmart way makes so much sense. But outside of Bonesmart we are bombarded with “push push push, do your exercises “ blah blah blah. I second guessed the no exercise advice a lot. But I continued doing what Bonesmart said.

I am not having an amazing recovery, which at times made me fear I was not doing enough. But I’ve been reading this forum for over 7 months. The repetition if the same advice finally sank in.

Recovery takes tons of time.
Just time.

The more I tried to gently stretch my knee the more it bothered me. The things you do throughout your day will stretch it enough.

I am 8.5 months post op. I still have a ways to go before I feel fully recovered.

7 weeks is very early in a 52+ week recovery time frame.

 

[rubyyarn]

Then there are the days when the knees are doing great, it's just the rest of you that hurts

 

[Polkadot]

@rubyyam, I hear you!
@jakeleg, I had that nagging thought about not doing enough, and yet every time I stepped the activity up a bit, I found myself swollen and in pain. Just keep listening to your knee. The knee knows. The knee's in charge. Why do you need books when you have stairs, BTW? Just curious.

 

[jakeleg]

Good question, Polkadot. I live on the 4th floor in an 11 story building. I don't always want to get completely dressed so I would not want to meet anyone on the stairs wearing only my underwear and a T shirt! Also, if I do the books, I can do a few and stop, then do a few more if my knee agrees. The other answers might be I'm vain and lazy. Both of which are true. I've confessed to vanity many times and lazy just means I'm always looking for the easier way. My leg has recovered only a little from yesterday. I have done quite a bit of walking since this morning; using my small ice packs when I'm resting. Postponed my errands til after PT tomorrow morning. I can see that I want to be a good girl and compliant with PT--that's the hook. I agree that the knee should be the boss so have to stop that nagging feeling of not doing enough. This is not easy stuff. I wish some of the benefits of taking it easy would manifest in ROM and decreased swelling. I'm a broken record and I am tired of it. It's so true that other people do not understand our experience.

 

[kneeper]

Yeah, we want to see the results right away. But knee recovery progress is much more subtle than that. It's week by week and month by month.
Your "job" is kind of "what does the knee want today?"
I found it helpful when friends or family who hadn't seen me in a week or so would comment how they noticed I was moving better etc. Sometimes we can't see it so much ourselves.

 

[jakeleg]

Didn't get good sleep again last night. Weepy when I got up for my coffee. Wanted to cancel PT. I was on the verge of tears when I walked in. I think they might be afraid of me because I speak my mind and I have not been hiding my emotions. Actually did revolutions on the bike that had been suggested for me. Very slow, but I did them and that was a complete surprise. Decided I was going to tell my PT what I think and ask him questions. Told him I'm not trying to be difficult and that I have learned so much on Bonesmart and there is no other way to get all this information and the support. I have to 2 exercises that I am able to do to get bend. Did some strength exercises for home. Heat, stimulation and done Not a word about ROM. PT put 2 pieces of a blue tape that kind of criss crosses over my knee. Supposed to make stretch less painful. Did 2 errands and was aching pretty good. I have been ordering groceries online. The lady who put them in my car said she'd had a partial in December and was having problems. You can guess what I did next. Wrote down Bonesmart on a card so she can make better decisions about what to do next. I love being able to offer something to a complete stranger. Why was today better? I can't say for sure. I think speaking up, icing resting!! and learning from others and no more forcing or guilting.

 

[jakeleg]

I had a good PT session today, but I accidently posted on @Robinmhs88 because I go there often. Oops, sorry, if I broke a rule.

 

[Pumpkin]

@jakeleg,
I moved the post for you, no worries, everything is OK.
Thanks for the shout out for BoneSmart.

 

[kneeper]

Way to go on the revolutions!

 

[jakeleg]

Read some good stuff tonight. Realized my surgery was actually 7 weeks on 11/28. Correcting that has helped my expectations of progress So I my thread title is more optimistic now.

 

[Jockette]

Great title, but I did love the epiphany one!

I’m glad things are looking up for you!

 

[jakeleg]

Thanks kneeper. I had begun to dread the bike. Now am relieved of the no revolution obession. Looking forward to shedding all my unrealistic expectations.

Jockette, should I change it epiphany on a bike? I like to have some fun with words.

 

[Jockette]

You are definitely feeling better today!

 

[PoetryChef]

I am just three weeks out from BTKR. Here they call it staged but with surgeries one day apart it surely feels like BTKR to me. I feel your frustration with the lack of ROM but believe it will happen eventually. I sort of take the day as it will come and enjoy the surprise of tiny accomplishments. Enjoy your day and the small improvement surely to come with it.

 

[Polkadot]

This is not easy stuff.

Understatement of the year! BTW, you made me laugh out loud when you described what it would be like to use the stairs outside your apartment in your “unmentionables!” When you said you had stairs, I just assumed they were inside your home!

Weepy when I got up for my coffee.

This weepiness plagued me for a long time. I’m not a weeper by nature, and the emotional instability would take me by surprise almost every time. I made an uneasy peace with it by reminding myself that lack of sleep and strong drugs both affect the emotions. I like your “cure” for the blues: stand up for yourself! Good job!

Looking forward to shedding all my unrealistic expectations.

This is a great goal, and one that is hard to do! Those expectations seem to be cyclical and pop up, also when not expected. I’m still battling them.

 

[jakeleg]

Has anyone else has the criss cross tape put on the knee? He put it on symetrically. It looks like it might be fashionable with a mini skirt. Oops! Just remembered my mini skirt years were 50 years ago. I think it has made a difference though I'm not sure how to describe it. It will stay on 2 days. Going to the chiropractor today. I had to quit PT for my rotator cuff. The surgery was 6/1 and my knee started screaming before I got to work on strength. I suppose I've used it too much too soon. I've been doing my exercises, but I want my chiro's opinion. He's a gem! I've been doing chiro since 1980 and it has kept me going for a long time. Getting cooler here. Let's see how the knee likes it.

 

[jakeleg]

Changed the name of my thread so I could find it more easily.

Went to the chiropractor at 11:30. Adjustments to neck, shoulder and lower back - I was really out of whack! I was hit by a UPS truck in San Francisco when I was about 24 and made of rubber. Have been paying for the triple whiplash for the last 20 years. I think the ankle bone is connected to the neck bone.

Was compensating for years. I was able to lie on my stomach for the back adjustment. The others he does in a sitting position. Instant relief, but still have some pain and tightness in shoulder. He told me how to exercise for the shoulder since I had to quit PT early. The tape on my knee is kinesiology tape and has been helpful.

However, being out from 11 to 3:30 with my friend was enough. Her car is very small so it was a good test for my knee to be able to get in and out. I guess the bend has improved. Chiropractor, lunch at Olive Garden, short trip to WalMart, traffic. That was enough for me.

Have been catching up on recent posts. Surprising how different the PT experiences are, but it's not hard to see that force should be forbidden. I am noticing a little improvements the Bonesmart way but still stiff in the morning. Best to all.

 

[Jockette]

My previous chiropractor used kinesiology tape on my back for ribs that don’t stay in place ( I have one out right now ) The tape was bright pink! It helped a lot. We moved 2.5 years ago out of state and I miss her so much! She was the hardest person to leave when we moved.

I like my current chiropractor (I had to try 3 before I found the right fit) but she will not tape me as she has no training for it. So. I taped myself yesterday. I didn’t do very well. I will have to have my husband do it for me.

I can’t imagine having that tape on my knee though.