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Bilateral TKR Baths and Feet

The bike seat has really helped with saddle soreness. All gone.

I just read that long term recovery is 3-6 months somewhere else on this site. I am almost 6months out having had bilateral on October 29, 2012. I am not fully recovered. Still have some swelling, stiffness, discomfort, especially in the am and then in the evening. So am I not on track with my recovery?
 
Your recovery is your recovery and quite unique to anyone else's. Those figures are just an average not a target. ​
Two knees invariably take longer to get right than one but even that is an average!​
 
Long term recovery is 3-6 months? For a lucky few.

My ortho asks patients if they were glad they had TKR at one year. He said before that, the answer will often be "no." Does that answer your question?
 
Hi. Your "tightness" is not unusual at all. I had my left TKR in mid-November of last year, so I'm at 5 months + in my recovery. I have twice "overdone" it and regressed, with my knee tightening and causing general discomfort but not real pain. My doctor has been happy with my ROM and the X-rays, as well as my walking, and he has prescribed Methylprednisilone (a steroid anti-inflammatory drug) which has worked well to knock back the swelling. I have only one word of advice: If it feels good, don't think you are ready for more activity – take everything SLOWLY! It doesn't take much "knee optimism" to allow you to overdo it and create "knee depression." SLOW is everything. Good luck!
 
HI to all. I am now 6.5 months out from double knee replacement. I have had a slow recovery. I am under the impression that we all heal differently and that is ok, so why congratulate the fast healers? Be glad for them, but I am trying as hard as I can to do better. I still do my exercises about 3-4 times a week, walk the track at high school, ride my bike, do housework, yard work, shopping, almost everything i ever did. I still have stiffness and some tightness. But I no longer worry about it. I continue to ice and elevate and rest and have found this forum very very comforting and sensible.
Last week I saw my surgeon for the first time since the surgery. I had a list of my status and concerns, all of which he thought were quite "normal". He sent in an orthotocist who fitted me with a plantar fasciitis boot and taught he how to use it. Heel pain is my biggest problem. The surgeon explained that i have the fasciitis on the left foot because that is the side where my extension needs to improve. To do that he suggested I walk backwards for about 20 minutes a day. Boy, is that a challenge, but he felt it would flatten my left knee and help my foot.
He said I am doing well, the implants are nice and firm, and that he does not need to see me again unless I request to do so.
He ended with telling me that it is actually two years until "full" recovery and that I am doing fine.Surprised me.:dancy:
 
twirler, I have found an avatar that I thought you might like to use. It is already sized to fit perfectly as I have tested it. It also come in two colors to choose from. Just right click on the attached picture and "save image as" in your picture files. Then hover your mouse of your user name at the top of the page and from the drop down menu select "Avatar". The click the browse button and find the picture in your files and double click it. Then click "Okay"and you are done.

If you are not interested, my feelings will not be hurt. I just enjoy doing this when the opportunity presents itself.

[Bonesmart.org] Baths and Feet
[Bonesmart.org] Baths and Feet
 
Hi Twirler! That two years sounds more like it to me! I figured 18-24 months anyway. I'm nearly at 1 year (bilateral tkr) and still have stiffness and some mild pain sometimes, and I've had an excellent recovery very early on. I think there is a difference between the actual healing of the bones and incision, etc., and the residual recovery stuff, like swelling, flexibility and strength. That's what takes so long!
 
thanks everyone. I am guessing an avatar is a photo or symbol of me shown to the left of my posts. I love the ones you sent, but cant figure out how to get it to appear.
 
DrFermento said:
Hi. Your "tightness" is not unusual at all. I had my left TKR in mid-November of last year, so I'm at 5 months + in my recovery. I have twice "overdone" it and regressed, with my knee tightening and causing general discomfort but not real pain. My doctor has been happy with my ROM and the X-rays, as well as my walking, and he has prescribed Methylprednisilone (a steroid anti-inflammatory drug) which has worked well to knock back the swelling. I have only one word of advice: If it feels good, don't think you are ready for more activity – take everything SLOWLY! It doesn't take much "knee optimism" to allow you to overdo it and create "knee depression." SLOW is everything. Good luck!
Click to expand...
Well, I guess I am my own worst enemy! As of about three weeks ago, I was really starting to think I had cleared the "six month hurdle" -- I was doing exercycle and exercises daily and was starting to walk up to 25 minutes (flat surface) every other day without trouble. Then I did part of the old trail that I used to hike every day pre-surgery (which has short uphill and downhill segments) for 25 minutes, and here I am with the damn knee flared up again! It seems to feel like "downhill" walking aggravates my TKR. I was doing so well, then...
 
I have developed plantar fasciitis, due to my left knee not going into enough extension and pulling on my calf muscle??? It hurts to walk and my PT, whom I revisited yesterday, does not want me to do a lot of long distance walking until this settles down. I hope it's just a bump in the road.
 
twirler said:
I just read that long term recovery is 3-6 months somewhere else on this site. I am almost 6months out having had bilateral on October 29, 2012. I am not fully recovered. Still have some swelling, stiffness, discomfort, especially in the am and then in the evening. So am I not on track with my recovery?
Click to expand...
I had a BTKR and I had a limp for about five months---it was not until about eight months that I felt pretty close to being normal---at six months I began to see some progress.

Some say that it may take upwards to a year to recover from a TKR or a BTKR---and I concur! Please consider what has been surgically done to both of your knees---the slicing, the sawing, the pounding, the man-handling, the gluing, etc---and you will realize that recover can indeed take longer than we would like it to.
 
twirler said:
I have developed plantar fasciitis, due to my left knee not going into enough extension and pulling on my calf muscle??? It hurts to walk and my PT, whom I revisited yesterday, does not want me to do a lot of long distance walking until this settles down. I hope it's just a bump in the road.
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I am sure that it is---the PF can be nasty---both my wife and I have had bouts with it---one thing that I found helpful was icing my heel directly and stretching---I purchased one of these called a "Pro Stretch"---and it helped tremendously!
[Bonesmart.org] Baths and Feet

Take it easy and do not worry---please be patient---you will get over the Plantar fasciitis issue and the knees will take time, but you will get to where you want to be!
 
Twirler, if you have access to a pool, especially to a warm water one, give that a try. Water-walking, "cycling" with a float to hold you up, etc., or try a water-based exercise class.
 
I had BTKR on October 29th, 2013. Even though I am not really totally fine, my OS said I do not need to see him again unless at my request. He stated that all of the things I experience are quite normal at this stage( stiffness in the evening, tight feeling, steps one at a time). However, now I have plantar fasciitis that is quite stubborn. I have had PT for it and am seeing a podiatrist, but until this resolves, I cannot walk a l0t. I hope my walking will continue to improve once I can get back to walking around the track and for longer distance. I think it will. Am I right about that? My only other concern is that I really miss taking baths. I have a deep whirlpool tub. I cannot get in and out of it unless I am on my knees for a few seconds as I turn myself around to get down and then up out of the tub. I have not tried this yet. Would that harm my implants? Thanks and best wishes for a good recovery to all.
 
According to everything I've read and heard, it won't harm your implants to be on your knees, but it may cause intolerable sensations. I've been lucky in that being on my knee doesn't bother me. I'd recommend you first try kneeling on a good pad and see how that feels. I suppose you could even use, say, a swim float pad in the whirlpool to kneel on as you get out.

I've also noticed that TKR is often accompanied by a flare-up of some other below-waist body part: back, hip, sciatica, other knee. I had plantar fasciitis before the knee troubles and it took a look time to clear up and in fact masked my developing knee problems at that time. I hope you have more patience than I do!
 
twirler said:
I had BTKR on October 29th, 2013.
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Do you mean October of 2012??? We aren't to this year's October quite yet!!:skep:

It will not harm your new knees to kneel on them. But, as Mary says, some people find it a bit uncomfortable.....not painful exactly, just kind of a strange feeling. Try kneeling first on the softest thing you can find....like your bed. Then work up to a folded towel on top of a carpeted floor....then just the carpet. And finally, try the folded towel on a hard surface like a wood floor or tile. If you can de-sensitize yourself this way, you may be able to kneel just fine in the tub.

But, if all else fails and you need to kneel on a hard surface, just use something soft to cushion your knees.

Plantar fasciitis can be a real bear to get rid of. I'm assuming your doctors have you doing hamstring stretches, right??? If not, you need to do those religiously several times a day.

One really, really important thing is to get yourself new shoes with good support if you haven't done so. Your old shoes have wear patterns that fit your body when it was out of alignment with your bad knees. Once they are put into correct alignment, just the slight wear on your soles over the course of hours or the entire day can cause back and/or foot problems. So be sure to replace at least the shoes you wear most frequently.
 
Hi Twirler,

I developed plantar fasciitis as well and struggled with it for several months. Nothing I did worked; insoles, different shoes with better arch support, stretching, etc. I finally ended up with a cortisone shot in my heel. It was 10 seconds of agony...and within days relief. It's been a few months since the shot and no problems at all. I am conscious about wearing shoes with good arch support and better quality, which does help. I have been wearing Klogs shoes for work which aren't very stylish but are so comfortable. I found a pair of Keen sandals which again, aren't sexy but are great on my feet.

I hope the pf resolves so you start walking more!

Be well,

Dawn
 
I, too, got plantar fasciitis in the foot opposite the tkr. I think the new alignment throws things off. I had physical therapy and got custom orthotics from an orthotist. I'm assuming your podiatrist warned you to not walk around barefoot as that can aggravate things.
Hope things clear up for you soon. Let us know if you try the tub and how you do.
 
twirler said:
I cannot get in and out of it unless I am on my knees for a few seconds as I turn myself around to get down and then up out of the tub. I have not tried this yet. Would that harm my implants?
Click to expand...
Not in the least. But I still cannot kneel as it hurts! I couldn't even imagine trying to kneel on something as hard as a bathtub! :shocked: But you won't know until you try it.
 
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