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TKR Beachinnc's recovery thread<

Josephine, thanks for your reply. I do elevate my leg when I do the supine hip abduction , 10 reps 2-3 sets per day, but when doing those it doesn't appear that my leg is hyper-extended.
 
Never got to answering your questions yet, Beachinnic. Here they are now

Beachinnc said:
1. 4-5, my knee mainly aches in the knee cap area, once in awhile sharp pain
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Well, you are only 3 weeks out yet so that's actually pretty good.
Beachinnc said:
2. Oxycodone-acetaminophen 5-325, prescribed to take 1-2 every 4-6 hours as needed for pain. Tramadol 50mg, 1 tab every 6 hrs as needed. This is my second prescription of Oxycodone , was told would not refill, pain level has decreased so only take usually two pills overnight to help relieve knee ache for sleep. Have several refills of Tramadol so I take one every six hours
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Don't like the "as need" instruction. You really must take them routinely as prescribed. Same with the Tramadol. If your surgeon won't refill for you, then see if your GP will oblige. Or ask your surgeon if he will refill the Tramadol instead.
Beachinnc said:
3. Slight swelling
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Okay
Beachinnc said:
4. 105 to full extension
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That's very, very good!
Beachinnc said:
5. I ice my knee after self PT and when it is aching or is painful.
6. I Elevate almost always while I'm at rest lying down.
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You never said how long you elevate/ice for. But you accomplish little or nothing in 20 minutes. Ice for at least 40-60mins and more than 4 times a day and elevate while you ice.
Beachinnc said:
7. I feel I'm fairly active, I get out once or twice a week in a car with my wife driving to go to the store or run errands.
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Did you read this article Recovery Guidelines? Activity progression for TKRs
I suggest you read it again and you will see that you are being far, far too active for 3 weeks out. read the article and adhere to it closely.

I exercise 2 or 3 times a day at home - once a day is plenty and none at all at the weekends
Heel slides 2-3 sets x15 reps - this is not the correct way to do heel slides - read this Heel slides and how to do them properly
Short quad arch 2 sets x15 reps - not advised
Straight leg raise 2-3 sets x10 reps - once you can do these, you don't need to do them any more
Quad set, 2 sets x15 reps - these are not advised
Long arc quad 2 sets x15 reps - neither are these
Supine hip abduction 2 sets x10 reps - these are also ill-advised
Heel raises 2 sets x10 reps - don't see the point of these, they will only cause pain and swelling
Standing hamstring curls, 2 sets x10 reps - are you doing these on a machine? Either way, please top
Standing marching 2 sets x10 reps - this is ill-advised and will cause pain
Standing hip abduction 2 sets x10 reps - this is a hip exercise!
Hip extension standing 2 sets x10 reps - so is this!
Squat supported with chair 2 sets x10 reps - don't do squats, they cause pain

You need to read this article (which was amongst the group left you in the Recovery Guidelines in the second post of this thread) BoneSmart philosophy for sensible post op therapy. It explains all the reasons why I believe these exercises to be more harmful than helpful.

Beachinnc said:
I've had six in home PT visits (no additional in home visits authorized by ins co.) and my OS will not schedule any outpatient PT until my 6 week follow up (if deemed necessary) which is on February 28th.
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In that, he has done you a very big favour. There are many of us on this forum who never did any exercises at all and yet came through our recoveries with excellent results!

It's not the exercising that gets you your ROM, it's time. Time to recover, time for swelling and pain to settle and time to heal. One thing that seems to be missing from all the PT's protocols is that all your ROM is there right from the start, just waiting for all 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.
 
Take it easy and let time do the healing for you.
 
Thanks Josephine for your guidance.
 
I've got 2 pages of exercises that my PT said to do and I have been doing most of them twice a day (see prior post). What is really necessary for exercise other than walking around the house and normal activities at 4 week post op? I'm still using my walker mainly but will sometimes just use my cane. Thanks

I have located the exercise thread, good information in there. Thanks
 
One of our mantras is:

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.
 
Beachinnc said:
I've got 2 pages of exercises that my PT said to do and I have been doing most of them twice a day
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This is ridiculous. Just use your knee the way it was created to be used. All those exercises are counter productive and will even set back your recovery by keeping your knee inflamed. Your number one concern at 4 weeks is to let your knee heal. Exercises do not help your knee to heal. Normal activities and rest, ice and elevating do.
 
5 weeks post op and feeling pretty good, off all pain meds, only take a Tylenol PM (2) at night. Second follow up with OS next week. Have not had any outpatient PT , 6 home visits completed on Feb 1 . As per forum guidance I have backed off most of my self PT and am walking unassisted, except for using a cane in difficult situations. I don't have any measurement tool to check my Flex / ROM but both have much improved. My only issue is still difficult to get to sleep at night.
 
TKR right knee, Jan 14, 8 weeks post op, walking unassisted. I have no actual knee pain but a lot of "popping" right on top of my knee cap when I walk. There is no pain in that area it just "pops and pings" ... if that makes any sense. Thinking it might be tendons or ligaments working themselves out but not sure. Anyone else having similar issues? Thanks for reading...
 
Beachinnc said:
TKR right knee, Jan 14, 8 weeks post op, walking unassisted. I have no actual knee pain but a lot of "popping" right on top of my knee cap when I walk. There is no pain in that area it just "pops and pings" ... if that makes any sense. Thinking it might be tendons or ligaments working themselves out but not sure. Anyone else having similar issues? Thanks for reading...
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Hey group, 18 months post op, (no pain!) went for appointment (scheduled by me) to see what to do about the continued popping of my TKR right knee cap. Scheduled orthoscopic procedure to "clean it up." Anyone else having a similar popping issue at 18 mos post op?
 
@Beachinnc ... you might want to register for our upcoming Ask the Expert webinar on post-op knee issues so you could have an opportunity to ask your question there. One of our BoneSmart surgeons, Dr. Raj Sinha, will be discussing all types of knee problems that can occur after surgery during the hour program. Click on the Ask the Expert link at the top of the page to register. Space is limited and you only have until 5pm CDT Tuesday to submit a question for consideration for the program.
 
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