Bilateral knee replacement

[susan1228]

I had bilateral knee replacement on February 18th 2008. I am having a lot of pain so much so that it seems better if I dont do the exercises. I have a lot of tightness at top of my knees and also soreness in calves. Does anyone else have this experience? I am so scared to go backwards. I still dont sleep at night and a lot of the time the pain meds do nothing. Can anyone help me.

 

[JenniferG]

Hi susan, welcome. I had bilateral on march 18. First let me say DON'T YOU DARE QUIT. I know the PT can hurt, but you have to push through. Have you spoken to your OS about pain management. If you are still having that much pain this far out you should talk with him and get more help. also talk with PT and ask for any suggestions. I have tightness too. I think it lessens the more you move, so double edge sword. But at least rhe pain from moving will lessen. Do you take the pain meds before you do the exercises and not just at night? I was told to take the max dose before PT. Keep posting you are not alone and will get through this. ;-) jen

 

[Josephine]

Indeed you are not alone! And this tightness, swelling and pain are a sign of an under exercised knee.PT hurts big time but if you are going to get your knee back to anywhere near normal, then it's got to be done.

Tips:
- Make sure you take enough pain meds to control your pain, especially an hour or so before PT
- make sure you ice, ice, ice and elevate, elevate, elevate and rest, rest, rest!
- and post in here plenty so we can kick start your optimism!

 

[referee54]

I had a bilateral November 8th, 2007. I did have tightness in my calves---still do, from time to time; but now I am umpiring baseball games and commuting to school on my bike. PT is rigorous; true---but you have to go through with it. The surgery was the easy part. Now it is up to you to fight through the PT pain as you procede to put your life back in orfer. Trust me, at times it wasn't very fun, but it was every bit of the challenge. I have my life back together now, and everyday it seems that I am returning to normal. Also remember that it takes upwards of a year to get over the surgery.

Work hard in PT, and then ice yourself down. You will be surprised at the progress that you make. There are two kinds of pain; one kind is robbing your body of your way of life; the other kind is through PT---it is telling you that you are regaining control over your life. DO NOT EVER, EVER, GIVE UP.

Tim C.

 

[susan1228]

So you feel I am in so much pain because I dont do enough of the exercises? I do lots of walking and I never just sit around. I did pool exercises twice last week and i do few of the stretches. I wake up stiff and sore and it is very painful to do the stretches. I cant give up. I am told it just takes time. My therapist canceled my re-evaluation friday and dont know when he can reschedule but I told them to get me another one. He is suppose to get me more visits from my insurance. Do you then think twice a week in therapy is enough?

 

[JenniferG]

Twice may be enough if you are also doing the exercises at home on the off days. My PT said that these exercises are a now a way of life for us. He also thinks folks without TKR should be doing them but that's another story. I wake up a little stiff and sore as well, but first few steps and it wears off. Certainly nothing like pre-surgery. susan, how old are you? Do you have any children? Reason I ask is, when I move and feel any discomfort I do the breathing like lamaze. Breathe and do it any way. Once I get the leg in the position I wanted, it's OK. The exercise are more specific than every day moving. So they are as important. And remember, this can take up to a year to fully heal.

 

[northman22]

I had bilateral TKR 2/29/08 and am still going to PT 3 times a week. I went back to work 2 weeks ago and am usually too swollen and sore to do too many exercises after work. I try to do stretches whenever I can. Hang in there and don't feel alone!

Steve

 

[referee54]

I began to savor, if you will, the soreness in my legs from dong squats, extensions, curls, balancing, etc. I knew that I would wake up sore and stiff, but boy, did I feel truiumphant when I walked out of the PT office.

I teach, and I walked around plenty, but it is the bike riding, strengthening and balance exercises that will really, down the road, when you are ready for them, be a big help to you.

Did you ever see one of those little toy birds on the edge of a cup that bounced up and down, "drinking" water? They had me doing that to strengthen my hams and quads---I hated it...but wow, did it help.

I also had a giant elastic band around my waist and had to do boxes---climb up on them and over them, and I was even doing "hurdles" with the cord...it would try to pull me back and give me tension...

I can't tell you how many times I awoke to "S&S'---stiffness and soreness. I wasn't until about Aprilfive months after surgery---that it began to subside. I still will get stiff and sore, but minimally now.

I went to out-patient PT twice a week but worked on it in a gym that I went to three other days of the week.

I also found that the more that I stretched, the easier it became. I would stretch four to five times a day. Gently when you wake up, in the morning, after lunch, before dinner, and before you go to bed.

Do you "march"? I would walk around the house and try to bring my knees up as high as I coould---like I was in a marching band.

Maybe it was just me, but after I had all of the adhesions torn, I went to serous work on out-patient PT. Understand, a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, I was a college football player that lifted a lot of weights. I love to cycle and to push myself---so pain to me has been a friend for a while---not the arthritic kind, but rather, the kind that says, "You worked out hard..."

It does take time, and you cannot get frustrated. The only thing you can do is to work as hard as you can and let your body heal in its own time. Believe me, you won't ever, ever, regret it.

Several weeks ago I went on a 30-mile bike ride. I average nearly 16-20 miles day now. I umpire baseball games five nights a week...and my last PT session was March 27---not too long ago. Hang in there.

Tim C.

 

[referee54]

Here is how I look at it---I may be in pain, but I will never, ever, give up and I will keep on fighting. I will not let pain defeat me. I will conquer it and regain control of my life. I was frustrated, too, at times, today, my knees were almost like they were five years ago---I still have a ways to go, but I will not be satisfied.



Tim C.

 

[lgobrien]

Ref -
What do you mean by "Maybe it was just me, but after I had all of the adhesions torn, I went to serous work on out-patient PT..." ??? Do you mean a scheduled manipulation or did you mean self-inflicted stretching?

Laurie

 

[Doug]

Tim,
I know exactly what you are talking about when you mention "savor the pain". About a month ago, I started using the Cybex Arc Glider. The first time on, I thought I was going to pass out.
Now I'm up to 45 minutes on a good day. I do intervals between the resistance, and the angle. When I get off, there is nothing left. I drink a quart of sports drink while I'm on it.
Isn't it great to be able to work out like that again??
Sure, those first few months were rough. But look at us now!!

 

[referee54]

What do you mean by "Maybe it was just me, but after I had all of the adhesions torn, I went to serous work on out-patient PT..." ??? Do you mean a scheduled manipulation or did you mean self-inflicted stretching?


I did 'em myself---stretching with exerbands and ankle weights---I would lay on my stomach and place an exercise band around my ankle with my leg in the air---and pull. or, I would put ankle weights on and hang my leg over the edge of a bed or sofa---and let the weights tear the adhesions. It was either that, or go under. I wanted control over what was happening to me---Nobody was going to put me out again for a long, long time. Increased the range of motion so that the outpatient PT would concentrate on the strengthening stuff and the balance.

Tim C.

 

[referee54]

Tim,
I know exactly what you are talking about when you mention "savor the pain". About a month ago, I started using the Cybex Arc Glider. The first time on, I thought I was going to pass out.
Now I'm up to 45 minutes on a good day. I do intervals between the resistance, and the angle. When I get off, there is nothing left. I drink a quart of sports drink while I'm on it.
Isn't it great to be able to work out like that again??
Sure, those first few months were rough. But look at us now!!

YEP!!! It is great now pushing yourself to see how far that you can go--like old times, actually. I had a former gunnery sergeant in the USMC (and a really good football coach) tell me that the brain will give into the pain before the body is through---that it is the pain and the brain that you have to fight. I am hoping to ride the 320 miles from Pittsburgh to DC later on this summer...tomorrow, I am going to ride at least 35 miles.

I enjoy defeating the pain, and knowing that I am making progress. I do now savor pain in that I am dong things that I could not do for a long, long time.

Tim C.

 

[JenniferG]

What do you mean by "Maybe it was just me, but after I had all of the adhesions torn, I went to serous work on out-patient PT..." ??? Do you mean a scheduled manipulation or did you mean self-inflicted stretching?


I did 'em myself---stretching with exerbands and ankle weights---I would lay on my stomach and place an exercise band around my ankle with my leg in the air---and pull. or, I would put ankle weights on and hang my leg over the edge of a bed or sofa---and let the weights tear the adhesions. It was either that, or go under. I wanted control over what was happening to me---Nobody was going to put me out again for a long, long time. Increased the range of motion so that the outpatient PT would concentrate on the strengthening stuff and the balance.

Tim C.

Tim, Did you have bad ROM numbers prior to your self stretch/adhesion tear?

 

[referee54]

Tim, Did you have bad ROM numbers prior to your self stretch/adhesion tear?

When I returned home, there was a miscommunication with the in-home PT people---it was about five days before they got to work on me---in that time my ROM decreased---the one fine lady let me know about MUA---and I said, "No, thanks---rest assured that I will do it myself"---and I did.

At times horribly painful---but I knew that I had to do it in order to get my life back---like I said, I would hang my legs over the edge of the bed with ankle weights on them, or I would lay on my stomach and pull my legs up with an exercise band---either way, their wwas some serious cussing when the adhesions broke---my son does an excellent imitation of me when an adhesion would pop.

Tim C.

 

[referee54]

So you feel I am in so much pain because I dont do enough of the exercises? I do lots of walking and I never just sit around. I did pool exercises twice last week and i do few of the stretches. I wake up stiff and sore and it is very painful to do the stretches. I cant give up. I am told it just takes time. My therapist canceled my re-evaluation friday and dont know when he can reschedule but I told them to get me another one. He is suppose to get me more visits from my insurance. Do you then think twice a week in therapy is enough?

I really can't say why you are in pain---but I do know that if you want to regain your life, PT is a must. Yep, it will hurt at times and cause some soreness, but I welcomed that, as I knew that I was defeating arthritis. The surgery is the easy part; the orthopeadic surgeon did his part, now it is up to you.

Walking is not the only activity you need to do; when your PT or MD says so, you have to plunge into rehab all-out. Strengthening exercises, balance sexercises, flexibility exercises, regaining one's stamina---these will not be regained by waling---trust me on that one.

Do you have an exercise bike to ride? I would ride at all hours of the day---it helped my ROm and it reduced my stiffness---not to mention that it also strengthened my quads an hammies.

You cannot be afraid of the pain---you sort of have to welcome it and accept it---knowing that you are on the road to recovery aas well as knowing that the pain will subside, but you will enjoy your life so very much more.

Hang in there; it is a long, tough road to recovery---and it is up to you---but you can do it, and it will be SO VERY MUCH WORTH IT!!!

Tim C.

 

[Doug]

besides the bike, the other thing that helped my ROM is taking extremely hot baths. Soak the leg for about 5 minutes, then put your foot next to your good foot and slide down in the tub. Just slowly bend as far as you can an hold it. Do it four or five times.
I used to get in the hot tub probably 4 times per day.
As soon as you get out, ice it down for 20 minutes.

 

[ship4]

besides the bike, the other thing that helped my ROM is taking extremely hot baths. Soak the leg for about 5 minutes, then put your foot next to your good foot and slide down in the tub. Just slowly bend as far as you can an hold it. Do it four or five times.
I used to get in the hot tub probably 4 times per day.
As soon as you get out, ice it down for 20 minutes.

Doug,
Thanks for posting this! We have a hot tub and I am pleased to hear that you used yours so very much post op. I will make sure I use it and ice immediately after once I am able to soak the knee post op. Only 2 more days......
Best,
Crystal

 

[Doug]

You're welcome...I am finally able to stop doing the bike. I hate that thing. Actually, I hate the seat! But I still use the Arc Glider and I still do the ROM flex in the hot tub.

 

[Josephine]

I was having to use the bike twice, beginning and end to warm up and to cool down. The seat was really hurting my behind so I asked to use something else. The trainer put me on the rowing machine (which I always enjoyed before) but you know what - I can barely reach to strap my feet in! GOT to lose weight!

Anyway - was much much better and I left the gym not walking like a female John Wayne look-alike!