TKR Carol’s “Average” Recovery

[Joshyboy]

I didn’t find knee slides particularly helpful, I found placing op knee on first step in house and pushing into it until it felt discomfort. At eight my scar had healed enough to let me into swimming pool and whole range of walking and stretching exercises in there. Standing against pool wall and bending both knees as far as possible is working the biggest muscle in your body ‘thigh muscle’ and it gets stronger over time. I walk four lengths in different ways stretching legs and lift both to water height in one, walking sideways pushing out with op leg, two reps of 20 exercise ( one a knee bend) then walk another four until you feel that’s enough. Then relax in jacuzzi and gently bend knee sitting in there. You see big improvement every week . Good luck , 12 weeks TKR and walking up to three mile a day I’m comfort .

 

[GingerP]

@CdnCarol , I just rub my calf muscle (my spot that is troublesome) and last week, the physical therapist told me to take some cocoa butter lotion or a thicker lotion like gold bond, and rub it along the side of the incision because my incision is fully healed. Slow round type motions to help with breaking down some of the scar tissue. Also, on my 1st tkr, I had upper thigh muscle stress and the therapist yold me to take a rolling pin ftom my kitchen and just roll that over my trouble spots. You will know if you are pressing too hard!!
Yesterday at therapy the therapist took their version of a rolling pin - kind of a long rod with small sections that rolled independent and rolled that on my new tkr. Some spots felt good, others were tender.
Many times a day, I just squeeze parts of my thigh or calf to give it a massage or some love....see if that helps. A little gentle rub couldn't hurt.

 

[CdnCarol]

Checking in with a good report. I will be 5 weeks post-surgery tomorrow. Saw the PA at the doc’s office and started outpatient PT last week. Everyone is pleased. The PA said my knee was the least-swollen she had seen at this stage. Ice and elevation for hours day and night have apparently worked. Still swollen of course, but that was positive. I’ve been going into the basement and trying out the ancient exercise bike a neighbor donated. I was able to do a backwards rotation or 3 last week and today, after rocking backwards and frontwards for a couple of minutes I was comfortable enough to do 10 backwards and 10 FRONTWARDS rotations. Now I’m icing and elevating. I leave next Sunday for my 5.5 hour flight and week of co-babysitting a 1 and a 5 year old, but I’m prepared for that. The PA prescribed regular Aspirin for 5 days prior, during and 5 days after the trip for DVT purposes. Also in the exciting news department for me is that weaning off the narcotic meds has started. I’m down to 6 hours between pills and longer if I can do it without much discomfort. Ice! When I’m back from my trip this will be my goal- to get off completely.

 

[sistersinhim]

It's sounds like you're already for your trip. Remember to get up and walk on the plane as much was you can. Sitting for all those hours is going to be rough. You will probably swell and ache, but once you get there and iced and elevated, you should be just fine!

 

[CdnCarol]

Swelling Question- should I be alarmed that my foot, ankle and calf are swollen now, when they haven’t been swollen for a month? Yesterday I had a long plane ride and a day of much more activity than usual, walking and sitting with my leg hanging down. My knee is a bit sore today, as I try to elevate and ice and be less active, but should I be worried about the lower leg swelling?

 

[robhunt3]

It will swell if you've had a busy day, which of course you did have, but if your calf is at all painful I expect the medical advice would be to get it checked just in case it might be a DVT related to your flight.

I am not medically trained by the way, but there are others here who are - hopefully they will be able to advise you better! If you are in any doubt, get it checked.

 

[Roy Gardiner]

What are good alternatives to heel slides? And why am I having trouble with them?

There's loads of exercises you can do, it's just to get your knee moving a bit. Here's some ROM, Extension and Quad exercises https://bonesmart.org/forum/threads/rom-and-extension-stretches.13159

Is it ok to not set the timer at night, in case I can sleep for another hour?

Sleep is good, sleep as much as you're able.

I’ve been going into the basement and trying out the ancient exercise bike a neighbor donated. I was able to do a backwards rotation or 3 last week and today, after rocking backwards and frontwards for a couple of minutes I was comfortable enough to do 10 backwards and 10 FRONTWARDS rotations.

Excellent!

• Set the bike to zero resistance
• Set the saddle low enough so that a single rotation is a challenge; difficult but not painful. When a rotation becomes easy right from the start, lower the saddle a max of 1cm.
• Gently turn the pedals, through discomfort but without pain.
• Continue until the knee is 'warmed up' and the rotation is now easy, or for 2 minutes, whichever is the shorter time.
• Repeat several/many times a day, but don't go mad. Diminishing returns will apply; my guess is that half a dozen reps would be enough
• Do not pedal fast or for more than 2 minutes, this is a stretching exercise, not training.
• And if you get any pain or swelling in the 24 hours after doing this, cut it down until you don't

 

[Jockette]

I was 5 weeks post op last Easter. I went out to dinner which took several hours (reservation mishap) Even though I took a small stool to put my foot on it was not high enough. By the time I got home my calf and ankle were swollen and still were the next afternoon at PT. My therapist told me I could have swelling for up to a year. I only saw this therapist once, she was very gentle with me and we hardly did any exercises that day and no measurements.

 

[SusieShoes]

If your calf is tender or painful, do get the swelling checked out. Call your OS and let them know, hear what they have to say. Plane flights in general are a risk for blood clots, so it pays to be cautious. If they say to just watch it, you can settle in for some TLC and lots of elevating and icing (which you said you’re doing anyway).

My knee also swelled after long periods of sitting, for the first few months, and some people have where the whole lower leg puffs up on them. It’s quite common and not usually a cause for concern. The phone call to the OS is just to be safe. Even when I was six months after surgery and doing great, my knee swelled up after a day that included a three hour car ride, lots of sitting with legs down, and a lot of activity. It cleared up very quickly (knees bounce back faster when further out from surgery). Still, swelling is something that can reappear when the knee gets overworked.

 

[CdnCarol]

I feel better knowing that lower leg swelling after exertion is not unheard of. I was up every 45 minutes in the plane and did heel pumps while sitting down with my leg propped on my bag. The argyle compression socks I wore left an argyle pattern on my legs that lasted for 3 hours after I took them off. On the way home I might keep them on for the rest of the day.

 

[Josephine]

my foot, ankle and calf are swollen now, when they haven’t been swollen for a month? Yesterday I had a long plane ride and a day of much more activity than usual, walking and sitting with my leg hanging down.

Cause and effect clearly stated there, my friend!

 

[CdnCarol]

Nearly back to my level of bike rotations from before my big trip 2 weeks ago. Also, the PT I had last week put me back as well as the long plane rides and grandkids. I was trying too hard for a better ROM (it was up to 102). Cancelled the second PT for the next 2 weeks. My plan is to go and see how they think I’m doing then walk and do a few bike rotations at home. PT pointed out my gait wasn’t correct which was news to me, so I’m being more mindful of that. Down to 1 Hydrocodone at night and Tylenol during the day.

I have another trip involving 5 hour flights, only this time it comes after a 5 hour drive. I’m doing the drive the day before as I would be insane to do both in the same day. Do you think I can prop up my right leg on the dash with an ice pack while I have the cruise control on? Just kidding! Although that would be handy.

 

[sistersinhim]

No, you know you can't do that! But, you can run the cruise and ice your knee why your foot is on the floor near the brake! I used to keep my ice packs in a cooler with ice when I was traveling. They felt so good when I needed them!

 

[CdnCarol]

Good idea. I wasn’t actually planning on icing while driving but one of my packs is in a cover with 2 Velcro straps that wrap around my leg so I could use that without fear of it sliding off and under my pedals. Thanks @sistersinhim.

 

[KarriB]

I iced while driving home from work by sticking an ice pack up my pant leg and the pants kept the pack in place. If you there’s a time you aren’t driving (when you’re a passenger just elevate or prop in the back seat.

 

[SusieShoes]

Definitely ice on the drive (knee sleeve ice packs are a good option). As you say, just make sure the packs don't end up on the floor or under your brake pedal! You can ice while flying, too. Just check the TSA regulations.

Basically, present your ice pack frozen at security check and you should be good.

 

[KarriB]

If you take zip lock baggies the flight attendants will give you ice also.

 

[CdnCarol]

9 weeks out and saw the OS today. I had asked to see the PA to confirm that the heat my knee is throwing off is normal (according to many Bone Smarties it is not unusual to have a hot knee this long after surgery and even past this point) and saw the doc instead. He confirmed I am doing well. Hot knee is not a problem, and I am just one of these people who swells more than some others. He told me to add 400 mg Ibuprofen 3x /day with food in addition to the Tylenol for a week to see if that made a difference in the fluid buildup. Also said massage would be ok. I’m in that stage where I feel great, but still spend a large part of the day elevating and icing and I am impatient to do more. I have a 2 week motorcycle trip planned for 3 months from now. I sat on my motorcycle yesterday and there is too much bend to be comfortable at this stage. Doc said no problem- I will be ready for the trip. I confirmed I have a striker triathlon knee, without cement. He suggested continuing with the PT once/week and riding the bike and walking and trying to break down scar tissue. Off to research scar tissue massage!

 

[KarriB]

My OS said that healing throws off that heat and it will eventually “cool” down. If you feel able to do more, just try to balance your activity with elevating. I would dust the living/dining rooms and elevate, then bedrooms and elevate etc.

 

[katchmo]

My OS said that healing throws off that heat and it will eventually “cool” down. .

This is good to know. My knee feels quite hot and turns red/purple when I am up and around. I am so scared of infection but as a nurse I recognize it is not infection. But its appearance and heat still freaks me out.