TKR Damaged tkr?

Tower6brkrs

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For those that needed a revision due to an injury to the Tkr, did you immediately -know- when you injured it? for example, could you still walk normally, ride a bike, swim, or was there extreme swelling and you knew immediately and obviously it was hurt with an “oh no” moment? Thanks
 
Hello, @Tower6brkrs! I see you started your own thread. Good, now you will have a journal of all your questions and answers and suggestions for others all in one place.

Please tell us about your tkr., when you had it, which knee, and your circumstances concerning your injury. In all my time here I've never read of anyone damaging their implant. It isn't that unusual to damage the soft tissues, which will heal.

Just in case you haven't read our articles for a TKR recovery, I will leave them for you. Each person is different as is their recovery. Most find that the Bonesmart approach works best for them, but others find that a more aggressive therapy helps them more. It's your recovery and your choice on how you recover. As you read more on other members' recovery threads, you’ll get a better perspective of what to expect. The following are our basic guidelines and should help get you started.

Knee Recovery: The Guidelines

1. Don’t worry: Your body will heal all by itself. Relax and let it. Don't try and hurry it, don’t worry about any symptoms now; they are almost certainly only temporary.
2. Control discomfort:
rest
ice
take your pain meds by prescription schedule (not when the pain starts!)​
3. Do what you want to do BUT...
a. If it hurts, don't do it, and don't allow anyone to hurt you.
b. If your leg swells more or gets stiffer in the 24 hours after doing it, don't do it again for a few weeks.
4. PT or exercise can be useful BUT take note of these
5. Here is a week-by-week guide for Activity progression for TKRs


The Recovery articles:
The importance of managing pain after a TKR and the pain chart
Swollen and stiff knee: what causes it?
Energy drain for TKRs
Elevation is the key
Ice to control pain and swelling
Heel slides and how to do them properly
Chart representation of TKR recovery
Healing: how long does it take?

Post op blues is a reality - be prepared for it
Sleep deprivation is pretty much inevitable - but what causes it?

There are also some cautionary articles here
Myth busting: no pain, no gain
Myth busting: the "window of opportunity" in TKR
Myth busting: on getting addicted to pain meds

We try to keep the forum a positive and safe place for our members to talk about their questions or concerns and to report successes with their joint replacement surgery.

While members may create as many threads as they like in a majority of BoneSmart's forums, we ask that each member have only one recovery thread. This policy makes it easier to go back and review history before providing advice.

Try out our great new opportunity to improve your gait. It's OneStep. It's free and you will find it to be a huge help to you. Click here: OneStep
 
@Tower6brkrs Have you injured yourself? What makes you think you might have damaged the implant? A bit more background would help us to help you.
 
met with my ortho yesterday and X-rays looked solid so no injury to implant. By way of background, I had TKR January of this year, exactly 6 months today. Severe tricompartmental degeneration. Patella dislocation in my 20's and then a lifetime of endurance sports. The reason for the post was at 5 months after an ocean swim I got "rolled" by a medium size wave. That is basically an unintentional summersault underwater when you are caught off guard by a wave. This wasn't unusually "violent" but I felt a quick succession of "pops", like cracking your back; from the TKR. While it was quite sore, (not painful) sometimes throbbing and achy for 10 days it never felt "hurt". I was load bearing, no swelling, no bruising. I was able to bike, swim, walk.
my rehab was relatively smooth going (yes painful) so I wasn't used to an "oh no" moment like I had. I was told at Dr. that any traumatic injury to the implant would be a very large force (auto accident, especially at 5months) and that I probably broke through some scar tissue. Im still jittery about this implant at 6 months but it is working great. maybe this makes someone else feel better if they had an "oh no" moment as well.
 
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Well just more proof that is takes a lot of force to damages these implants. They are pretty solid. But yes, we have all had our "oh no" moments - some scarier than others.
 
I'm so glad you got some good news and that it was only soft tissue damage which probably will end up being a good thing!
 
@Tower6brkrs I see you are a triathlete. May I ask if you are running again? And at what point did you/ Will you start that? I am still biking with little resistance but slowly building. Swimming (pool and ocean) has saved me mentally during this TKR recovery process. Doc said 6month check up (X-rays) and then I can start building up to run, but I am only walking about 2 miles. I have time (14 weeks in recovery) I used to race until 2015 when I needed a TKR but was told I was too young to get one (35) Had to stop running in 2018. I see the light at the end of the tunnel and look forward to doing the things I love again. Always interested in athletes stories. Thanks
 
for me the knee/ leg muscles were definitely strong enough to jog at 4 months if I had wanted (Im now at 6 months), but I am choosing not to with the exception of occasional light spurts on treadmill. the Doctor gave me the OK to light jog a few miles a week but I don't have the interest, instead learning the art of fast walking/hills. biking and OWS were always my favorite anyway :) I finished a 70.3 at 5 month mark and tkr held up really well; albeit a little sore for a few days. good luck your knee will be super strong again!
 

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