TKR Dealing with RLS after TKR<

[Softtail]

Navy, not gonna try it till I really feel good and doctor thinks it’s doable. Just nice to know I am moving in the right direction.

 

[Wncretired]

Yes, I have that problem too!!

 

[Wncretired]

Looks like you’ve just about got this thing whipped!

 

[Softtail]

Win, so far so good . Been following your thread, and will be curious how things go in your time line. According to my therapist it takes 8 weeks for bones to heal ,so there is no getting around that. It’s the soft tissues,ligaments and tendons that need the long term healing as I’m told.

 

[Kiwigirl62]

This is An exercise I found on the net. A great one too. Any exercise that flexes the leg then one to extend it will help, as long as it gets the tension stretch plus extension and not the pain.

@Softtail you mentioned this in someones thread a few days ago but did not give any further info......I'd be interested to know more
Suzanne

 

[Softtail]

Kiwi, oddly enough when I reread this I looked back to see if I could see which exercise it was, and I can’t tell which one it was. I do different ones different days , like different ones to work knee flexion, but can’t be sure exactly which one it was. Sorry

 

[Softtail]

Coming from my PT guy, these are the two go to flexion exercises that he had me do for what it’s worth.
1 laying prone stomach down ,bend the operated leg up then using either your other leg or a strap over your shoulder onto foot , gently feel the stretch pulling knee towards head. Hold 5 seconds repeat 10 times.
2 His favorite. Standing up ,bend operated leg into v behind you then rest foot on table or chair . Lower yourself carefully till you feel the stretch up your quad. Hold 30 seconds repeat4 times or 2 times for 1 minute each. Done right this is awesome for stretch. Don’t press either one till you get pain. You went too far then.

 

[NavyGunns]

@Softtail, my PT recommended both of those to me too. I didn’t do either. No strap for the first and just didn’t do the other. Found other means of stretching my quads. But, if the work for others, I can’t stress enough what you said about not doing it to point of pain.

 

[Softtail]

Yea Navy ,there are multiple ways to stretch that quad, and I am sure different therapists have their favorites. These worked well for me ,but like you pointed out again it’s easy with any flexion exercise to go too far and that’s a real no no. Pain equals no gain with any of these.

 

[Celle]

Coming from my PT guy, these are the two go to flexion exercises that he had me do for what it’s worth.
1 laying prone stomach down ,bend the operated leg up then using either your other leg or a strap over your shoulder onto foot , gently feel the stretch pulling knee towards head. Hold 5 seconds repeat 10 times.

We advise that you don't use anything to pull or push your knee to bend further.
Really, the only exercise you need to do for flexion is this:
Heel slides and how to do them properly

Remember, it's not exercising that gets you your ROM - it's time. Time to recover, time for swelling and pain to settle, and time to heal. Your ROM is there right from the start, just waiting for all that to happen, so it can show itself.

 

[Softtail]

Celle, I'm probably explaining this incorrectly. I read the information on the site you highlighted, and it says sitting in chair ,you can use the other foot to get that little extra stretch. The strap ,used correctly as my therapist showed me, takes the place of that other foot, as does bending leg ,resting on chair , and dropping down slightly. Done correctly you end up the same place as you do pulling the rehab leg back with opposite foot sitting in chair
. If done incorrectly , or too forcefully , there is no doubt they could cause pain. Just offered these as optional exercises that a physical therapist may have you try. Anyone that uses any flex/stretch exercise that causes them pain is either doing them wrong, or pushing them way too far.

 

[Softtail]

Just an afterthought. anyone reading about the above exercises , should probably contact your own therapist before doing them. They need to be done correctly, and what worked for me could be detrimental to another member, and I certainly would not want that.

 

[Softtail]

ok 8 weeks 4 days into my recovery ,saw my Surgeon yesterday, and went over progress and expectations about future events. Took x-rays, of knee that showed everything in its right place, and checked movement ,and stability of knee. I asked him what I could or could’t do , specifically golf ,hiking, pickleball , and this is what he said. There is pretty much nothing that I could do to damage the insert ,other than some obvious trauma like falling directly on the knee, but there were any number of things ie twisting , jarring ,overexerting, etc. that could cause The knee’s healing to slow down or back up. All this because soft tissues ,the tendons, ligaments , and muscles are still in early stages of healing, and gaining strength to support it. For that reason he told me it’s trial and error as too how much is too much. I asked when could I try pickleball. Short answer right away, but like any exercise ,ie walking, climbing steps,golf, gardening, etc. if pushed too far will anger the knee.

So now knowing that other than paying the price of a possibly an angry knee, I just had to give pickleball a try. I did take his advice where he said if I think my knee was feeling ok after a game or two where I think I could go farther, don”’t, so I didn’t. Played 3 games, joined my wife for lunch, then had PT in afternoon. It’s 11 o’clock Tuesday night , getting ready for my nightly jacuzzi, and leg feels great.

I am not advocating jumping into any activity that could inflame ones knee, just relaying my personal approach to my own rehab, which I know is aggressive. Now tomorrow I may be back on ,saying ouch I really did go too far,too soon, but I am hoping not. More on that later lol.

 

[beachy]

Here’s to you not saying ouch tomorrow! Congrats on trying pickleball. You don’t know til you try.

 

[Softtail]

Ok Wednesday morning , knee is not shouting at me so seems I didn’t push it too far yesterday. Not a glutton for punishment though ,so will take it nice and easy today, a few quiet exercises, stretching, and make sure I give it a rest. It won’t get to visit a pickleball court again till next Tuesday , and that will be into week 10.

 

[Cementless]

@Softtail, IMO, pickleball is a good way to ruin a TKR. (sorry)

 

[Softtail]

Hope you are wrong cementless, cause I do love playing it, and have a number of friends some with both legs TKR playing it too. It’s no where near as taxing on the knees and body for that matter than tennis ,which I definitely don’t plan to play. My approach is more of a shuffle than a run or sprint, so I am careful both now and before on how I play it. Only time will tell, and I do plan to work back into it slowly ie won’t be playing on consecutive days.

 

[Newboots]

@Softail please can you enlighten this Brit. What is pickle ball ?

 

[kmak81230]

@Newboots it's very popular sport among seniors in the US. Kind of a cross between badminton, ping pong, and tennis; played with a paddle and plastic ball. I played PBall after my first TKR, once I was no longer limping; my PT thought it would be good for me as long as I took it easy at first while I was gaining strength and coordination (she much preferred it to ice hockey which I was eager to return to ). At the end of August I took a stumble playing pickleball and broke my arm -- my OS and I are hoping it is now strong enough to support me with TKR #2 next week. I am optimistic.

 

[Jockette]

I grew up in NY and never heard of pickle ball until I found Bonesmart last year.