I am 4 weeks and 2 days post op now. Going to PT twice a week. The PTA is kicking my butt. Usually with the regular PT's I am there for just a little over an hour. Today she had me there for almost 2 hours.
@DebP - two hours of PT is far too long, at a month after a knee replacement, or at any time. PT shouldn't hurt, either. If it hurts, it's bad PT and it's doing more harm than good.
Remember this, from the post-op reading we gave you?
a. If it hurts, don't do it and don't allow anyone - especially a physical therapist - to do it to you
b. If your leg swells more or gets stiffer in the 24 hours after doing it, don't do it again.
You are in charge of what happens to your knee. Not your surgeon, not the PTs, not anyone else. It's your knee and you are the only one with the right to say what will happen to it.
So, if PT hurts, or if the session goes on for too long, remove yourself and your knee. Walk out.
In case you think you're not allowed to do that, read these articles:
Saying no to therapy - am I allowed to?
CONSENT: what it means and how it can be used
My surgeon doesn't allow any PT at all for the first month after a knee replacement. He says your knee needs that time, to start on its journey of healing. For that month, we rest, ice and elevate our leg, and walk around the house.
After that month, we just go to PT once every 2 weeks, where we are shown a few new exercises to do at home.
His patients all do well and achieve good ROM, as I did, and he hasn't had to do a manipulation to help with ROM for the past 4 years. I think that speaks for itself.
I am just scared that even with 4 more weeks I will not be able to return to work as a nurse who works 3 12 hours shifts each week.
We usually advise taking about 12 weeks off work and then doing a
Phased return to work . People with physically demanding jobs may need even longer.
Contemplating going back to 3 x 12-hour shifts per week as a nurse at only 8 weeks post-op is unwise and unrealistic. It's far too soon. No matter what you do, your knee won't be ready, and if you persist with aggressive PT it will be even less ready.
You cannot make your knee recover faster, no matter what you do, but it is possible to retard its progress if you over stress it now.
If you can, ask now to be allowed a full 3 months for recovery. It's easier to take that time and go back earlier if you do feel ready sooner than it is to go back, find your knee isn't up to it, and have to beg for more time.