TKR DLR recovery #2
- Thread starter DLR
- Start date
United Kingdom
OP
OP
DLR
graduate
@Josephine ...message received!! Will keep resting, icing, ouch massaging and elevating. Sorry to be such a pain with all the questions
@Josephine Does the ouch massaging fall into the category of “ if it hurts don’t do it”?
OP
OP
DLR
graduate
It does for me! I hate pain.
Kazmeraz
junior member
That IT band pain is the pits.
Got one of those roller ball massage thingys you can really get into the bend with it! Not making a lot of difference yet but I’ll keep rolling with it haha get it!
Walking not too bad it’s the getting up from a sitting position that hurts the most. Practically doing the splits my feet are that far apart to lessen the pain on rising.
Hope it goes away soon. Take care DLR I’m with you in spirit pain
Got one of those roller ball massage thingys you can really get into the bend with it! Not making a lot of difference yet but I’ll keep rolling with it haha get it!
Walking not too bad it’s the getting up from a sitting position that hurts the most. Practically doing the splits my feet are that far apart to lessen the pain on rising.
Hope it goes away soon. Take care DLR I’m with you in spirit pain
@DLR . I hope your pain is letting up a little.I am sorry if I seemed like I was saying to suck it up.I didn't mean it that way at all.
I guess I was trying to be funny.This is my second time around and this time has had it's own challenges.
I still have staples on the bottom from yesterday because my incision isn't closed yet at the bottom.They also had to dig some of them out literally.
And today I hit the sorest part of my knee on a table and it is still panging hours later.
Like I said it is always something and I get so sick of how much of my thoughts are concentrated on my knees.I am so looking forward to the day when I never think about them.
I am planning right now a day trip this Saturday to Creemore and Collingwood to look at leaves and get some apples and butter tarts.I need and deserve a nice distraction.
I hope you can find some distractions too.
I guess I was trying to be funny.This is my second time around and this time has had it's own challenges.
I still have staples on the bottom from yesterday because my incision isn't closed yet at the bottom.They also had to dig some of them out literally.
And today I hit the sorest part of my knee on a table and it is still panging hours later.
Like I said it is always something and I get so sick of how much of my thoughts are concentrated on my knees.I am so looking forward to the day when I never think about them.
I am planning right now a day trip this Saturday to Creemore and Collingwood to look at leaves and get some apples and butter tarts.I need and deserve a nice distraction.
I hope you can find some distractions too.
Ow!! I’m so sorry!And today I hit the sorest part of my knee on a table and it is still panging hours later.
OP
OP
DLR
graduate
@Nigella2 your staple removal sounds rough
, I had that happen with my hip replacement..not fun. My pain is not letting up yet so even walking in the house is brutal...my husband laughs at my lunge wall to wall approach for support. PT suggested heat for hip and thigh, ice for knee so trying that. I finish in home pt this week and have booked with my favourite outpatient pt for next Monday to see if she can do some cupping and acupuncture on the thigh to ease adhesions.
It is so nice out today I desperately want to get out in the garden and work in fall cleanup. Hubby says I can sit and tell him what to do...that might be a lesson in patience itself.
Butter tarts and apples..Ontario fall is wonderful, enjoy your adventure.
As for my suck it up comment no worries I had had a day of people telling me to exercise more, why aren’t you further ahead, what did you do wrong...I was simply overdone, emotional and grumpy...I took no offence from you
...we are in this together
, I had that happen with my hip replacement..not fun. My pain is not letting up yet so even walking in the house is brutal...my husband laughs at my lunge wall to wall approach for support. PT suggested heat for hip and thigh, ice for knee so trying that. I finish in home pt this week and have booked with my favourite outpatient pt for next Monday to see if she can do some cupping and acupuncture on the thigh to ease adhesions.It is so nice out today I desperately want to get out in the garden and work in fall cleanup. Hubby says I can sit and tell him what to do...that might be a lesson in patience itself.
Butter tarts and apples..Ontario fall is wonderful, enjoy your adventure.
As for my suck it up comment no worries I had had a day of people telling me to exercise more, why aren’t you further ahead, what did you do wrong...I was simply overdone, emotional and grumpy...I took no offence from you
...we are in this togetherDiane. If PT can' t come up with a solution consider therapeutic massage or even a chiropractor.
I have never seen one but so many members on here have and swear by the results for helping with hip or back or gait pain.
I have never seen one but if I get really bad hip or back pain later when walking I will make an appointment.My gait has been very abnormal for a long time.
On another note I know how hard it is to sit back and supervise.I finally went downstairs today where my other half is nesting.When I finally got the full view downstairs I almost fell down the stairs.
I have never seen one but so many members on here have and swear by the results for helping with hip or back or gait pain.
I have never seen one but if I get really bad hip or back pain later when walking I will make an appointment.My gait has been very abnormal for a long time.
On another note I know how hard it is to sit back and supervise.I finally went downstairs today where my other half is nesting.When I finally got the full view downstairs I almost fell down the stairs.
OP
OP
DLR
graduate
@Nigella2 i am seeing a chiropractor who is working on my pelvis, at this point he would prefer the pt to deal with the it band. I am hopeful my outpatient pt will help. My husband had her after his accident and I have seen her post hip revision. She brings out her anatomy books and shows me the areas involved explains how they work. ..but thank you for the reminder to ask more of the chiropractor.
Other halves do certainly “see” things around the house differently than we do lol...but bless them they try...at least I keep telling myself that
Other halves do certainly “see” things around the house differently than we do lol...but bless them they try...at least I keep telling myself that
OP
OP
DLR
graduate
I am now 8 weeks post op and have come to believe the statement a knee replacement is harder than a hip replacement. I have to admit at first I didn’t think so because with a knee I could still bend over and reach things. So what’s changed my thinking... hip recovery was a fairly slow straight line thing, pain diminished and you got stronger, if you moved wrong you knew it immediately...knees are different. I am now 9 days post what I am assuming is an ODIC thing. I had started going out more, driving, washing floors (with a mop) and baking. 9 days of rest, ice, pt massaging trigger points and being housebound and I am just starting to feel like the IT band pranging is going to heal. As I write I realize I am not whining, though I have done lots of that in the past week but rather becoming more in tune with the fact this is a long long recovery and what I do one day may not show up as bad news until the next ....but we keep trying things maybe a little more slowly and then allow rest and time to recover.
My hope in posting this is to encourage others who are struggling that this is normal and we need to be kind to ourselves. My reality check...I started with arthritis problems at 20 years of age, that’s 42 years of pain, is a year long recovery to fix a knee too much to face?
My hope in posting this is to encourage others who are struggling that this is normal and we need to be kind to ourselves. My reality check...I started with arthritis problems at 20 years of age, that’s 42 years of pain, is a year long recovery to fix a knee too much to face?
You are so right that as early as you are in recovery it takes a while to recovering from overdoing. That's why we give you this to help you gradually increase your activities.
https://bonesmart.org/forum/threads/activity-progression-for-tkrs.14334/
https://bonesmart.org/forum/threads/activity-progression-for-tkrs.14334/
OP
OP
DLR
graduate
@sistersinhim thanks for the reminder...
I printed out the activity schedule and adhered to it as best as I could. If I was up for an hour, I rested for 2 hours. I did this at least 6 weeks. I would gradually add activities and then wait to see how my knee reacted that night or the next day. If it was OK, I'd feel comfortable to do it again and add something else that was very small. It's always best to wait and see how the knee does after adding a new activity.
OP
OP
DLR
graduate
Good visit with outpatient pt. She did acupressure massage, dry needling, ultrasound and taping to offload the it band at the knee. ROM 129/-12... told me not to do stairs foot over foot right now as I am too inflamed and swollen. Reminder to ice back of knee again as I have swelling there too. Once swelling comes down hoping extension is better meanwhile continue stretch gently
Yes, it's much too early to be doing stairs foot over foot. It can take several months before your knee is ready for that. It was about 3 months before i could go upstairs one foot at a time, and almost 4 months before I could go downstairs that way.
Your flexion (bend) is good, although I don't believe 129. The goniometer isn't accurate enough to measure anything smaller than 5 degrees each way. That's because it only takes a very slight difference in where the device is placed, to get a difference of several degrees.
As for your extension, I think you mean +12, unless you can hyper-extend your knee a huge amount.
I've copied the information below from this article:
Extension: how to estimate it and ways to improve it
"A good way to check extension yourself is like this:
1. put your leg on a bench, seat, bed, floor or anything similar but preferably something fairly firm.
2. with not too much pressure, press the back of your knee down - use your leg muscles, not your hand!
3. slide your hand, palm down, under the back of your knee
a) if you can get your entire hand under easily, it's probably about +10 degrees
b) if you can get just your fingers under, it's about +5
c) if you can get your fingers under but it's a push, it's +0
d) if you can't get your fingers under at all, it's -5 or more
Here's a graphic to explain the degrees involved
![[Bonesmart.org] DLR recovery #2](https://bonesmart.org/forum/attachments/knee-rom-small-jpg.50489/ "[Bonesmart.org] DLR recovery #2")
Above all, do NOT allow your PT to press on your knee to measure ROM.
The only measurement that counts is what you can do on your own."
1. put your leg on a bench, seat, bed, floor or anything similar but preferably something fairly firm.
2. with not too much pressure, press the back of your knee down - use your leg muscles, not your hand!
3. slide your hand, palm down, under the back of your knee
a) if you can get your entire hand under easily, it's probably about +10 degrees
b) if you can get just your fingers under, it's about +5
c) if you can get your fingers under but it's a push, it's +0
d) if you can't get your fingers under at all, it's -5 or more
Here's a graphic to explain the degrees involved
Above all, do NOT allow your PT to press on your knee to measure ROM.
The only measurement that counts is what you can do on your own."
