Dragonfly's New Knee

[KarriB]

Recovery is a balancing act for sure. But if you follow the activity progression chart you shouldn't have a lot of guess work. At not a month post op I believe you should only be walking 5-10 minutes.

https://bonesmart.org/forum/threads/activity-progression-for-tkrs.14334/

 

[sistersinhim]

I followed the daily activity guide as closely as I could and I had only moderate swelling and acceptable pain levels.

 

[Dragonfly7]

Thanks friends! Now if I just just go lay on the beach like @bill 3/20


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[bill 3/20]

I don't know about mixing boat drinks with pain Meds.

 

[Dragonfly7]

@bill 3/20 who said anything about mixing[emoji23]
I think warm sun and salt in the air would do wonders for my knee and the ocean breeze would blow my brain fog away. If the ocean were only closer.....


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[Dragonfly7]

If I'm sitting (leg down) or walk for more than a bit, ankle, calf & knee all swell.
Then it's back with leg up & ice. And repeat.
The lower swelling is new since Tuesday.



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[Celle]

That swelling is normal, @Dragonfly7 . Your ankle and calf swell because of the effect of gravity.
That's another good reason to spend as much time as you can with your leg elevated and not hanging down.

 

[KarriB]

Yes, anytime I sat with my leg down for more than 10-15 minutes, especially in the first month. My leg was up 90% of the time in those first weeks.

 

[sistersinhim]

My foot even swelled after being up for a few minutes. I elevated and iced all day and all night whenever I wasn't up! That helped with the swelling and the pain.

 

[Dragonfly7]

Thanks, Ladies! It's frustrating:(
Happy Easter[emoji195][emoji255]


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[Celle]

Thanks, Ladies! It's frustrating:(

I think that somewhere along the line, someone must have told you that recovery from a PKR is faster than recovery from a TKR. Unfortunately, that is seldom true.

Whether you have a partial or a total, your knee suffers major trauma. It's cut open, spread, has bones sawed and large metal objects hammered and cemented into them, and then everything is put back together and stitched up in layers. That's a lot of handling and damage, and your knee needs heaps of TLC, to recover. It's not going to miraculously recover from all that in a couple of weeks.

Complete recovery from a partial or a total knee replacement takes a full year. You're still very early in this process and it really is worth taking time to allow your knee to heal. Try not to feel frustrated about that. Instead, try to think of this time you spend resting, icing and elevating as working hard at giving your knee the best possible chance of having a good recovery.

Time spent keeping your knee happy now will prove to be time well spent.

 

[Dragonfly7]

@Celle I was told exactly that!
I asked, can I go back to work in 12 days? Sure...you sit most of the day, right?
After my 8 day post op visit, he said, hummm, you can work partial days, right?
And, I am. 3-4 hrs is plenty.
On PT days, I nap before PT.
Anyway, it will work out okay, I know.
I'm at almost 4 wks post-op and just feel more tired than I did at 3 wks.
And my back keeps acting up. I almost feel that I'm almost standing uneven even when I'm barefoot.
I think I'm going to talk to my PT lady today about this part.


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[sistersinhim]

I bet your gait has changed since your surgery and this has thrown your back out. PT can help you work on that.

 

[Dragonfly7]

@sistersinhim thanks! Sure hope so


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[becticu]

Hi Dragon7. We are surgery sisters I think. My total was March 22. It sounds like you are doing well but listen to the wisdom of these ladies! I didn't listen at first because I decided it didn't apply to me because I was younger and more active than some. Well school of hard knocks wasn't fun. I wanted to conquer this in no time but my knee wants to do it's own thing. This group will encourage when you need it, cry with you or laugh with you. I have the other knee done on May 3. Rest, elevate and ice! I hope you continue to do well!


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[Celle]

You're back at work already, Dragonfly? Oh, that is really early. It's much too soon for your poor knee.

Your surgeon is an incurable optimist, who has obviously not had a knee replacement himself! He's set you up with unrealistic expectations of your recovery time which, I am sure, is partly the cause of your frustration right now.

Even for a partial, we recommend taking about 12 weeks off and then going back part-time initially.
Phased return to work

Your tiredness is caused by the energy drain, which will be with you for some time. You see, most of your body's energy is being directed towards healing your knee and there isn't much energy left for anything else.
Energy drain for TKRs

However, you're back at work and it is what it is. So, on days that you work, try not to do anything else at all. No cooking, no shopping, no PT, no exercises - work, plus getting to and from your work place, is more than enough exercise. Just come home, grab a quick snack and then spend the rest of the day resting, elevating and icing your knee.

 

[KarriB]

@Dragonfly7 are you wearing old shoe you wore before surgery? Your old gait pattern may be worn into your shoes causing that uneven feeling. It's always a good idea to have new shoes with a new knee.

 

[Dragonfly7]

@KarriB, I'm wearing pretty new shoes. I have arthritis in my lower back that has been good for a while but is raising its ugly head again. Today my knee felt good but the pain in my buttocks going down the other leg wasn't fun at all.
PT gave me some stretching exercises today that I've been doing and on Wed. they're going to do more.
I may need to see a chiropractor, I'm not sure.


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[Dragonfly7]

@beticu thank you for your words. I can be a bit hard headed. I'm trying very hard to realize when enough is enough and not too much.


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[KarriB]

I have arthritis in my back also. After my bout with Plantar Fasciitis I discovered Vionic flip flops. Not only did they help my foot, but they also helped my back.