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Extension

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NJLOU

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Feb 13, 2009
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hi all its been 6 weeks since TKR. my rom is 110 which makes me feel great but i have a big gap in the extension cant get it to where the PT wants me to be . does anyone have any pointers i do ice alot and do my extensions and quads exercises not only at regular PT which is three times a week but alos at home .


hope all the best for everyone and in advance thanks for any words of advice and encouragement this forum has been a great help


NJLOU
 
Hi Lou! I'm a hippie so I can't give you any advice! But its early days for you yet!
Welcome! And give yourself more time! :)
 
That's a very good sign,Lou!!!It will come!!!! :)
 
NJLou

My OS told me that extension will come in time. I strap a 5 lb ankle weight to my ankle then I lie on my stomach on the bed with my leg overhanging from just above the knee and hold it for 10 minutes. The tendons in the back of my knee are really screaming by the end of the 10 minutes but it seems to be helping some.

Your flexion sounds good. I wish mine was as good after 7 months.

Vern
 
I never had any problems with extension but while I was at PT several patients were sitting on the bed side with their leg supported by a chair under the ankle and they had 5# bags of ice on their knee tops. It was a two for one deal. The ice helped keep swelling down and the weight of the ice helped stretch their knee extension. PT said thats exactly what was happening. None of the people I saw seemed to be enjoying it.

Max
 
My PT had me sit in a kitchen chair and put my heel on one of the kitchen bar stools (which is higher than the chair) and straighten my leg as much as possible. Do a set of 10. When you can do ten, then do another set the next time you work on it. KWIM? Worked great for me!
Good Luck!
Best,
Crystal
(BTKR 6/18/08 Alpine skiing 2/1/09)
 
Like others have said, 6 weeks is very early days yet! There is still a lot of swelling going on and things are still healing in a big way.

I did some exercises similar to those already described and had decent extension by about 2 or 3 months. HOWEVER, the funny thing was that both my extension and my ROM improved noticeably at about 7 to 8 month mark. I wasn't doing anything special at that time, just normal life and ongoing exercise. My speculation is that was about the time that some more internal and not-so-obvious swelling went away. Also, it wasn't too much longer after that that my knee stopped feeling warm.

Weezy
LTKR April 2008
RTKR January 2009
 
thanks once again i will try that Crystal , one more question whats KWIM??? (LOL) i really dont know.

Max i go so early in the morning i almost always alone with the PT. He is great he also does the massages on it and presses down on it etc etc .. (yes im talking about PT on my knee ) laughter is the best medicine ....

thanks to all .

NJLOU
 
NJLOU
Welcome to the best place for support and information from the experts.

I am a hippy so no expert here, but was also impatient. I did too much a few times and paid for it. At the time i thought i was healing so slowly. Once I was able to do everything again (probably different times for everyone) I was commenting on how quickly I healed!!!

It is very early for you and you are doing great. Keep up the good work , you will get there.
Judy
 
Welcome, NJLou....you're doin' GREAT!!! I had extension problems with my knee too and all the exercises recommended above are what I did. My knee finally made it to between 0 and 1 after a couple of months. Swelling was my main problem, but getting stretched out again can certainly help too. Keep at it. You'll get there!!!
 
Sheesh! You guys all want to to happen yesterday, don't you! To quote one of our past members our joints didn't get a week to into the state where they needed to be replaced and they're not going to take a week to get better.
 
Crystal--
You have way too much time on your hands if you put all these together!
Blessings,
Irene
 
No, I just Googled it and copied and pasted! I use a lot of them when I talk to others on the internet. I see they were deleted.......
Best,
Crystal
 
Jo i know i know time heals all. but im inpatient and i start to worry and thrn when the PT puts a little more emphasis on it, i start to worry . human nature kicks in lol.


then he asks when is my next dr's appt and thats not for another two weeks so i am going to work on it but not overdue it .

itll get there when it gets there.

thanks to all

NJLOU
 
I know - but I find it so depressing when you guys in the US put such pressure on yourselves and unnecessarily. Here in the UK we take a much more laid back approach and people do just as well.
 
Wecome NJ. I was almost a year before I got it straight, Still only have 105 ROM at 14 months!! can take up to 2 years my OS says!!

I used to lay on the sofa and put my ley up on the back of it , loop a belt around my foot and pull on it to starighten the leg. I had a lot of unsual swelling, so I am in the 5% crowd.

Good luck to you....Sue
 
Thanks Gretchendz,

Great link.

Chris :)
 
I think I'm going to get myself that book! Thanks for the link, Gretchen
 
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