TKR Feel so alone

Try to not be putting an expectation on your healing. We all heal at different rates. It depends on lots of things. At this early stage your knee isn't happy, period. That your able to do steps is amazing to me. I would be using the walker if I were you. You will find you stand straighter and your gait is better with it. There isn't a time limit for using anything that helps you recover and heal properly. I'm just 5 months into revision recovery and when I leave the house I'm using my cane. (Per surgeons orders. And frankly I need it.) In the morning when I first get up I use it until all my parts start to work in harmony with one another. Recovery isn't sitting around doing nothing, its your body recovering. I know I'm sitting on the patio daily and man the sunshine certainly makes me feel better. Maybe try to get some vitamin d. Hang in there, lots of us are on the recovery journey with you.
 
I am now entering into my 5th week.
I have progressed no further since I saw the physio team 10 days ago for an emergency
appointment. The lump on my knee is still there and will be until I can have it drained once the UK hospitals open their doors again to non urgent patients. My exercise routine is still minimal, as advised my Physio, but I am walking around the house more and doing little jobs. I still use both crutches because my knee tends to give way and I don’t want to fall. The stairs are manageable but still unable to put the leg I had my knee done first, it won’t take the weight and is very painful. I still
seem to get very tired from mid afternoon and occasionally find myself snoozing. Still icing and elevating throughout the day as my knee swells very quickly once on my feet.
I presume all the above is normal progression when entering into the 5th week post op?
I hope you all stay safe and keep well.
 
I think that lump with disappear on its own. You really don't want any needles in that new knee of yours. It sounds like are doing find. You really don't need PT, just your daily activities will rehab your knee easier and with less pain.
 
I think that lump with disappear on its own. You really don't want any needles in that new knee of yours. It sounds like are doing find. You really don't need PT, just your daily activities will rehab your knee easier and with less pain.

Thank you
 
Hi my app is saying Licence Expired. How do I get the app to work?
 
Hi @Flash1955
Are you referring to the Bonesmart app?
There is no longer a BoneSmart app. I realize it is still listed as available and downloadable app but we are working on getting this removed.
You should access the site through your browser.

Hope today is a Good Day!
 
Hi there!

You can read from my bio.... I am no newbie to knee surgeries.

My latest was a couple weeks ago. (March 16 and March 20)

This surgery and recovery is brutal in every way. I wish there was a "fast track" to healing, but there just isn't. The truth is there are VERY FEW people who jump back up and are better than ever within weeks. The norm is a full year to recover.
I am still using my walker, and have not even been able to get out of the house except once, when I got my stitches out. I will get out again tomorrow to get stitches out of opposite knee. Just getting into the car and going somewhere is a feat. Taking a shower is exhausting. Walking from one room to another is exhausting. It really messes with your head and takes a toll on you; not just physically but also mentally. I totally get it.
Everything you have stated is normal. Be assured you WILL get through this. It's literally ONE day at a time.
My PT once told me not to compare the days to eachother, but compare yourself in a 2 week chunk of time. Or even a 4 week chunk of time.
Look back over 4 weeks and ask yourself, "Am I doing better now than I was 4 weeks ago"? If you can answer "yes" to that question, you are probably doing just fine.

I will be your recovery buddy. I am icing and elevating as we speak; or rather, as I write.
:)
 
I am now into week 6 and starting to see some improvement. I am only using one crutch and occasionally walk from my kitchen to lounge unaided albeit with a terrible limp.
I still can’t walk up the stairs normally, my good leg has to go first and bad one follows onto the same stair but there is a little improvement now.
Yesterday my surgeon phoned me for an update (all face to face appointments cancelled until further notice). He said I should be further on than I am and need to up my exercises to improve my movement. He told me to use a traditional pair of oven gloves and put something heavy in each pocket, then sit on a chair with my feet on a stall and put the weighted oven cloth over my knee . Omg it really hurts behind the knee after a couple of mins!
Hopefully as the days go by and continuing with my knee bending exercises, leg stretching and walking around the house I will be able to report further improvement.
Stay safe everyone and keep well.
 
:wave:

Hi my app is saying Licence Expired. How do I get the app to work
There is no longer a BoneSmart app. I realize it is still listed as available and downloadable app but we are working on getting this removed.
You should access the site through your browser.
Oops
Well, apparently there is still an app, it WAS a licensing issue, and now it is fixed!
Thanks for the attention you brought to the issue.

Hope today is a better day.
 
He said I should be further on than I am and need to up my exercises to improve my movement. He told me to use a traditional pair of oven gloves and put something heavy in each pocket, then sit on a chair with my feet on a stall and put the weighted oven cloth over my knee . Omg it really hurts behind the knee after a couple of mins!
I’m sorry that your surgeon expects all his patients to heal on a preconceived time schedule.

We are all unique and heal at different rates, so there is no “should” in this recovery. 6 weeks is very early days in this year long recovery and you will come along fine, in time.

There is no need to put any weights on your knee like that, so please stop doing it. Anything that causes pain like that is counterproductive.


Regaining our ROM is more about Time than repetitions of a list of exercises, or trying to force the knee to do something it’s not ready to do.

Time to recover.
Time for pain and swelling to settle.
Time to heal.

Our range of motion is right there all
along just waiting for that to happen so it can show itself.

In the general run of things, it doesn't need to be fought for, worked hard for or worried about. It will happen. Normal activity is the key to success.
 
You should not be using any weights on your knees in this early stage. All they will do is cause more swelling and inflammation. The best way I straightened my knee was to walk with a longer stride with a heel to toe gait. That helps to normally stretch those huge muscles and tendons in the back of the knee. It takes a while to improve it, but it does happen. Patience, my dear!
 
Happy Easter to all members.
Tomorrow I enter into week 7. My bend is at 90 but I can still can get my hand under my knee and unable to lift my foot when tightening my knee and leg out straight (don’t know what this exercise this is called). I was told that by know I shouldn’t even be able to get my fingers under my knee!! Any advice on this would be much appreciated.
I am now trying to walk up and down the stairs as normal. Going up is hard, my knee just doesn’t feel strong enough but I presume with perseverance that will improve. Going down is the nightmare, my knee is struggling to reach that bend so can only do a few stairs then I revert back to good leg then bad leg onto same step, is this normal recovery?
I go out for a short walk once a day, do most of the household chores with the help of my family and do a few simple bending and stretching exercises plus icing and elevating but I must say by the end of the day my knee is quite painful, is this normal and am I progressing as one would expect? With no guidance from the hospital physio team due to them being closed I am not sure what stage in my recovery I should be at.
I know all the above is a bit long winded but just need some guidance and reassurance.
Stay safe and well
 
@Flash1955 Sounds like you are doing very well. Please don't worry about your ROM or the stairs. There is no timeline for this recovery. Every recovery is different - even on the same person.

Are you still icing that knee. Ice will help reduce the swelling that is limiting your ROM.

Read this article again. Activity progression for TKRs You are doing great!
 
7 weeks is still very early days. Few of us were doing stairs foot over foot at this point. Since it’s so painful stop doing it. By trying to push it you are just upsetting your knee. Give yourself more time to heal.

Going for a walk every day is good, doing household chores is good, but maybe you should cut back on those a bit, in total, you may be doing more than your knee is ready for.

This is a year long recovery, on average, you have lots of time to improve.
 
I am 12 weeks post op Tuesday, and still can’t go foot over foot on stairs, at least not confidently... You are doing great, don’t push it too far to fast, I have, and the setbacks are much more annoying...Happy Easter to all!
 
It was about 4 months before I went down the steps normally. I didn't think about doing it, it just happened. I don't know exactly went it happened, it just did. Your's will happen that way to if you stop worrying about it.
 
You seem be doing fine with your recovery.
But take it steady, you can't rush things, if you do, you get in your own way.
Your stair exploits are just typical of a recovery. When going up stairs, I tried to do one step in 3 with my new knee, then when I could do this I upped it to 2 out of 3, then eventually every step. Coming downstairs is a lot more difficult and usually lags by several weeks. One problem is that you are aware that if you make a mistake, you could go base over apex and come down a lot faster than you intended. Start with only the lowest step or two to build up your confidence.
Relax, you are doing very well, your recovery is as it should be.
 
The stairs are manageable but still unable to put the leg I had my knee done first, it won’t take the weight and is very painful.
I still can’t walk up the stairs normally, my good leg has to go first and bad one follows onto the same stair but there is a little improvement now.
I am now trying to walk up and down the stairs as normal.
i think you're expecting too much of your knee, too soon. It isn't common to be able to negotiate stairs normally this early in recovery. It can take up to 4 months before you're able to do it normally, so don't try to make your knee do something it isn't yet ready to do.

I still
seem to get very tired from mid afternoon and occasionally find myself snoozing.
That's normal for this stage of recovery. Try reading this article again:
Energy drain for TKRs
Much of your energy is still being directed towards healing your knee and there isn't a lot left for anything else.

He said I should be further on than I am and need to up my exercises to improve my movement. He told me to use a traditional pair of oven gloves and put something heavy in each pocket, then sit on a chair with my feet on a stall and put the weighted oven cloth over my knee . Omg it really hurts behind the knee after a couple of mins!
It's a pity your surgeon is so impatient.
There's no need to rush to get ROM (Range of Motion) because it can continue to improve for a year, or even much longer, after a knee replacement. There isn't any deadline you have to meet:
Myth busting: the "window of opportunity" in TKR
Every knee is different and your knee will do much better if you stop forcing it to do all these exercises - they just keep it irritated and inflamed, which is slowing down your progress.

Exercises should never hurt. If they hurt, they are bad exercise and they're doing more harm than good. So stop doing that painful exercise.

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 knee has the potential to achieve good ROM right from the start, but it's prevented from doing so by swelling and pain. As it heals and the swelling goes down, your ROM (both flexion and extension) will gradually increase.

My bend is at 90 but I can still can get my hand under my knee and unable to lift my foot when tightening my knee and leg out straight (don’t know what this exercise this is called). I was told that by now I shouldn’t even be able to get my fingers under my knee!!
Try to stop listening to anyone who tells you that by now you should be at a certain stage. Every knee is different, so a one-size-fits-all agenda as your surgeon is advocating is inappropriate.

It's not at all unusual for extension (straightening) to take quite a while. That' because the large muscles and tendons at the back of your leg need to be stretched gradually.
You'll get there, as long as everyone is patient. Since ROM, both flexion and extension, can continue to increase for a year or more, there;s no need to rush. You have plenty of time.
 

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