TKR Fireball's TKR recovery

[Jamie]

If you have spine alignment issues, you might also want to see a physical therapist who is trained in diagnosing and treating this type of problem. I had this after my hip was replaced, and, although it took about 9 months of gentle manipulation and exercises, she was able to get things back in place and the muscles strong enough to hold them there. If you decide to check this out, ask about experience in this area when you call a therapy clinic so you are sure to get someone who has treated this before.

 

[KJ24]

Starting to regain movement at 8 weeks is, from a neurological perspective, indeed a very promising sign! Please don't lose heart now.

Gentle range of motion by hand will keep things from tightening. Light stimulation by your fingertips, and spending a bit of time each day visualizing things moving while touching and trying to elicit movement, may help. I know it sounds "woowoo," but it coordinates the various parts of the nervous system and I have seen it help people after injuries.

I've been doing both feet together quite a bit. My PT said it helps the brain realize the other side is supposed to do stuff too. And I noticed that curling my toes had gotten difficult, so I started working on that as well, just to help keep the tendons flexible. I've also been trying to help it while really focusing on trying to move it, and while I haven't seen any movement, there are times I feel the nerves tingle below the big toe after trying. I'm trying not to get my hopes up too much, just in case, but I'm pretty hopeful for at least some (more) recovery. If I could get the pinky numbness on the bottom to resolve, the rest isn't the worst thing in the world. Not ideal, but the knee is doing well so far, so either way, this is already better than before for the knee.

@KJ24 one of the things my doctor is confused about is the issues are from different nerve groups. He was thinking it may be from the back as I have DDD (Degenerative Disc Disease), but I've never had issues on the left side before. Not saying it couldn't happen though, my pelvis tends to shift around a bit and sit kind of canted. I did start seeing a chiropractor at the beginning of the month, just to see if I could get any relief there.

I feel for you. I know what it is like to have the numbness and nobody can figure out what is causing it. I actually had one podiatrist tell me I need to see a Psychologist because after numerous things he tried there was nothing on any of my MRIs - foot, ankle and knee. Within a two year period I had four podiatrist tell me nothing was wrong with my foot. I then was sent to my general doctor to check if I was diabetic, which I’m not. After so many doctors I was amazed to find out it was my back. I wasn’t having any back pain just numbness in my right foot.

Just hang in there and change doctors if you feel like they are not helping.

 

[Layla]

Happy Two Month Anniversary, fireball84!
Great news on the progress you've made with best wishes it continues.
A peaceful week to you.
@fireball84

 

[Jockette]

I actually had one podiatrist tell me I need to see a Psychologist because after numerous things he tried there was nothing on any of my MRIs

I have nerve damage in my right foot that no one knows what to do with. I was finally sent to a neurologist, who told me I was overthinking it!

 

[fireball84]

Not a huge gain this week, but my ROM was 123 today. It's been 120 for the last 3 weeks, so seeing anything more makes me happy. I've been trying to not really focus on the actual number and focus more on function. I also was put on the spin bike today instead of the recumbent, which is a first. Did some step work for the first time today as well. I am curious how I am going to feel tomorrow. I did get the go ahead to start walking, my PT didn't want me doing too much of that at first because of the foot issue (it had been going quite numb when we started doing some balance exercises) but that has stopped. Now it's no more numb than any other time. I did go ahead and order the external AFO brace, so I'm excited for that to show up and get using that. Walking will have to wait though, because PT wore me out today.

 

[Layla]

Happy Three Month Anniversary!
Another month has passed. Time flies when we're having fun.
I hope you're doing well and enjoyed a nice Thanksgiving. Leave an update when you have time. We'd love to hear from you. Until then...all the best!
@fireball84

 

[fireball84]

Yes, 3 months!!!! They still have me doing PT, I feel stuck with them. The VA really wants to make sure this thing is good. I have a follow up with the lead PT on the 5th, so I'm going to talk to him about stopping. I'm feeling pretty confident about it. 125 seems to be the bend it's settled at for now, which I'm pretty happy with. I can go up and down the stairs without much thought to the knee, although the muscles above the knee still feel a bit stiff. The foot is still quite numb, and I still can't move the big toe, but I now have the ability to make small circles with the foot. It feels really weird to do so when moving up and to the outside because that's the part that's the most numb. Not full ROM, but it's coming along. There is zero strength through any of the movement, so while it's moving it's not quite functional. Still wearing the brace, and than goodness for that. I didn't realize how weak my ankle is, and almost rolled it out in the yard. The brace doesn't allow for that much movement so it thankfully stopped it, and the knee held up like a champ. Good reminder that I really do need to wear it all the time because I've been feeling a bit bold and testing my limits a bit.
I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!

 

[Jamie]

It's good to hear you're making progress. Sometimes it can be so slow and it's easy to get impatient. But you have a good attitude and you're listening to your body.

If you do decide to stop therapy for a while, you can always go back to it later for some strength training. Be sure to have your therapist print out some exercises for you to do at home for that once you quit going to formal therapy.

 

[benne68]

So glad you are noticing enough improvement that you feel ready to quit PT, @fireball. Slow and steady!

 

[fireball84]

It's been awhile so I figured i would stop in for a update. A lot has changed. I stopped going to PT the first week of December. I am completely out of the AFO brace now and able to walk on my own, although if I were to plan a hike off road I would still wear it just in case. I don't have full ROM back yet, but it's not bad, just a little stiff on the limits, and weak against force. Toes are still moving well, and over the last few weeks I've been able to move th big toe up and down a bit. I can't feel it at all, it's still completely numb, along with the rest of my foot and leg. My EMG results were a bit surprising as my doctor wasn't expecting issues with all my nerves. He said the results didn't make sense or give a clear indication of where an issue may be. I really don't know what to think about it because there is some improvement but it also never seems to feel the same day to day. One day it seems like it's getting better, the next it feels like some has rubbed sandpaper on my foot for the last week and a half. Been a little frustrating but trying to get back to living my life. This numbness is worse than the arthritis pain though. Or maybe it's because it's just the most recent, but it's still have the arthritis pain from the right one, so I'm leaning the nerve stuff is werse.

 

[mendogal]

Thank you for the update. I'm really sorry there's still ongoing nerve damage interfering with your quality of life.

 

[Jamie]

It’s good to hear from you and I was happy to see some positive notes in your post. Nerve issues are very complex and can take time to resolve, so don’t give up hope for more improvements. Please don’t hesitate to post with new information or just to say “hi.”

 

[fireball84]

It’s good to hear from you and I was happy to see some positive notes in your post. Nerve issues are very complex and can take time to resolve, so don’t give up hope for more improvements. Please don’t hesitate to post with new information or just to say “hi.”

From everything I've read, the average recovery time for someone who experienced complete peroneal palsy after TKR is 15 months. I keep telling myself slow progress is still progress and look at how far I've come already. When I woke up, I couldn't move anything!

The big life change i made was I did sell my motorcycle. On the off chance this doesn't completely heal, I don't want to risk falling and I'm not sure I will ever trust the ankle strength or knee completely again.

 

[sistersinhim]

I keep telling myself slow progress is still progress and look at how far I've come already. When I woke up, I couldn't move anything!

This is a wonderful attitude. I believe stressing about something actually makes it worse. You are improving, and will continue to. If it takes a while, no big deal, at least it will get better because it already is!