I had a RTKR 2 days before you had yours and my knee is still stiff, swollen, sore, and numb. My problem is not flexion but extension. I can flex to 125 and I assume that will only get better with time but if not, I can do anything I want with that flexion. My extension today was-8. It has been much better, zero actually but my knee is so swollen that it does not straighten easily. Today was my last outpatient PT and I am glad to have that behind me. I am not sure how to get the swelling down except to rest the knee and ice it. I refused to let PT put weights on my knee. They thought I was silly. I am going to knock off some of the exercises they had me doing and just walk and do everyday living. I know it is hard to know who to believe. Only you can make the decision that is right for you.
TKR Freedom works on recovery<<
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That is a great flex, JLP!!
For extension, what worked for me was lying on the sofa, ankles up on the arm, and let gravity take over. At first I could only hold that position for 15 seconds. Over time I was able to get to 2 minutes.
Another which helped was to turn the wedge pillow around, so the high side was up near my butt, and bend knees over the top. The 'old' knee (I don't call it the GOOD one as it is also bone and bone and needs to be replaced!) bends right down and my heel rests on the pillow. The new knee sort of hangs in the air. I will use my old foot to support the new one, and just read or work a crossword puzzle. After a time I have both heels down on the pillow. You can make this easier or harder depending on how close to your butt you set the pillow.
I like when I control what is happening; I can make sure there is no pain.
For extension, what worked for me was lying on the sofa, ankles up on the arm, and let gravity take over. At first I could only hold that position for 15 seconds. Over time I was able to get to 2 minutes.
Another which helped was to turn the wedge pillow around, so the high side was up near my butt, and bend knees over the top. The 'old' knee (I don't call it the GOOD one as it is also bone and bone and needs to be replaced!) bends right down and my heel rests on the pillow. The new knee sort of hangs in the air. I will use my old foot to support the new one, and just read or work a crossword puzzle. After a time I have both heels down on the pillow. You can make this easier or harder depending on how close to your butt you set the pillow.
I like when I control what is happening; I can make sure there is no pain.
PolarBear60
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Please remember you lost a lot of rest, ice, and elevate time early after your surgery to deal with your father's funeral. Then you spent a day or two on your feet. It sounds like you have a lot of chores at home on multiple levels, too. Because of this, you probably don't need to worry about doing exercises at home, too. This has exacerbated your swelling. As Celle has mentioned, once your swelling goes down, your knee will bend and straighten much better.
For the home stuff, break it down into the smallest components possible, do one small piece, sit to rest, ice, and elevate, then do the next small piece. You'll wish you didn't have to do it this way, but it does help with the swelling. It isn't fast, but stuff does eventually get done. (This is not a BoneSmart recommendation, but I had to do stuff, too, so I found the way that worked best for me.)
If it were me, I'd feel more comfortable with PT 2X a week, but with one of them being a water session, that may be helpful as long as they don't have you overdo it. I did water PT on my own after my outpatient PT completed, but my PT gave me suggested exercises to do.
My home PT did light massage, and it made a huge difference in stiffness and tightness those first couple weeks after surgery, so I understand how good it must have felt for you.
OP
OP
Freedom
graduate
Thanks Jean!
Once I have a pool session or 2, and learn what they want me to do and not do, or not do YET, then I will go to the Y for water walking and water therapy. When I had the outpatient pt assessment, the therapist told the scheduler he wanted the water session between the 2 land sessions, and never to have the 2 land sessions back to back.
First time I read "lots of chores at home on multiple levels" I thought you meant I have a 2 story house ha haaa. It is a ranch house, I only need to be down cellar for laundry. I am doing laundry once every 10 days, so most of the time everything is on one level. But yes I have to take care of myself, the 8 cats and the 5 dogs.
I have been getting the dogs out for their walk for almost 2 weeks now that I can drive again! I take them to a place they can run off leash, so they burn off energy, romp with their friends, and I don't have to walk every step with them (as I would if I had to walk them on leash). This has cut down a LOT on the number of accidents they have in the house. Which makes less work for me. And I figure walking outside in Nature is good for me as well as them. The park I am going to for now has an asphalt path, so I have a stable base for walking.
I want to get back to the Y, I can do upper body workouts fine at this point. I've gained more than 30 pounds in 8 months due to knee pain, so I have plenty to address once I get there.
Once I have a pool session or 2, and learn what they want me to do and not do, or not do YET, then I will go to the Y for water walking and water therapy. When I had the outpatient pt assessment, the therapist told the scheduler he wanted the water session between the 2 land sessions, and never to have the 2 land sessions back to back.
First time I read "lots of chores at home on multiple levels" I thought you meant I have a 2 story house ha haaa. It is a ranch house, I only need to be down cellar for laundry. I am doing laundry once every 10 days, so most of the time everything is on one level. But yes I have to take care of myself, the 8 cats and the 5 dogs.
I have been getting the dogs out for their walk for almost 2 weeks now that I can drive again! I take them to a place they can run off leash, so they burn off energy, romp with their friends, and I don't have to walk every step with them (as I would if I had to walk them on leash). This has cut down a LOT on the number of accidents they have in the house. Which makes less work for me. And I figure walking outside in Nature is good for me as well as them. The park I am going to for now has an asphalt path, so I have a stable base for walking.
I want to get back to the Y, I can do upper body workouts fine at this point. I've gained more than 30 pounds in 8 months due to knee pain, so I have plenty to address once I get there.
This is what I saw and what you wrote in your first post.
Forgive me if I got the wrong impression, but I wasn't the only one:
Don't let them push you to tears!!Your knee needs to do some healing, it's been been beat up, don't push it too hard.
I will ask if something can be done about the links within the articles.
Here is a link to the alphabetical list of articles in the library:
https://bonesmart.org/forum/threads/library-index.14830/
I hope this helps.
OP
OP
Freedom
graduate
Ah ok. So, when I said "this has been awful" I was not referring to that PT session; I was referring to the whole process up to that point. Now, "worked for 10 minutes," that is not a normal PT session; a normal session is one hour. I have no idea how they billed my insurance company, but that is the least of my worries at this point!
I CAN tell you, I was not allowing them to touch me at all. So they had to describe what they wanted me to do and I would try and do it. I was trying to control my own pain, so if I was in tears, I don't know if it was tears from pain or from being scared and overwhelmed. At that point, moving at all still had me crying. Getting in and out of bed to take the walker to the bathroom - which was right next to my bed - had me crying. EVERYTHING had me crying.
I was sitting on the bed , first I had to get my heel down on the floor, then trying to move / slide my foot back closer to me, and that had me in tears. This was the only time I worked with Irina, she was the PT who would set a paper towel on the floor, so I could slide my foot; I was wearing those socks with the skid treads on them, to prevent falls, so my foot would not slide unless the paper towel or something else was under it. We were not even leaving my room at that time, it was too much for me even with the walker. I still had to have 2 CNAs help me to the bathroom.
Would this be considered a lot of PT, for Day 4 post op? Just because I was in tears, to me that doesn't necessarily mean it was too much PT.
Then 2 DAYS I wrote this later: "The intense PT involved me sitting on side of bed, work to get heel down, then at my own pace slide foot back to increase bend. Next, stood and used walker to get to chair 13 feet away, sit, and same thing: get heel to the floor, slowly slide foot back. All that took half an hour, I had to stop and BREATHE quite often. Made it to 70 degrees, and could hold that for 90 secs. Wiped me out for the day! "
See, all that "stop and breathe" was because I was working myself up into a panic, starting to tear up, telling her no, I can't do it, I can't do it. "Work at my own pace," that was because I would not let her touch.
Wow, so at one time I was at 37 and 56? And last Wed (1 week ago, not yesterday) I was at 72, 8 weeks post op. Not much improvement, was there?
Also, remember that most folks, and certainly all the people who had TKR the same day I had, were dressed that evening and walking the halls in the hospital unit (they have a unit just for joint replacements). So I was already on a different path of recovery than normal.
I CAN tell you, I was not allowing them to touch me at all. So they had to describe what they wanted me to do and I would try and do it. I was trying to control my own pain, so if I was in tears, I don't know if it was tears from pain or from being scared and overwhelmed. At that point, moving at all still had me crying. Getting in and out of bed to take the walker to the bathroom - which was right next to my bed - had me crying. EVERYTHING had me crying.
I was sitting on the bed , first I had to get my heel down on the floor, then trying to move / slide my foot back closer to me, and that had me in tears. This was the only time I worked with Irina, she was the PT who would set a paper towel on the floor, so I could slide my foot; I was wearing those socks with the skid treads on them, to prevent falls, so my foot would not slide unless the paper towel or something else was under it. We were not even leaving my room at that time, it was too much for me even with the walker. I still had to have 2 CNAs help me to the bathroom.
Would this be considered a lot of PT, for Day 4 post op? Just because I was in tears, to me that doesn't necessarily mean it was too much PT.
Then 2 DAYS I wrote this later: "The intense PT involved me sitting on side of bed, work to get heel down, then at my own pace slide foot back to increase bend. Next, stood and used walker to get to chair 13 feet away, sit, and same thing: get heel to the floor, slowly slide foot back. All that took half an hour, I had to stop and BREATHE quite often. Made it to 70 degrees, and could hold that for 90 secs. Wiped me out for the day! "
See, all that "stop and breathe" was because I was working myself up into a panic, starting to tear up, telling her no, I can't do it, I can't do it. "Work at my own pace," that was because I would not let her touch.
Wow, so at one time I was at 37 and 56? And last Wed (1 week ago, not yesterday) I was at 72, 8 weeks post op. Not much improvement, was there?
Also, remember that most folks, and certainly all the people who had TKR the same day I had, were dressed that evening and walking the halls in the hospital unit (they have a unit just for joint replacements). So I was already on a different path of recovery than normal.
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newlybionic
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It may not seem like much but it is improvement nevertheless. Don't discount the little steps as they will lead to bigger ones in the future. Don't give up. You will get there. Some of us have a few extra bumps in the road but we will get to the ending we dream of.
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Freedom
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Today's mail brought me a letter from DMV - request for handicap placard denied, because I can ambulate 200 feet with out any aids. I can appeal, for $50. I will attach the section of the form -- the OS filled in diagnosis: osteoarthritis, left knee, and further down he marked does not interfere with safe driving. I asked for one because I don't have much bend. I need my car door fully open to enter and exit.
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Freedom
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Outpatient PT today. This morning we had snow, and I was out for about half an hour with my SELF-PROPELLED snowblower, clearing the driveway and front walk. I did not have time to ice, elevate, before heading out to PT. I was surprised to see my knee very red and swollen when I got there. At the end she had me sit with ice for 10 minutes and when I left it was no longer red, though still quite swollen. And for the first time, she measured. Flex is 70 on my own, 78 with some help from her. Extension is 5. I am very discouraged over this.
Is there any hope for me not to need an MUA???
Is there any hope for me not to need an MUA???
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KarriB
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Have you tried elevating and icing for a few days and limiting your activities? Most times ROM is effected by swelling and swelling from too much activity.
@Freedom - you can't expect your knee to bend properly if it is red and swollen.
You really do need to stop all unnecessary activities.
Instead of spending time (and irritating your knee) blowing snow and then going to PT, it would have been better if you'd stayed at home, resting, icing and elevating your knee.
Your only way of avoiding having an MUA is to take notice of what we are advising. You don't need to do lots of exercise in order to rehab a knee or achieve ROM. But, there's no way that your knee is going to bend if it's swollen. Like a hosepipe full of water, it can't bend properly. But, get rid of that water and the hosepipe will bend much more easily. Your knee is the same.
You really do need to stop all unnecessary activities.
Instead of spending time (and irritating your knee) blowing snow and then going to PT, it would have been better if you'd stayed at home, resting, icing and elevating your knee.
Your only way of avoiding having an MUA is to take notice of what we are advising. You don't need to do lots of exercise in order to rehab a knee or achieve ROM. But, there's no way that your knee is going to bend if it's swollen. Like a hosepipe full of water, it can't bend properly. But, get rid of that water and the hosepipe will bend much more easily. Your knee is the same.
OP
OP
Freedom
graduate
Thank you both. Yes, I was advised similar by someone else, last evening.
But I LOVE snow blowing and also lawn mowing and yard work -- both machines are self propelled, I "THOUGHT" by now I would be ready to do these things. Pfft.
Is walking my dogs daily considered unnecessary? I sure hope not! Getting them out for a romp, to see their friends and burn energy, makes them easier to live with in the house - they are resting rather than jumping from the recliner to the sofa, and not 'going' in the house. I take them to a place they can be off leash. The trail is asphalt (so I am walking on even surface, not trekking through a field).
Muscular massage this morning at 11 AM.
But I LOVE snow blowing and also lawn mowing and yard work -- both machines are self propelled, I "THOUGHT" by now I would be ready to do these things. Pfft.
Is walking my dogs daily considered unnecessary? I sure hope not! Getting them out for a romp, to see their friends and burn energy, makes them easier to live with in the house - they are resting rather than jumping from the recliner to the sofa, and not 'going' in the house. I take them to a place they can be off leash. The trail is asphalt (so I am walking on even surface, not trekking through a field).
Muscular massage this morning at 11 AM.
Walking your dogs is OK - just don't walk too far. Make that your exercise for the day, because walking is the best exercise of all for rehabbing your knee.
OP
OP
Freedom
graduate
All RIGHT!!!
@Celle, when I open this link: https://bonesmart.org/forum/threads/post-operative-exercise-–-the-bonesmart-view.25463/
Then scroll down to the bottom section: List of ROM and Strength Exercises
Not only does that link not work, but darn it, I can't find that article in the alpha listing.
Now, I KNOW it has to be me. Because that second article link: ROM Extension and Quad Exercises -- that link works fine; but I can find THAT one in the index either! I am computer challenged! So can you find the "List of" one for me please? Sorry to be a such a nut.
@Celle, when I open this link: https://bonesmart.org/forum/threads/post-operative-exercise-–-the-bonesmart-view.25463/
Then scroll down to the bottom section: List of ROM and Strength Exercises
Not only does that link not work, but darn it, I can't find that article in the alpha listing.
Now, I KNOW it has to be me. Because that second article link: ROM Extension and Quad Exercises -- that link works fine; but I can find THAT one in the index either! I am computer challenged! So can you find the "List of" one for me please? Sorry to be a such a nut.
I've asked about those articles and Josephine said that the first one was removed from the library some time ago, because it's contrary to the advice we now give. Instead, we recommend these two:
Heel slides and how to do them and
Extension: exercises for improvement
Those and simply walking are really all the exercise you need to do for ROM.
None of these articles is listed in the library, because they are articles that @Roy Gardiner wrote. I can't say for sure, but I expect his articles will be modified a bit, to avoid confusion.
Heel slides and how to do them and
Extension: exercises for improvement
Those and simply walking are really all the exercise you need to do for ROM.
None of these articles is listed in the library, because they are articles that @Roy Gardiner wrote. I can't say for sure, but I expect his articles will be modified a bit, to avoid confusion.
OP
OP
Freedom
graduate
New therapist for PT today. LTKR was Jan 20th; 9 weeks post op. She did some different warm up massage moves. I made it to 85 with assist. Before I left she applied kinesiology tape, which I will keep on till next PT session on Monday. OK to shower with this. I had to do a heel slide, bend as far as I could, for her to apply it. It will help with swelling, which she said is my biggest issue for my flexion. I do get keloids, and you can see that developing on my incision site.
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OP
Freedom
graduate
The tape must have something to do with this morning's changes! For weeks, I have felt like I have a water balloon over my knee. This morning when I got up, all that bulging baggy feeling has moved UP my leg and is ABOVE my knee cap.
OP
OP
Freedom
graduate
PT today 11 to noon. I did it, I pedaled backwards on the recumbent bike! It wasn't smooth but I did it repeatedly for 3 minutes! HOORAY Then with some stretching, I made it to a 90 for my bend! TWO milestones reached. YIPPEE!! I am 10 weeks post op.
