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TKR Getting my Life back on May 1

I spent the day in a hospital waiting room waiting on an elderly cousin having eyelid surgery. The surgery center messed up and even though he had checked in, lost his information and didn't know he was there. Poor guy is diabetic and didn't have anything to eat or drink all day until I brought him home at 7 tonight. I think we'd still be sitting there if I didn't throw a fit!

My knee did okay sitting there all day but was a bit sore tonight. Not a lot of swelling though. Hopefully I can get back into my routine tomorrow.

Roxie
 
I hope your knee behaves today...that was a long day you had yesterday, Roxie. You deserve a day of ice, rest, and elevation!
 
Hi @Kansas Teacher its been a while, glad you're doing well! I started back to work yesterday, my knee behaved but my brain was a little slower catching up lol..... I read the comment about the "forest" growing around your scar and laughed I have the same thing going on!
 
I had to hunt to find my thread! This has been a busy week. I've been spending a lot of time with my cousin who had the eyelid surgery. I swear, he's more impatient than I have been!

I am 12 weeks today -- wow. I'm walking well, still feel like endurance isn't all the way back, and still have a little soreness around the inner lower side of my scar that is improving fairly rapidly now. My swelling has decreased dramatically although isn't 100% gone especially when I'm up on my feet a lot. The only thing I am taking is two ibuprofen in the a.m. and two ibuprofen in the evening -- it seems to help more than Tylenol at this point. I was taking both for awhile but don't need them both now. When I get up from sitting or lying down, I'm stiff so tend to do a heel slide or two first and that helps a great deal. Every now and then, I still get the tight band feeling but, again, it has improved quite a bit. I also find that my scar and the skin around it isn't as sensitive as it was for awhile. I no longer have to use the "saran wrap trick" to sleep and I don't need to even sleep with a pillow anymore. I can sleep on my back, slide, stomach with no problem and I sleep much better although I still toss and turn a bit more than is usual.

I scheduled a massage for Monday for my IT band so am anxious to see if that will help.

For those of you still earlier in the process, hang in there. It does get better.

Roxie
 
Isn't it lovely to sleep however you want! It's been a pleasure to watch your recovery, Roxie. In the beginning you wonder how you'll ever get back to normal, but here you are, almost there!
 
That's great, Roxie!

Very curious about that massage. I'm sure I'm not the only one who wants to hear about the results.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
 
It's Monday afternoon. You know I'll let you know! She is trained to use kinisio tape too and mentioned that it can be helpful in it band issues. We'll see!

Roxie
 
Curious about the massage! I was thinking of scheduling a "regular" massage since I can finally lay on my stomach again, but my IT bands are so so so tight.


Sent from my iPhone using BoneSmart Forum
 
I had a "regular" massage a couple of weeks ago and it was great. The therapist did my back while I was lying on my side. Check with spas or therapists who offer pregnancy massages. They're used to working while your on your side and with "creative" draping.
 
I do think my IT band is slowly improving on its own -- it doesn't hurt so bad it wakes me up anymore when I lie on my side! But it's still tight and I don't think this will hurt at least. The bonesmart article about IT band issues mentioned massage as one of the best remedies so I decided to try it. I'll let everyone know!

Roxie
 
[Bonesmart.org] Getting my Life back on May 1


I like this chart that Josephine posted and am saving it in my thread for future reference. It's good to look at on the days that I think I've plateaued!

Roxie
 
I was on my feet a LOT yesterday and my knee let me know about it in the night. Sigh. Just when I think I'm over a bend, a roadblock comes along! This morning it feels better but is a bit tight.

Tomorrow is my massage which I am looking forward to although I hear an IT band massage is not necessary a pleasant experience. We shall see.

Later this week, we have our two local grandkids -- ages 10 and 5 -- for 6 days while their parents take a trip to Mexico for a combination anniversary/birthday trip. They are great kiddos and we always have fun but it will be nothing short of exhausting! Thankfully, my husband doesn't mind chasing around with the little guy so it should be somewhat easier on me.

I feel like the muscles/tendons/ligaments in my leg are all still adjusting. It makes me wish I had done this sooner before everything got so out of whack due to my bad knee. It just all feels tight and, when my IT band tightens up, it feels like it pulls all the way down to my ankle on the outside of my calf. I'm not sure how that happens since your IT band ends at the bottom of your knee. Any insights, @Jamie or @Josephine ? Some days I think it's better but then when I overdo it like yesterday, it definitely bothers me more.

Roxie
 
Kansas Teacher said:
I'm not sure how that happens since your IT band ends at the bottom of your knee. Some days I think it's better but then when I overdo it like yesterday, it definitely bothers me more.
Click to expand...
You have answered your own question! 'some days it's better then I over do it and it bothers me'!

What puzzled you about the IT band? It's a very long structure going from the pelvic hip all the way down to the tibia. And it gets stressed and strained when we do too much. Plus either hip or knee replacement can make it more vulnerable to those stresses and strains.

[Bonesmart.org] Getting my Life back on May 1
 
@Josephine , what puzzled me was that I know where the IT band starts and stops but, when it flares up, it seems like something pulls all the way down the side of my calf to my ankle. I don't see why it would do that since the IT band ends under my knee! Just more muscles adjusting, I imagine.

Last night, I had a friend invite me to Music Theatre of Wichita. We ate and then went to the production which was very good -- it was "The Big Fish." It felt good to get out and enjoy the evening. The seats were very cramped and I ended up walking up six flights of stairs to get to the balcony where the seats were. I did fine going up and down the stairs but, in the night, a sore spot on the medial side of my knee was throbbing although didn't wake me up until around 7 or so this morning. Guess I pushed it a little bit.

Massage later today.

Roxie
 
Kansas Teacher said:
what puzzled me was that I know where the IT band starts and stops but, when it flares up, it seems like something pulls all the way down the side of my calf to my ankle. I don't see why it would do that since the IT band ends under my knee!
Click to expand...
Ever heard that old song "Dem bones, dem bones"? Well it's true! That connection goes all the way down to the sole of the foot! It can actually be responsible for plantar fasciitis!

Thing is that tendinitis doesn't just confine itself to one structure. It like to share it's grief around so while the ITband stops at the knee, the tibialis posterior and anterior, pick it up from there and it tracks all the way down the lower leg even into the foot!

Here's a graphic showing you

[Bonesmart.org] Getting my Life back on May 1
 
Massage update:

Just got back from my massage and feel like it was a good -- although not necessarily pleasant -- experience. She did some lymphatic drainage massage to help with some of the swelling I still have left and it definitely looks better than it did when I first went. Then she worked on my tight IT band and also massaged hamstrings, quads, calf muscles, ankles, etc. The lymphatic massage was actually relaxing but the rest of it was somewhat painful as my muscles in the entire leg were so tight. Ouch ouch ouch, but the pain stopped immediately when she stopped massaging and my leg does feel much looser now. Then she put some kinesio tape on it to help encourage further healing and drainage of fluids. I am supposed to call her on Wednesday and let her know how it is feeling.

At this point in time, I feel that it was worth it and hope I feel that way in a couple days.

Roxie
 
Wow..good to know Roxie . Hope it stays pain free for you. I love that kinesiology tape. Did she do a basket weave pattern to help with swelling?
 
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