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TKR Graduated!

Oh, after a fairly rigorous routine at PT, my leg(s) were very tired. After I was in bed a couple of hours, I rolled over and triggered the worse muscle cramp I have ever had. I almost had my wife call EMS, before it subsided. inside of my left thigh. I am not prone to cramps., I can't remember when I had the last one. Any meds I can take to prevent them after a PT session?
 
I second that suggestion. There's no reason for the PT to cause you pain.
 
Welcome and congratulations on your new knee. You are doing great! Please don't let anyone hurt you. Your knee will eventually straighten to 0. It took mine 11 weeks to straighten all the way. Your ROM is fantastic. Your recovery is a marathon not a sprint. Take care!
 
Stop the rigorous PT, it is not necessary. You have been told this from everyone here and will continue to be told this and have been provided info and experience that supports the "let your body heal" approach. If something causes pain and discourages you, why continue to do it? Listen to your body, it is in control now.
 
As I said, I think it makes sense, but I am paying an expert, and I must weight that against advice I read on the internet! :thud: no offence intended! Give me time, i think I am willing to accept this.
 
Well most here can tell you that the reason WHY you are hurting so badly is because you are pushing your knee too fast. Therapists should never cause you pain or push your injured body part to the point of pain that is the #1 mantra of everyone here. I am sure everyone here will give you support and encouragement through all the pain, but you are really causing yourself an unnecessary amount of it. But you might want to at least give it a try, give yourself a week of resting, ice, elevation and gentle stretching and see if the inflammation does not go down and you knee thank you and you feel better...
 
My pt pushes me but today he said if it hurts don't grin and bear it speak up.. There's a difference between a good stretch and pain

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You are in charge of your recovery and it's obvious that you instinctively know that something is not working right for you with your therapist's aggressive approach. Why not take 2 weeks and follow the more gentle route folks have suggested here. You'll lose nothing (despite the fact that your therapist insists you have a window of opportunity for your ROM, that is definitely not true!). See how you do with no pushing and shoving and only gently bends and stretches for your bend. Do the extension exercises in our article posted for you a couple of times a day. Then take stock of how you feel and where you are. I'm betting you will see real improvement! Two weeks would be best to evaluate, but if you don't feel willing to do that, try it for just one week. I'm betting you really will see a difference.

Another option would be to find a different therapy group that uses the more gentle approach. They are out there. You just happened to find one that isn't. The more gentle therapists are professionals too, they just have a different approach. Try them for a while and see how you do.

You might be interested to know that my surgeon told me in no uncertain terms when I had my first knee done that he would approve therapy but to really watch it because some of the people out there used that aggressive approach and he didn't want anyone messing up his fine surgical job with all that pushing and pounding. Like the others who have talked with you here, I used the more gentle approach and have done just great with both my knees.
 
@Jamie has made some excellent points there that you really need to consider. What does your OS say about the type of aggressive therapy that you are getting? I told my OS that I was going to start private physio with a company that are known for being aggressive but always listen to the patient. He wanted me to take it easy because he does not want anyone messing with his handiwork. I tell my PT when to stop and he stops.
 
I think I am coming across as critical of the advice here. Far from it. I am just wrestling with how to approach the PT and my Doctor. I wish I had come across this site before I had my surgery, but as my wife would tell you, I barely was able to agree to the surgery, I was quite scared. I avoided looking for advice sites in fear that they may talk me out of it, an easy task. My doctor has worked with me for a year on this knee, before he said replacement was the only option remaining. I trust him, and he did an excellent job on the surgery. He was extremely pleased with my personal progress the first 2 weeks, and recommended PT, which he said I would likely only need for three weeks. My next appointment with him is next friday, and I am just trying to get my ducks in a row to discuss this with him. The PT is in the same practice as the Doctor, though I was not restricted to it, just whatever was closest.
 
do questions go in "my" thread, or can they be separate? My PT tells me my hamstring is "scared" to release to full extension and we need to convince it (my brain, actually) that it's safe to extend. This came because I jokingly asked for an epidural before the last PT session, and he said that would actually cause the muscle to release and I would reach full extension. This confuses me, because sleep should do the same thing. I think the muscle is actually too short for whatever reason, and needs to stretch. And it probably will, on it's own, given time.
 
They need to go in your thread. I'll ask someone to get this moved into your thread for you.

Sleep and the epidural are two different things. If they were the same, you'd just take a nap and have surgery. :) No nasty drug interactions to worry about.

Your PT's description sounds like an accurate layman's analogy. Keep in mind your hamstrings did not get this way overnight -- it took them years and years to reach the state they are in now. It will take at least several months to gently get them stretched and willing to do what they need to do again.
 
PolarBear60 said:
Keep in mind your hamstrings did not get this way overnight -- it took them years and years to reach the state they are in now
Click to expand...
The day before surgery, both knees went past 0, to around -8. Why shorter the day after? Maybe the tourniquet damaged it?
 
I also read here and other places that once you are walking normally without aids and climbing stairs OK, there is no need for PT. True?
 
Depends on what you are utilizing the PT to accomplish. You might want to increase your flexion a bit. Or, as in my case, want to strengthen your non TKR leg muscles in preparation for upcoming surgery on that leg. It is free for me, so will make use of it.

But if you are walking with a normal gait and can tackle your daily activities, then you do not need PT.
 
@jmdearras, you may notice that I have merged your two threads. We like to keep our members' recovery posts all in a single thread. That way it's easy for us to go back and read your history before responding to a question or concern. In addition, the thread becomes a journal of your recovery for those who come along later and want to read about you. So, please post in this thread from now on when you want to give an update or ask a question. If you have questions or concerns that need an immediate answer, please tag an admin, a mod, or other members or all three.

If you decide you'd like a different thread title at any point, you can post what you want here and we'll get it changed for you. THANKS!

If you are having a problem locating your thread, here is a link with how to do it: How can I find my threads and posts?
 
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