Has anyone.....?

[Weezy]

Hi all! I'm curious and would like to tap into the wealth of experience here....

I'm having a lot of problems with learning how to walk "properly" after my left TKR. However, the REAL problem is that I haven't walked "properly" for probably about 30 years because of the knee problems I've had all my life. My left knee has always been the worst, so I've always walked oddly and stiff-legged on it. One of the reasons for FINALLY doing the TKR was because of the impact my funny gait has had on my hips and low back.

So, now I'm trying to do a heel-toe-push-off type of walk and it just doesn't seem to be coming. I can straighten my left leg more now than I could before the surgery, but I can't seem to get any semblance of a normal walk going and I keep wanting to revert to my stiff-legged limp of years gone by. I'm practicing every day for several 15-20 minute segments...

Has anyone else had experience in learning how to walk differently after their TKR? Any tips? Word of advice and wisdom?

Weezy

 

[Pattipoo]

I PROMISE you that lots of that comes back with TIME. Several of us had this conversation months ago.
You should go back to mid January posts and read a little...cuz, we picked apart a subject until it bled!!

 

[Doug]

It was the dope we were all on..
Weezy, just keep practicing. I went to one of the local malls or Wal Mart and just practiced walking. I would focus on a distant point and just head towards it.
One word of advise on your walking practice. Just keep in mind that how ever far you go, you have to cover that same distance getting back. There were times I had to sit down and rest. Always carry a cell phone and something to drink.

 

[JenniferG]

Yep, time and practice. The 2 things most human beings seem to hate. But Patti & Doug are right. Also for me, I worked on that in PT with the therapist. I would walk in circles around the room making a point of bending my knees. Felt like a chicken walk at first. And a point came when they told me to stop using the cane because it was actually causing me to limp, or at least encouraged it. But please ONLY do that with the direction of your therapist.

 

[1jt@atime]

Keep at it Weezy. I haven't walked right in 20 years and after one tkr, still can't walk right. I've got a few more joints to replace and then who knows. In the meantime, I am trying to correct the leg with the new knee as best I can. Just imagine all the years we've walked wrong....It's going to take us a long....... time to get it right so hang in there. I'm trying too....

 

[Skeet]

Just takes time and healing. You will get it. I walked weird at first. My kids said I waddled. Now folks wouldn't even know I had TKR done.

 

[blondie42550]

Weezy,
I too had a hard time learning to walk right. The best way to describe my gait for the last 20 years was that I "wobbled"! I had walked straight legged for so long, it seemed natural to me. Practice, concentration, and like Jennifer, walking in circles with my therapist looking on and telling me what I was doing wrong,got me to where I am now. Now, I find myself "speed walking" just about every where I go. I continue to amaze myself with walking fast and normal! Feels GREAT!!!!! As the stiffness gradually decreases, it becomes easier to bend the knees as you are walking, to the point that you don't even think about it anymore. At 6 months post BTKR I still find myself improving daily.
Here are some good exercises to help in straightening and bending your knee. I did these and a couple more that my doctor ordered at least 4 to 5 times a day for the first 8 weeks.
https://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=A00301
broken link removed: https://www.ehealthmd.com/library/totalkneereplacement/TKR_exercises.html#quad
Be patient, it will come sooner than you think and you will look back and realize the time you are going through now is short in the grand scheme of things.
Hope this helps.
Lynne

 

[Josephine]

Weezy,
I too had a hard time learning to walk right. The best way to describe my gait for the last 20 years was that I "wobbled"!

Like this, blondie? Heehee!

 

[blondie42550]

Close, but I don't wear dresses!!!