I also know now almost more important than my Range of Motion exercises is my exercises to straighten my leg. Once my leg is straight I will not get a swollen foot & swollen ankle that hurts after walking or standing.
Rainbow, it's only about 6 weeks since you had this major surgery. Don't expect that achieving full extension will cure your problems with walking and standing. Only time will do that. It takes most of us a long time before we can stand for any length of time without pain.
ROM includes both flexion (bending) and extension (straightening).
It's normal for extension to take longer to achieve than flexion, so don't worry about it. Just work slowly and gently towards achieving extension. You can try one or two of these exercise, but don't use weights until about 6 months.
Extension: how to estimate it and ways to improve it
I met a lady who had her TKR left knee 6 months ago. She is still using a walker and a wheel chair! She can go on a stationary bike but cannot walk which makes me puzzled. But she did NO exercices/physio for 4 months after surgery. I think this caused a lot of her problems. Also noticed she did not really participate in her physio except the stationary bike. Most of the hour she was there she drank coffee and talked on her cell phone. Have no idea why she cannot walk when she has the range to go on the bike. But it scared me into keeping up with my physio and my exercises at home as I do not want a permanent bent knee that I cannot walk with. Just a word of caution that I hope helps. I think is is the old rule for any of our parts "Use it or loose it"
No matter how often we advise people not to compare knees, someone always does.
You have seen this poor lady and assumed that her problems are caused because she didn't exercise for 4 months.
You have no idea what her condition was before she had her knee surgery, or why she did no exercises, and yet you assume that she has caused her own problem. That's pretty judgmental.
For all you know, she might have been bed-ridden before her surgery and has made remarkable progress. If her knee bends but she can't walk, it could be because her muscles grew so weak while she was bedridden, or she could have some other medical condition, such as multiple sclerosis.
She might have been instructed by her doctors not to do any exercises for 4 months.
@KarriB had similar instructions - and now her knee bends and straightens perfectly.
Your knee will eventually both bend and straighten perfectly. There's no need to rush, because ROM can continue to increase for a year, or even longer, after surgery - whether or not you do exercises. I did no formal exercise after either of my knee replacements. Just ordinary life was my therapy. Both my knees straighten fully and bend to 125+ degrees. They're strong and reliable and I can do anything I want with them.
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