TKR I need some advice.

@Dolly llama Thank you for your dates - I have forwarded to the moderator to make your signature for you x
 
Thank you for your surgical date.
 
Well, I’m at 8 1/2 weeks out. Good days and bad days....really bad when I go to the PT. So I quit on Tuesday.
I’m walking....doing everyday things....shop, cook, clean but not everyday.
I like routine and don’t want to lose what ROM I’ve got 3-115.
I have a exercise bike, I bought a rowing machine And I have a 1/4 mile loop in my neighborhood.
I’d appreciate advice on what I should be doing at this point. Has anyone got a small prescription of the time I should spend on what. Even the rest and icing part.

I tried listening to my knee weeks ago but it lies to me. After a 1/2 mile walk, it says “go shopping!!!“ Then, “rearrange furniture!!!”

Obviously, my brain needs to take over. So, I’m asking for y’alls help.
A plan of any sort would be helpful.
Thank you.
 
I'm sure the mods here will have better advice, but the key is listening to your knee the day after activity. So do that walk, and if the next day the knee doesn't object, go a little farther. Or walk one day, and cycle the next. If the knee is happy, do a little more.
I know for me, on cycling, I had to raise the seat a good two inches more than normal to get started. Rather than increase the distance, I've focused on lowering the seat back to normal height, which means my bend is getting better.
 
Has anyone got a small prescription of the time I should spend on what? Even the rest and icing part.
All I did was normal daily activities as my knee allowed me to do. No exercises, no set number of movements. I just forgot about my knee the best I could and used it gently. At 2 months out you shouldn't be worried about all these movements, just your knee's healing. As it heals, more movements naturally happen. Easy does it wins this recovery race.
 
Yesterday maybe I overdid it? I don’t know.
my knee has been stiff and not cooperative. It doesn’t appear to be swollen but it doesn’t bend and I have muscle cramps in my calf.

Sorry, I’m new to listening to my knee. Other than rest and ice (which is what I’ve done today) is there something I should do?
 
Ice elevate and rest. Instead of doing 10 of the the another 10 of something else. I will do a few of something, say leg lifts, then stop and rest for a while. Then I will do a few of something else, the rest / elevate / ice. Over the course of an hour or so, I get a lot of exercises in. Just not all at once.
 
I seem to be stuck....

I had an incredible day and overdid it it.....but I’ve been stuck there since. RICE all these days and problematic nights.

how do I get back?
 
You joined what we call the ODIC, (overdid it club). Just about every one of us have been a member at least once and sometimes even more times. It might take weeks for your knee to calm back down. Continue to ice, elevate, and use it with gentle movements. Overdoing can be sneaky. While we're enjoying doing more than we should, we don't know it until that night or the next day.

You just have to learn your knee and what upsets it. Take it slowly and you'll be better off.
 
I had an incredible day and overdid it it.....but I’ve been stuck there since. RICE all these days and problematic nights.

how do I get back?
It's still very early days in this year-long recovery. Overdoing things means that your knee needs to take a little time to get over that, and then it will start moving forward again. I sometimes think that when you seem to take a pause, your knee isn't really doing nothing. It's consolidating where it has reached, before moving ahead again.

Remember that recovery from a knee replacement isn't a straightforward linear progression. It's a series of ups and downs, twists and turns, two steps forward and one step back - but your knee will get there in the end.

This is what recovery is really like:
Recovery chart drawn.jpg
 
I like this one, too. This explains this recovery, too:
rollercoasterexample-gif.74641
 
I seem to have gotten better. But I’ve never had my leg be straight. (0 extension)
it seems to be still hanging around 3-4. Will this get better with time or do I need to add weights as instructed by the PT guys?
 
No, don't go using weights.
It's not at all unusual for full extension to take a while.

It' s only just over 2 months since your surgery and ROM, both flexion and extension, can continue to improve for a year, or even longer, after surgery.

Keep doing the gentle exercises and just give it time. Don't let the PT guys infect you with their impatience.
 
My ROM, both flex and extension, continued to improve even 3 years after my surgery. All the pushing on my knee I n the early months only maintained my swelling, but did not positively increase the ROM.

There is no way I would put weights on my knee. We’ve had members who told us they did that and it caused them a lot of unnecessary pain. 3-4 is not a bad number for only 2 months post op. Some PTs just don’t understand this recovery.
 
Is my immunity weakened by my recent TKR? I may have to travel to a hot spot soon.
 
Your immunity may have been weakened a little, as almost all your energy was going towards healing your knee. But it's a couple of months now since your surgery and you should be recovering some of your strength and immunity.

Make sure you eat a healthy diet, with plenty of fresh vegetables and fruit, and continue to take plenty of rest, to help heal your body.

I don't know where this hot place is but, if you can, try not to over-exert yourself, plan to have a daily rest time, and avoid crowds.
 
How will driving/riding for ten hours be? My leg likes “up“ time around here. And it’s to Florida....not the magic kingdom....no crowds.
advice? Take ice? Two day trip? What hotels do you know have good cleaning protocol?
 
Yes, breaking up the journey into 2 days sounds like a good idea. You'd get very stiff sitting in a car for 10 hours.Ice and elevate if you can, and don't forget to make extra stops, to walk around a bit.

I'm sorry, but I can't advise you about hotels.

Florida seems to be a Covid hot-spot right now. Do you have to go?

If you go, have you thought about things like how you will get your groceries without coming into contact with people?
 

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