I need your help: Has BoneSmart helped in your TKR recovery?

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Bonesmart gave the reassurance that my doctor could not.
Bonesmart was a constant and immediately accessible reference.
It made me feel I was not alone, and not going crazy at times.
The whole TKR process is a mystery to most of us, and the additional information fills in the gaps in our knowledge.
I am sure it has a considerable advantage to the medical community, by distributing information that would otherwise tie up medical personnel and facilities for hours.
Bonesmart was a considerable help to my recovery process ( which is still underway)


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Hi, Josephine
While my partial was not a success, I thought that this board was extremely helpful. BY practicing the Bonesmart mantra, I certainly got as painfree as I was going to get pretty early on! I also learned a lot about patience--my doc said I'd be up and at 'em in 4-6 weeks! It's a huge relief to chat with other patients and also to the experts when you have "dumb" questions, and especially questions you didn't think to ask about (like the dreaded constipation/depression/sleeplessness issues). Well, done Josephine, and BoneSmart:loveshwr:
 
@Josephine this site has been amazing it gives so much information to help people through such a lengthy frightening recovery. everything about the op and subsequent recovery is so scary so the site offers support and advice good sensible advice thank you
 
I'm not sure how much my first recovery thread "kneeper's done" would be. But I can tell you after tkr #1 I am left with some apparent chronic quad tendonitis that I think (can't prove) may be from overzealous PT. (though I didn't think it was at the time). This time, based on my learning on Bonesmart I *said NO to squats* and the like. So far (knock wood) no quad problems. [my quads were a bit stronger going in, b/c after tkr #1 I was able to do more exercise, so was in a bit better shape going into #2]
 
This site was and has been very helpful to me during my recovery from 2 knee replacements! First and foremost it helped me keep things in perspective and to realize patience is a virtue in the recovery process. I believe we all start out thinking we have to work extra hard and endure more pain to improve but that's far from the truth. Seeing the experience of others helps each of us complete our journey.

I'm just a few weeks short of 1 year out from my RTKR. The knee is doing just fine as is my left knee. I've designated myself a "Bone Smart Recruiter" (just like the recruiters for college football.......:heehee:) since I've actively passed along this site to many others. I have 3 friends in the process now of scheduling TKRs. They are very aware of Bone Smart. What an amazing network this has turned out to be.

Best to you in your presentation Josephine!!!

http://bonesmart.org/forum/posts/642728/
 
Bonesmart is one of the best things that happened for me, other than the knee replacement of course. I found so very many things frightening with the knee replacement. You are told very little but perhaps that is not to frighten you. I do not like to go into anything with out knowing what will happen. Without this web site I do not know how I would have found my way through the recovery. Any time something physically occurred, I knew someone on this website could help me and it took away the fear of the unknown. I have recommended it to many people who have also benefited greatly from it. Please keep up- the good and necessary work. I can't thank you enough.
 
Ditto on all of the above. This is a wondeful site. When you need someone to confide in, there is always someone here to listen to rants, answer questions and emotional meltdowns. I wish I had found this site pre- surgery. I went into it petrified. And not to pity party but I am getting though this pretty much solo so the support from this site is a godsend.
 
As a knowledge base, having such a wealth of information prior to surgery is invaluable as it prepares one for the "reality" of TKR. Then having a place to discuss all of the new and strange feelings, sensations, etc. and have the community here to reassure one that all of these things are quite "normal" is just icing on the cake. Relieving anxiety is as valuable as the mantra is in aiding in physical recovery.
 
While it has been nearly seven years, I am still very, very grateful for Bonesmart, as this forum---Josephine, Jamie, Jaycey, and the others who were there at the time but have since moved on---helped me get through a very frustrating and lengthy recovery. It was the Bonesmart folks who helped me find out how much patience that I actually had and helped me through the tough times.
 
Can't thank bone smart enough for all the wonderful advise from medication to icing and elevating who knew how important these things are and to just listen to your body But the best part of the site is the feeling if community shared with people from all parts of the world talking at first about all the aches and pains we've suffered together to forming new and hopefully lasting friendships that go beyond pain to healing together
Thank you for that


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I wish I could help you with this Josephine, but can't at this time. I will say though that reading the recovery stories of the people who have followed your way of thinking has made me decide to go through with my LTKR next spring. That in itself says a LOT, because my mantra has been the day I can't walk is the day you can wheel me in. I haven't reached that point yet, but I am not going to wait to get there either. Living 75-90% of the time in pain is not fun.

Rose
 
Wow, were do I begin. When I found this site, I was in so much trouble with all the joints. The ones that had already been done and two more to go. knowing that you were open 24 hours helped me thew the last two which was so much easier with the rules. I going to be very honest, this site and the people on it saved my life. You all helped me get the pain under control and therefore was able to get all done. Thank you doesn't even start how much you mean to me. I tell everyone about this site whenever I can because it works. Sincerly Tashia
 
I can't tell you how heart warming all this is.Thank you all so very, very much.
I must get Richard Warner and Jeremy to come and read all this.
 
I can't begin to express how thankful I am for Bonesmart.

I had medial meniscus repair when I was 15 years old in 1978 and was told that one day I'll need a knee replacement but that I should wait as long as I possibly could before getting it done. Back then the repair was done by an open arthrotomy, lay aside the knee cap and scrape the cartilage off the bone and sew it back up. Thirteen stitches and a scar about 7 inches long in what is now done arthroscopic - what maybe three stitches?

Fast forward 35+ years - rainy weather would make me limp for days, I slept with my heel hanging off the bed because I didn't have the extension anymore, I was obviously knock-kneed on one leg, I was taking more falls as I used to swing my leg out and around to walk.

I slipped and fell in June of this year and besides spraining my ankle and knee, I also tore more cartilage, what little I did have left. I went directly from my GP to an Orthopaedic surgeon who decided that there wasn't enough to salvage so was scheduled for a TKR, I found Bonesmart and began to educate myself about the process - surgery and recovery.

Immediately after surgery I began to fall off the 'clinical pathway'. I didn't have as much ROM post-op as they hoped and despite pushing me to work harder, my quads didn't just wake up and start working. I knew what most people were doing, I knew it wasn't happening for me. I considered the valgus state of my knee and looked it up in the Bonesmart library and it wasn't until a week after surgery that I got a physio to listen, look at pictures and realize that the quad was actually atrophied for a very long time - possibly decades. That no amount of pushing and pleading and concentrating would make it work. I needed physio on the knee and quad both.

If I had gone through an Osteopath on my way to the surgeon, he/she might have picked up on that fact.

Because of Bonesmart, I was educated and confident enough to question my treatment. I wasn't going to be bullied into pushing myself into an injury because of the scary MUA being threatened. I knew/know if it happens it's not because I haven't done my physio, but because it's a physiological effect.

Fortunately the consulting physician at my new outpatient rehab seems to follow the BS mantra. He told me exercise and then elevate and ice. Take it slow, don't overwork it, and not to worry, it will come when it comes. Now that I'm on the right clinical pathway - a TKR with longstanding quad complications - no one feels I'm failing and that is great for my psychological wellbeing.
 
This forum has been very helpful to me. From the pre op forum, I learned what to expect, how to prepare my home, and to buy light foods with high nutrition. When I had the infection, I couldn't find anything I could use in the professional literature. But here on Bonesmart, I found real people who had the infection, the surgeries, and could share and empathize with my experience. Add to that the support from others, new finds of what works--from pillows, positioning, exercises, progress and setbacks--this site has been invaluable. And don't discount the articles and advice you give, either!
 
My OS got me through my TKR physically, but BoneSmart got me through mentally and emotionally. And, we all know recovery is not just about the physical. I'm 10 months post-op and still needing the support of this site, even though I've had no real bumps in the road. I can't imagine not having this place to come to for support, advice, friendship, and information. I've felt well educated in my recovery and know when it's appropriate to call my OS and what to ask when I do. All because of this well moderate and supportive site.
http://bonesmart.org/forum/threads/sharing-my-experience-so-far.22077/page-4#post-661167
 
although I am only 4 days post op, I can tell you that BoneSmart has been and continues to be an invaluable source of information on preparing for the surgery and setting expectations for my recovery period. I attended two educational seminars hosted by my OS which provided basic information on the surgical procedure and some info on post op, but nothing to the detail of the information I received from this forum.

I firmly believe a patient who is armed with the wealth of knowledge available on BoneSmart will have a higher success rate both mentally and physically. For me, for now, that is my truth.
 
I may be weighing in too late, but I have to reply. Without this site, I don't know where I would be. I had many personal issues come up right after my surgery and this site was beyond belief in the support I received. I know you are asking about exercise, so I will also respond to that. I was a very "bad" pt. in the hospital because I had done a lot of reading before my TKR on here. I said "no" a lot and they were not pleased with my resolve that I was going to do it my the Bonesmart way. I am so glad I knew not to push myself. I used the mantras religiously and I know it helped me get through some very hard times. I fired my first Pysio. because they were pushing me to pain even though I would tell them to stop. The comradery I have found on this site has been amazing. I cannot thank you enough for all you have done to make this possible....and to have this an international site has just been amazing. I love it!
~~hopefaith
 
Wow Jo,

Where do I begin?

The first knee, my left, was great! "Only" MRSA pneumonia but no problem with the knee!

8 weeks later had 2nd knee replaced. My right one has been the thread that has split 3 times. I went from the incision splitting open and infection gushing out, to finding one of the top world renowned surgeons to do a knee revision.

Even though my journey has been longer than most, I am living proof that staying positive, working out, eating better, and helping others will in turn help me.

BoneSmart has been here every step of the way, and I will be so excited to "power walk" the 1/2 marathon in Houston in January! My user name RestAssured will be on my bib to represent all of the BoneSmarties who are still working on their recoveries!

God has blessed me so richly! How can I do any less!
 
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