TKR Injured Knee 3 Years Out
- Thread starter readymade
- Start date
OP
OP
readymade
junior member
Hi Bonesmarties!
Well I have to admit that I have officially joined the Over Did It Club. At 6 weeks post op and feeling a bit more energetic, I took full advantage to my disadvantage! Since Sunday I've briefly went on a fall farm tour, picked some fab apples from outdoor bins, drove-probably too much- went to annoying PT ( who is abiding by my wishes, but still) went grocery shopping, made dinner, cleaned up, etc. Of course I was way hurting after that. Today I joined my daughter for a walk around Target...I know, I know, too much, but there was delightful cute Halloween stuff everywhere! I think our drive to get back to normal and get out and do things is a very natural inclination, maybe even part of the healing process itself, at least mentally. Oh it was right hella' painy hobbling around the Halloween aisle towards the end but the lure of festive decor was just too much. I succumbed to it. Of course now I'm sitting/laying on the couch with my leg propped up and ice and Tylenol plus other pain meds if needed. ( and I haven't needed them for a while) Oh and of course guilt ! I am wondering if all this post op galivanting has messed up anything soft tissue or bone wise. Hope not. Please let me know if any of you have had the same experiences and if my guilty worries are justified. In other news: the decorations rock! Lol.
Well I have to admit that I have officially joined the Over Did It Club. At 6 weeks post op and feeling a bit more energetic, I took full advantage to my disadvantage! Since Sunday I've briefly went on a fall farm tour, picked some fab apples from outdoor bins, drove-probably too much- went to annoying PT ( who is abiding by my wishes, but still) went grocery shopping, made dinner, cleaned up, etc. Of course I was way hurting after that. Today I joined my daughter for a walk around Target...I know, I know, too much, but there was delightful cute Halloween stuff everywhere! I think our drive to get back to normal and get out and do things is a very natural inclination, maybe even part of the healing process itself, at least mentally. Oh it was right hella' painy hobbling around the Halloween aisle towards the end but the lure of festive decor was just too much. I succumbed to it. Of course now I'm sitting/laying on the couch with my leg propped up and ice and Tylenol plus other pain meds if needed. ( and I haven't needed them for a while) Oh and of course guilt ! I am wondering if all this post op galivanting has messed up anything soft tissue or bone wise. Hope not. Please let me know if any of you have had the same experiences and if my guilty worries are justified. In other news: the decorations rock! Lol.
Tabbycat
post-grad
- Joined
- Feb 26, 2016
- Messages
- 1,045
- Age
- 65
- Location
- Newport, Wales
- Gender
- Female
- Country
United Kingdom
You are doing well to even want to attempt all that at only 6 weeks, but the knee will not let you forget who's in charge! Most of us have done it at some point though so you're in good company. Plenty of rest, ice and pain meds for a few days will hopefully calm things down. Hope you recover soon.
Tabby xxx
Tabby xxx
KarriB
Former BoneSmart staff member
- Joined
- Apr 20, 2015
- Messages
- 11,941
- Age
- 70
- Location
- Pittsburgh, PA
- Gender
- Female
- Country
- United States
I understand needing to get out and enjoy life, but that amount of walking will probably take a few days to recover from. Next time take a motorized cart through Target or the grocery store, the knee would be unhappy to be down, but at least you wouldn't be walking in it. Here's the activity chart, just as a reminder.
For TKRs.
Activities of Daily Living are assessed in hospital as a means of assessing your fitness to be discharged home. Your domestic circumstances will be taken into account as in if you are living alone, etc.
ADLs include:
~ Personal hygiene and grooming
~ Dressing and undressing
~ Functional transfers, e.g. Getting out of bed
~ Voluntarily controlling bladder and bowel elimination
~ Ambulation (Walking or using a wheelchair)
~ Housework
~ Meal Preparation
~ Care of pets
~ Meal preparation and cleanup
Walking and other activity
Walking is about the best exercise you can do but again, you need to moderate your time and distance.
Always use your walker, crutches or canes as appropriate, only moving from one to the other as you gain confidence.
Don't be despondent if you have to go back once in a while in the early days.
Week 1
Minimal PT, just gentle heel slides and a 2-3 leg lifts before you get out of bed in the morning Heel slides and how to do them
Walking around the house - trips to the bathroom and kitchen are included!
Be up on your feet several times a day as you need to but don't get obsessive about it
A 5-6 minute walk every 3-4 hours is plenty
Week 2 - add to previous
Start on a plan of walks around the house 3-4 times a day for about 5 minutes but don't
a) get obsessive about it
b) get into too much pain and
c) get too tired. Stop before you get to that point.
Week 3 - add to previous
Lengthen the walks to about 5-10 minutes as before
Activity: prepare yourself a small meal or a snack
Weeks 4 and 5 - add to previous
Increase walks to out in the garden or street; to 20mins or longer if you feel up to it.
Additionally activity:
Gather a little bit of laundry, or put it in the machine OR take it out but not all of it
Now you can do a little dusting and tidying; do a little meal prep (for yourself not the entire family!)
Weeks 6 and onward - add to previous
Start taking car trips to the shops but keep them short and sweet at the start, no longer than 15-20 minutes
Take at least one 5 minute rest while you are out.
Activity: a very little ironing, washing, meal prep but get someone else to clear up after. Wash up but someone else clears the table, brings you the dirty dishes, dries and puts them away after, NOT you!!
Week 10 add to previous
Bed making and changing sheets, cleaning bedrooms etc., can wait now by which time, all things being well, you should pretty much start getting back to normal but don't rush it. If you do and you start getting pain and stiffness in your knee, that's a sign your knee doesn't appreciate what you're doing, that you're rushing ahead too fast. Slow down, right down, and start again. This stage might last until week 14 or even 16 but if it takes a even longer, don''t worry about it.
For TKRs.
Activities of Daily Living are assessed in hospital as a means of assessing your fitness to be discharged home. Your domestic circumstances will be taken into account as in if you are living alone, etc.
ADLs include:
~ Personal hygiene and grooming
~ Dressing and undressing
~ Functional transfers, e.g. Getting out of bed
~ Voluntarily controlling bladder and bowel elimination
~ Ambulation (Walking or using a wheelchair)
~ Housework
~ Meal Preparation
~ Care of pets
~ Meal preparation and cleanup
Walking and other activity
Walking is about the best exercise you can do but again, you need to moderate your time and distance.
Always use your walker, crutches or canes as appropriate, only moving from one to the other as you gain confidence.
Don't be despondent if you have to go back once in a while in the early days.
Week 1
Minimal PT, just gentle heel slides and a 2-3 leg lifts before you get out of bed in the morning Heel slides and how to do them
Walking around the house - trips to the bathroom and kitchen are included!
Be up on your feet several times a day as you need to but don't get obsessive about it
A 5-6 minute walk every 3-4 hours is plenty
Week 2 - add to previous
Start on a plan of walks around the house 3-4 times a day for about 5 minutes but don't
a) get obsessive about it
b) get into too much pain and
c) get too tired. Stop before you get to that point.
Week 3 - add to previous
Lengthen the walks to about 5-10 minutes as before
Activity: prepare yourself a small meal or a snack
Weeks 4 and 5 - add to previous
Increase walks to out in the garden or street; to 20mins or longer if you feel up to it.
Additionally activity:
Gather a little bit of laundry, or put it in the machine OR take it out but not all of it
Now you can do a little dusting and tidying; do a little meal prep (for yourself not the entire family!)
Weeks 6 and onward - add to previous
Start taking car trips to the shops but keep them short and sweet at the start, no longer than 15-20 minutes
Take at least one 5 minute rest while you are out.
Activity: a very little ironing, washing, meal prep but get someone else to clear up after. Wash up but someone else clears the table, brings you the dirty dishes, dries and puts them away after, NOT you!!
Week 10 add to previous
Bed making and changing sheets, cleaning bedrooms etc., can wait now by which time, all things being well, you should pretty much start getting back to normal but don't rush it. If you do and you start getting pain and stiffness in your knee, that's a sign your knee doesn't appreciate what you're doing, that you're rushing ahead too fast. Slow down, right down, and start again. This stage might last until week 14 or even 16 but if it takes a even longer, don''t worry about it.
KarriB
Former BoneSmart staff member
- Joined
- Apr 20, 2015
- Messages
- 11,941
- Age
- 70
- Location
- Pittsburgh, PA
- Gender
- Female
- Country
- United States
Everyone usually becomes a member of the ODIC at one point or another. I had tickets to a show 7 weeks after my infection/spacer exchange surgery and wasn't missing it! So after dinner out (where I couldn't prop up my leg) and the theater, I was peeling my trousers off to ice and elevate at midnight. Luckily I wasn't back to work yet and could rest, ice and elevate the next day. I hope tomorrow you're able to rest and take care of that knee. 
KarriB
Former BoneSmart staff member
- Joined
- Apr 20, 2015
- Messages
- 11,941
- Age
- 70
- Location
- Pittsburgh, PA
- Gender
- Female
- Country
- United States
It was Wicked and the tickets were a Christmas present. Since my original TKR surgery was Oct. 29th everyone thought I'd be good to go January 15th. We weren't expecting an infection and subsequent 2nd surgery. My body also quit making white cells for a while the first week in January. I was prepared with masks just in case the white cells didn't begin producing in time to go. I wasn't missing Wicked!
zzevi
graduate
oh you sound like me in the beginning, hard to keep down and antsy to be out and about. Just be careful as I think I did set myself back with to many over did it's. I think it did increase my swelling which in turn probably prevented my knee from moving as well as it could, which put stress on it, which may have lead to it not healing all the way shut. Which now at 13/ 14 wks I am working towards healing shut. Maybe it would have happened even if I followed everything by the book, it's hard to know for sure. All I know is I've never had much for pain, but I've had swelling moderate for fair amount of time and didn't ice and elevate as much as I should have. So I guess what I am trying to say is everything in moderation, think you will actually be more ahead by resting early on.
OP
OP
readymade
junior member
I have a question Bonesmarters!
Underneath the skin, not by my incision (down a bit and to the left) is a hard little lump. Smaller than a pea, more like a hard tiny pebble. There may also be another one near it, a bit deeper under the skin. When I lightly run my finger over this spot it can be sore. No poking through or anything like that. Just this weird lump. Physical therapist was stumped, of course, and suggested maybe a calcium deposit, but I rather doubt it. Could it be some odd internal stitch? Or stitches ? Before I call the doc just thought I'd get feedback here. Thanks!
Underneath the skin, not by my incision (down a bit and to the left) is a hard little lump. Smaller than a pea, more like a hard tiny pebble. There may also be another one near it, a bit deeper under the skin. When I lightly run my finger over this spot it can be sore. No poking through or anything like that. Just this weird lump. Physical therapist was stumped, of course, and suggested maybe a calcium deposit, but I rather doubt it. Could it be some odd internal stitch? Or stitches ? Before I call the doc just thought I'd get feedback here. Thanks!
Can you post a photo of the lumps, @readymade ?
Then we can ask Josephine what she thinks.
Then we can ask Josephine what she thinks.
I'd say wait and see what happens. It's not unusual to have various lumps and bumps around the incision and most of them go away, with time. It is a bit of a puzzle that these lumps aren't close to the incision.
ACDCJen
graduate
I guess I've never been one of the lucky ones to have nice looking scars. Mine are always puffy and then they keloid. I don't care in the least, so I don't worry about what they look like cosmetically, rather just making sure they aren't infected or draining. I figure that if I have to go through all this pain, I might as well have something to show for it!!!
Take care of yourself @readymade! It sounds like you are doing well so far!
Jen
Take care of yourself @readymade! It sounds like you are doing well so far!
Jen
Since it's away from the scar and below it, I don't think it would be a stitch.
OP
OP
readymade
junior member
Hi!
I'm 3 years post op and everything has been going great. Until today when I quickly stepped out of a high profile vehicle and misjudged the distance to the ground...this resulted in a severe bend and my putting all my weight through my replaced knee, which of course really hurt! When I reached the ground the bend was tough to straighten out. Now I'm able to walk and bend the knee, but it's definitely tender. Any thoughts? Has this also happened to anyone? Will I be okay,? I understand replaced knees are very tough, but am worried. Also I'm on vacation. Gah! Timing!
I'm 3 years post op and everything has been going great. Until today when I quickly stepped out of a high profile vehicle and misjudged the distance to the ground...this resulted in a severe bend and my putting all my weight through my replaced knee, which of course really hurt! When I reached the ground the bend was tough to straighten out. Now I'm able to walk and bend the knee, but it's definitely tender. Any thoughts? Has this also happened to anyone? Will I be okay,? I understand replaced knees are very tough, but am worried. Also I'm on vacation. Gah! Timing!
@readymade.....you'll notice I moved your latest post to your original recovery thread. Even though you are 3 years out, it's always good to keep all your history with this knee in one place. It helps when we need to provide advice. I changed your thread title as well to better reflect your current situation. Please post is you prefer something different and we'll get it changed for you.
Us more "seasoned" BoneSmarties refer to what you experienced as a Manipulation Without Anesthetic....accidentally bending your knee more than you had in the past. I recall doing the same when I sat down on the tailgate of a pickup truck. It can be a real "owie."
You've not done anything but make your soft tissues a bit angry at that sudden and severe movement. They will recover. Just treat the knee as you would with any injury....a little rest, ice, elevate, and something like Tylenol for any pain. It just needs some TLC and time to heal.
Us more "seasoned" BoneSmarties refer to what you experienced as a Manipulation Without Anesthetic....accidentally bending your knee more than you had in the past. I recall doing the same when I sat down on the tailgate of a pickup truck. It can be a real "owie."
You've not done anything but make your soft tissues a bit angry at that sudden and severe movement. They will recover. Just treat the knee as you would with any injury....a little rest, ice, elevate, and something like Tylenol for any pain. It just needs some TLC and time to heal.
