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TKR Introduction and quick question

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SRN,

So good to hear that you are managing to walk your dogs - you give me hope of doing the same soon. I had my RTKR exactly a month after you (21/10/2011) and my dogs guilt-trip me all the time despite getting daily long walks with other people!

My hospital (in Hants) starts off with weekly sessions with physio but after a couple of those they move you on to gym classes of an hour. I had my doubts about it but I definitely feel the benefit after my first one today. Also there were loads of other people there at various stages in their recovery, so it was good to compare notes with them. Also they introduced a few new exercises which I shall try to do regularly.

Love Josephine's avatar - good old Basil Brush - those were the days! No knee problems then.
 
Hi Deeden,

It is lovely to get out and walk the dogs, it makes a reason for a walk. I still use a stick when I am walking them, it gives me confidence and would be useful if one of the dogs suddenly pulled. I am still only walking on pavements, so it is only 'lead walks' for them, but this is better than nothing and they are like yours, they seem to be far more content after a sedate walk with me than a good run with my husband!

Enjoy the physio, I have one more session in about three weeks and that will be it I think, but of course I'll continue the exercises at home. In fact I have started doing the exercises on my TKR 1 knee as well!

I don't know if anyone else has noticed that it seems easier to get a good extension on the knee in the bath? I remember that I used to do this with TKR 1 and it really helped me.
 
I use a warm water pool followed by a hot tub at the gym. My knee feels better, moves easier, and it is easier to obtain flexion and extension, with the warm water.
Glad you are enjoying your walks with the dogs.
Chris
 
Hi everyone,

I had to post because I am so pleased. I am now at 11 weeks post-op and have just been discharged from physiotherapy. My last appointment was 4 weeks ago and I was measured at 99 degrees flexion and I don't know what my extension was, but I got the impression that it wasn't marvellous. I was quite disappointed to say the least.

Today I was measured at a comfortable and easy 120 for flexion and 0 for extension so I am thrilled. I am walking up and down stairs normally, getting in and out of the car without the door needing to be fully open (which has eased my parking needs and therefore opened up my shopping opportunities no end), not using my stick unless walking the dogs, not limping and riding my stationary bike on the height that I rode it when I was nursing my first TKR and it was as low as I could manage it then. I do think I may be able to get it a bit lower. So all in all I am a happy BoneSmartie.

It's not perfect yet, of course, it still swells and is stiff and my first TKR is still a bit stiff after doing all this extra work, but - dare I say it - this does seem to be improving slowly as well.

So to everyone out there who feels that they are a bit stuck, improvement does come. I was feeling a bit discouraged at times, especially when reading about lots of incredible flexion figures some of you people were achieving who were not as far out as I was, but it's amazing what a bit of acknowledgement of improvement does for you.

So to celebrate I'm having a day off from my exercises!
 
That is great news and well done! It makes me feel really hopeful about my up and coming surgery.

A question for you - you say that the pt appointment was 4 weeks apart, was that your choice or could you have gone more often? Did they give you loads of exercises to do at home?

Thanks for posting, it's so helpful to know how the recovery is in the real world :thumb:
 
Hi Jo,

I had 4 outpatient physio appointments in total, these lasted 30 minutes and were one to one with a physiotherapist. The first was at two weeks post-op, then at 4 weeks, then at 7 weeks then the last one at 11 weeks. She checked that I was doing the exercises that I had been given in hospital correctly, she took me into the gym and we did walking between two bars and in front of a mirror (not a pretty sight with my skirt hitched up so that I could see my knees and my left knee hugely swollen!), I had a go on the stationary bicycle and she checked that I was safe getting on and off and she advised me about rocking and pedalling backwards and forwards. She would then measure my flexion and extension and add any more exercises that she thought would help. She told me when I was safe to go from two sticks to one stick and then no sticks. I never used crutches, I went from the first day up on a zimmer frame to the next day on two sticks, which were a lot easier to manoeuvre than a zimmer frame.

The sessions were more to check that I was getting on OK and doing the exercises properly and to answer any questions that I had. I found them very useful, but I used to dread them because I never felt that I was doing as well as I thought I should be. I could telephone anytime if I had any queries.

This was in a private hospital and I'm sure all the hospitals differ in what is offered physio-wise.

To be honest, it was nice to ensure that I was doing the exercises properly, the walking in front of a mirror helped and I liked to know the ROM figures, but I think the outcome would have been the same without the appointments, so don't worry if you don't have any, everywhere in UK is different and this routine was different from when I had my first TKR which consisted of one outpatient appointment, no measuring just a quick look and quick chat to make sure I was ok and the outcome on that knee is excellent.

The exercises which I was given were pretty much the same as the ones in the library on here.
 
Thanks for the information - all so good to know. I am having my op done at a private hospital and I hope the pt is just like yours, it sounds perfect. I have not been told what the pt procedure is but I do know they have a gym, so I'm hopeful it will be ok. Thanks again :thumb:
 
Hi and welcome (I'm a Yankee, sorry, had to.... :wink1:). I think that the others would agree that in this case, "No pain, no gain" is NOT the correct motto. Listening to both your knees is the key now. Good luck!
 
srn......excellent report!!! You are proving what we always say.....patience and the ROM will come. It sounds like you are going to be just fine. But....don't let go of that patience just yet. Remember it does take a while to really get back to normal.
 
Hi everyone. I'm 16 weeks post op now and doing great. My swelling is at last decreasing and my ROM is probably at a point where my knee will allow me to whatever I want to i.e. live a normal life. I'm not into sports etc., but I love walking so I'm very happy with what I've got and, as someone else posted a while ago, I don't see any reason why I would need to do squats.

I posted today because, at last, I feel up tp proper cooking again, the standing put me off until now and luckily my husband loves to cook so we haven't suffered. I have just prepared a 'Hairy Bikers' biriani, goodness what a lot of faffing about! Anyway, I have stood and cooked and prepared for almost 1 1/2 hours, then taken the dogs out for a walk and then come back and assembled the dish ready to go in the oven for tonight and the good news is my knee is only minimally swollen:yes 4:

So all in all I'm a very happy Bone Smartie. Hang on in there if you have swelling problems it gets better.
 
Excellent! Sounds like you're pretty much back to normal and have had a fairly easy recovery.

Enjoy the Biriyani! I think the food the HBs cook looks great but haven't tried any of their recipes. I hope it's delicious.
 
That sounds a perfect afternoon to me, everything I love to do - good for you :thumb: Enjoy your curry!
 
It sounds like the pieces of life's puzzle are beginning to fall back into place for you! Things are returning to normal!

As you continue, more and more normalcy will return to your ife and you will be able to do more and more. At four months I still had a minor limp and would ice when I needed it; I understand how you feel.
 
Great report srn, you and I are at about the same stage, glad you're recovery has been so good, keep up the good work!
 
Life will only get Better....I'm extremely Proud of my scars, who cares if my scars are showing when I wear shorts or skorts...if people look, I just Grin :biggrin: & do my Happy dance! :happy dance:
You take care!
 
I agree, I love my scars and I am so proud of them. I can't wait to wear shorts again, just hope our summer is warm enough this year. I'm also looking forward to showing of my beautifully straight legs!
 
srn said:
I agree, I love my scars and I am so proud of them. I can't wait to wear shorts again, just hope our summer is warm enough this year. I'm also looking forward to showing of my beautifully straight legs!
Click to expand...

You have every right to be proud of your scars---they are indeed your "badges of honor"!
 
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