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TKR JLP's Recovery<

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Had my 6 week check up with the OS today and all was good. Knee is still swollen, sore, stiff, and numb but range of motion is great. Saw a picture of the new knee by X-ray and wow, I have a long stem in my tibia. Good news is that I do not have to return to see the OS for a year, 4 more sessions of PT and I will be done with that too. I can go up and down normal sized stairs but I have a couple of stairs in the RV that are tall and I can go up and down them too but it is uncomfortable. Talked to the OS about night time pain and he said that taking a narcotic pain reliever until about the 12 week mark at night is just fine. Not taking nearly as many naps as I was in the beginning. I am so grateful for the words of encouragement that Bone Smarties have offered me. Thank you!
 
That sounds like an excellent report from your check-up. :yes!::yay:
I'm pleased for you.
 
For extension, what worked for me was lying on the sofa, ankles up on the arm, and let gravity take over. At first I could only hold that position for 15 seconds. Over time I was able to get to 2 minutes.

Another which helped was to turn the wedge pillow around, so the high side was up near my butt, and bend knees over the top. The 'old' knee (I don't call it the GOOD one as it is also bone and bone and needs to be replaced!) bends right down and my heel rests on the pillow. The new knee sort of hangs in the air. I will use my old foot to support the new one, and just read or work a crossword puzzle. After a time I have both heels down on the pillow. You can make this easier or harder depending on how close to your butt you set the pillow.

I like when I control what is happening; I can make sure there is no pain.
 
That is a tremendous report!! I am glad that you are doing fine! Be patient about the extension---for some reason, for many, that is a pesky, tardy event.
 
At the 2 month mark in my recovery. Had my last out patient PT session on Thursday and I am happy to have that behind be. They told me silly things like if I did not massage my incision, then it would affect my range of motion. What?! My incision looks great. And they were surprised that I would not allow them to use weights on my knee. My knee is still swelled quite a bit and even though I have great flexion (125) it feels so stiff. My extension is not good now because the knee is really swelled but it has been at 0 and I assume once the swelling is better, that will improve too. Will do some exercises to help it along. Am off all narcotic pain medication and had to hurry that along because I am having a colonoscopy soon. Was only taking one Percocet a night for the pain and have now switched to Tylenol. First thing in the morning after I get up, I feel the possibilities of my new knee however after a minute or two the stiffness returns. Still icing every day. I look forward to the day when my thoughts do not revolve around my knee.
 
Your ROM is very good for only two months post op. You are doing very well. The stiffness will lessen over time as long as you keep icing and elevating during your 'down' time. It's hard to do that though when you are basically trying to get back into life's normal activities. I still do it most evenings.
 
I am retired so no job to worry about and we live and travel in an RV. I am hoping that my knee feels good enough by June that we can take our planned trip to the northeastern states. I was lucky because I could bend my knee 90 degrees the day after surgery. I can go up and down most steps but have a couple of tall steps in our RV that are not comfortable going down normally. Before my surgery (I had avascular necrosis not arthritis) I stayed in the truck while spouse went in stores. Now I have no excuse and go in with him. I do not like to shop at all. I know, that is weird.
 
I agree with you I don't like shopping at all either. I'm sure you'll be able to make your trip in June. I'm in the pocono mountains and it's beautiful here then.
 
Sounds like you're on target for your plans @JLP well done!


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I am finished with outpatient PT and went to the gym yesterday. Wow, my knee is really swelled and sore. I only rode the exercise bike for 10 minutes and walked on the treadmill for 10 minutes. That is double the time done at PT. I rode on an recumbent bike but tried out a regular bike and could pedal just fine. I think I will try a gentle ride around our RV park on my bike. Do not like this sore knee though.
 
I think your knee is giving you a message! Increasing the bike and treadmill to twice what you did in PT was too much for it. It's probably better if you increase the time only slowly.
Meanwhile, rest, ice and elevate that leg.
 
Thanks Celle, that is what I am going to do. No gym today. I could not sleep last night (only 2.5 hours sleep) because my knee hurt so much. Can't take much for pain because of upcoming colonoscopy.
 
Probably bike OR walk in a day, not both for now.
 
That sounds like a great idea kneeper. I am not sure why my knee swells so much. It has great ROM but it feels stiff and the knee area is sore to touch. I was doing much more work at PT than I did at the gym. Hopefully, I will be able to go again on Friday.
 
I think your leg swells because your knee replacement is still so new.
I think it was about 5 months before my knee stopped swelling every time I did a little bit more than usual.

Things will continue to improve gradually - just slower than you would wish for (and that's normal, too).
 
I have a rather silly question to ask. I am at around 12 weeks post surgery and I think my swelling (unfortunately not the pain) has just about diminished. However, when I measure the circumference of my surgical knee, it is still 1 1/2 inches bigger that the other knee. The knee feels like the hard metal of the implant not swelling. Is this normal for the surgical knee to be permenantly bigger?
 
It's normal for your knee to still be bigger than the other knee at this stage.
Try to remember that where you are at three months is not where you will be for ever.

You'll continue to get little improvements for at least another 9 months.
 
Thanks Celle. I know I have made lots of progress and yesterday, I climbed two flights of stairs without using the handrail.. However, going down the stairs is another matter. It feels as the metal is going to poke through my skin when I go down stairs. It is very unpleasant and painful. I am amazed at how painful my knee can still be. Sometimes, it is so painful that it takes my breath away. It passes but I usually have my leg propped up when that happens. I am not talking about the electrical shock type pain as I also have those. This is whopping big pain. And it is still very painful at night and I still have to sleep with a pillow between my knees. Just straightening my leg after sleeping on my side for a short while is very painful. I know I still have a long way to go but that doesn't mean I wish it felt better faster. I start to worry that I have traded one type of pain for another.
 
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