TKR Jo has a new knee

[Jazyb]

Hi KK
How lovely to see you here again - we have missed you but understand you have been through a difficult time and needed some space/time - welcome back Thankyou for your words of encouragement and you are right about it taking time. I will catch up with you on your thread

 

[Jazyb]

Hello Bonesmartie friends

I have had a busy week with Easter and family stuff but hopefully all is quiet for a while and I can catch up with everyone. I do miss getting on here and following everyone - I need my fix :th_heehee:

My knee is feeling very good and I feel I'm gaining strength in my muscles everyday. I have increased the distance on my daily walks with no bad effects on my knee and i'm also on my bike for 20 minutes a day. I feel no need to ice now and can't remember the last time I felt the need for pain medication.

The only negative point I have is trying to walk in a natural fashion. I had a bad limp for quite a few years and I am finding it hard to get rid of it. When I practice in front of a mirror I am fine and walk well but as soon as I get outside it arrives back. I ask my husband to follow me and observe what I'm doing wrong, he reports back and I correct it but after a while I slide back into the bad habit. I have a lovely straight leg and my ROM is great, so I have no excuse! Any tips would be much appreciated from you guys. I have a friend that is a personal trainer and he said it's a brain conditioning issue and feels it will fall into place eventually.

The sun is shining and I am taking my Mother out for the day - wishing everyone a good day

 

[Campervan]

Hi Jo, it really feels great to finally be improving doesn't it! I was getting a lot of tense muscles so I bought new trainers and they have made a big difference. I think the shoes have balanced my leg correctly which is helping my hip stay in line and stopping or reducing any limp. It was Tashia that put me onto this one.

 

[Dhare63]

Hi Jo, good to hear from you! It sounds like you are doing well, but I know the limp is on your mind. I think your friend is right, its conditioning and training your mind to unconsciously let you walk normally. I would guess it will come with time and effort.

Have a great day with your Mother! Its off to work for me!

Best,

Dawn

 

[PooShay]

Jo, yes it's hard to change the gait. Even when I do my exercises, I have to remember to point my toes forward. Your trainer is right in saying the brain will learn, but I agree with you that for now we do have to think about it. I remember when I first started to walk post BTKR, I had a little song in my head: heel, ball, toe. Eventually, I stopped saying it. Maybe I should start a new one: toes forward! Oh, I've added some gentle inside thigh stretching to my repertoire!

I know your walking properly is just around the corner!

 

[rubysue]

Hi, Jo -

My gait is still a problem, too, with both knees over the years resulting in different limps.

I try to do what PooShay recommends; I think she also said to envision holding a $100 bill (or £100 note :th_heehee in your derrière. I tried that the other day and it did force me to have a different posture that helped a bit.

Another thing that has helped is water therapy where I do really big steps (bigger than I can do on land), keeping my feet straight and exaggerating heel to toe motion, while also staying on a line and trying to keep my balance.

I'm still using a cane, but am slowly weenng myself from it (I have used a cane on and off for nine years).

 

[Jazyb]

Thankyou ladies for the advice and encouragement The one with £100 note gave me a giggle and I shall give it a go; another funny walk coming on :th_heehee: I have wondered about new trainers for walking - thanks Margaret.

I don't know how everyone else feels about this one - I get very prickly when anyone dares to mention that I'm still limping after my surgery. The only person that can get away with it is my hubby and he would not actually say it in that way, he would be diplomatic. I have had a couple of people say it and it really bothers me - am I being too sensitive? How does everyone else feel about this subject.

 

[sheryl7]

Hi Jo, I am glad you are doing well.
I bought some new shoes about a week ago, and they are sketchers shape ups, the kinda make you naturally walk from heal to toe. So a new shoe may help. Good luck with the rest of your recovery

 

[GrandyGirl]

Hi Jo,

I definitely don't think you are being overly sensitive to the comments from strangers. I remember one time a lady at work commented to me that I was limping and I resented it. That was years ago and I still remember how exposed and embarassed I felt.

One day just before I decided to have my TKR, my granddaughter who was 4 at the time came up to me and said, "Grande D, who do your legs do like "that" when you walk??" She has mimicking my knock knees with her arms and walking like she also was knock kneed. If she hadn't been my grand daughter, I might have smacked her.:th_heehee: But in that moment I felt like the Empress Who Wore No Clothes.....everybody could see that I was limping at times, but nobody but an innocent child dared say anything.

So the bottom line for me is that IT IS WHAT IT IS. By having a TKR, you have taken a major step to reclaim some of what arthritis has taken from you. In time you will make additional strides. Will it completely take your limp away? Only time will tell. Some days, I still reach for my cane. Some days, I don't feel the need to.

I hired a trainer so that I can feel confident, within myself, that I am doing everything I can to help my body make a full recovery, not just from the surgery, but from many years of adjusting to arthritis. For me, the knee replacement was just the first step. I still have a long ways. This didn't happen overnight and recovery will take time, effort, and who knows what else?? I thank God for people who understand and offer loving support.

Dori
aka GrandyGirl

 

[Diney]

Hi Jo

That's another great report. I was thinking the other day about you and cycling. Are you going out on your new bike yet or using the indoor machine?

As to the limp I know it's rotten when people comment on it. I have a well meaning friend who lets me know when I start to tire. She likens my gait to a rolling sailor - how I used to walk before the knees were done. They mean well but I wish they wouldn't!

Always pleased to read your reports!

 

[Jazyb]

Sheryl - I think I will invest in a new pair of walking/trainers - good idea! I have such a lovely pair of Sketchers, they are so pretty and have sparkly bits on them. I obviously don't wear these for walking the dog :wink1:

Dori, thankyou so much for your comments and you are so right with every word. You and I are on exactly the same wave length. Feeling exposed is exactly how I felt - you are spot on.

Diane, I am using my exercise bike. I still haven't made the new bike purchase but it is very close now. Maybe I am a little sensitive at times but sometimes it would be good to have a smart remark up my sleeve for them - I will have to work on one :wink1: Your friends remark would get me going on a bad mood day

 

[Janet2012]

Well, unless you've specifically told someone to let you know if you are limping, because you aren't suppose to, I can't imagine the gumption of them to mention it. And even if I did tell someone to mention it, I'd likely tell them to just shut up! :th_heehee:

 

[PooShay]

Depends on who said. Depends on my mood then. I wouldn't mind someone pointing out my gait cause it would mean that I'm not thinking about that $100 bill! If I wasn't in the mood for correction, then I'd impart a snappy comeback ... 3 days later cause I'm not good at doing it on the spot! :th_heehee:

 

[Jazyb]

:hysterical: :hysterical: :hysterical: 3 days - same here!!!

 

[bottomshollow]

:hysterical: you girls are too much!

 

[Campervan]

Hi Jo and others above, I didn't think of trying Sketchers ShapeUps. I bought Nike Pegasus Trail Runners because they are so lightweight. I find normal Sketchers too negative healed, but maybe that would be a good thing now to stretch those shortened hammies! So much to think about.......

 

[Jazyb]

Margaret - I know what you mean about Sketchers being so flat, the pair I have I will only wear for a short time as I worry that my arches aren't supported properly. It's a minefield this feet and shoe business that is for sure :rolleyespink:

 

[speccybecky]

...........and in England you'd have to make do with a £50 note as only Scottish banks produce £100 notes! :wink1::wink1::wink1:

 

[rubysue]

...........and in England you'd have to make do with a £50 note as only Scottish banks produce £100 notes! :wink1::wink1::wink1:

Hah! That's funny! Well, at least you're not having to use a €100 note. It probably wouldn't work! :hysterical:

My hubby gently reminds me about my gait, but that's because I asked him to. Next week, I get the joy of the busybodies at work who will question everything I do. If I use the cane I will hear about it. If I walk with a limp I will hear about it. I'm working part-time for two weeks to get used to desk work again and I'm sure I will get lots of "what's wrong with you" questions. I will also get the inevitable comparisons with a co-worker, who has since retired, who had his knees replaced a couple of years ago. He came back to work after five weeks (the second replacement) and didn't ice or elevate. I'm really glad he is no longer there because he would give me (admittedly good-natured) grief all day. I can't wait!!!

Speaking of the part-time at work- it was unbelievably difficult to arrange this and I'm still not out of the woods; you would think they would be glad I'm going back in any capacity and it's just for two weeks!! I go full-time in early May.

 

[Jazyb]

Hi Barb
:th_heehee: I love your ref to the euro :th_heehee:

Poor you having to deal with helpful people at work and their comments - bless them I hope you do ok at work next week - try and take it easy and please don't over do it.

Hubby and I have just been out for an evening walk and he commented that he could not see any limp whatsoever. I said to him it could down to the couple of glasses of wine I'd had earlier with my meal - it obviously relaxes the muscles!! Now I know what I need to do to improve my gait :th_heehee: