TKR kmak's TKR recovery thread
- Thread starter kmak81230
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kmak81230
post-grad
That is awesome that you saw and met an NBA celebrity at the gym @Polkadot - and doing the "retro" or backwards walking!. Wonder what he was working on. I will give it another go in a couple of weeks. I do like the leg press for the same reasons as you - in fact I was on the leg press this morning for one of the measurements. I suppose the others at the gym think I am lazy as I just sit there with my legs in the flexed position doing very few reps at the lowest weight of 10#. I also can work a bit on extension on that machine. At least my mom didn't admonish me to stand up straight on this visit 
![[Bonesmart.org] kmak's TKR recovery thread](https://data.bonesmart.org/attachments/52/52343-b6da25475bcfa3278674b733cc4a39b0.jpg?hash=ttolR1vPoy "[Bonesmart.org] kmak's TKR recovery thread")
SusieShoes
Former BoneSmart staff member
That's so beautiful! What a lovely reward for all your care. 
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kmak81230
post-grad
Almost 21 weeks in, here is a photo of me kneeling on the assisted pull-up machine at the gym. I may be a "super-swelling stiff," but I can kneel a bit, and while my leg strength is slow to come I have been working on the wimpy arms.
![[Bonesmart.org] kmak's TKR recovery thread](https://data.bonesmart.org/attachments/52/52377-2987714d597833a164934793133b689e.jpg?hash=KYdxTVl4M6 "[Bonesmart.org] kmak's TKR recovery thread")
And you ladies wonder why your legs stay swollen?
The leg press is not good for new knees, and neither is using weights. You shouldn't even think about using those machines until at least 6 months after a knee replacement. There is too much danger that you will twist and damage your new knees.
Josephine
NURSE DIRECTOR EMERITA
Well Celle said it before me but I'm going to say it again! You should not ever use a leg press or any other weighted gym machine for at least a year after a TKR. It's known that such activities require torsional manoeuvres which can make the tibial components lose their fix in the cement and/or bone. Don't say I never told you!
liam2015
post-grad
wow, good for you kmak81230 kneeling on the exercise bench. i think i used to like that apparatus years and years ago when i belonged to a gym. i've been kneeling a little on my sofa when liam runs behind it with my phone or something in his mouth and i have to grab him lol! he thinks i can't catch him when he's behind the sofa!
JJ65
member
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@kmak81230 good for you !!! You are an inspiration !!! I wonder if the Total Gym is close to what the leg press machine does?
Polkadot
graduate
I don't know why, but the photo of you in your gym wasn't there earlier. Now I can see you! You look great! I'm impressed with the kneeling, too!
Sorry about the non sequiturs earlier--I was a bit bamboozled.
Sorry about the non sequiturs earlier--I was a bit bamboozled.
Hi kmak I'm looking at your kneeling pic at the gym and noticed the lady kneeling behind you. I used to be able to do that! But as for you: very good!. Have only tried kneeling on my bed. Didn't last long. I was afraid I might harm my new knee or make the other one hurt.
As to the leg presses. I am wondering why none of the 14 PT people at rehab said anything about the leg presses I was doing. Do they not know it is not good for newly operated knees? I had a counterweight of 14 Kilos, sometimes 16. They all knew I was at the 3 month stage. The OS didn't say anything either.
In any case, I am not doing them anymore.
As to the leg presses. I am wondering why none of the 14 PT people at rehab said anything about the leg presses I was doing. Do they not know it is not good for newly operated knees? I had a counterweight of 14 Kilos, sometimes 16. They all knew I was at the 3 month stage. The OS didn't say anything either.
In any case, I am not doing them anymore.
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kmak81230
post-grad
FWIW, As I've mentioned before I have not been using the leg press for strength training. I only use it to hold the flexion position, providing a moderate stretch, and I don't swell any more or less as a result of doing so. The lowest weight on the machine at my gym is 10# which is what I always set it at and so it ends up being about a 5# press on each leg which is probably less than I have to press walking up stairs or slightly more than biking with resistance. I only do 5, holding in the flex position for a few minutes at a time, then hold in the extend position. I didn't use the leg press for strength prior to TKR and don't expect to do so after.
For me, squats (not too deep), lunges, and crab walks with bands are actually much more effective for strengthening quads and hamstrings as they are more dynamic and require activation of more stabilizing muscles. Plus they are more akin to everyday movements.
@JJ65 - the total gym is different. They have one at my PT clinic. Before I could do a pedal revolution I used it to warm up and loosen up my knee prior to PT, just sliding up and down with no resistance. After I could pedal, I switched over to the bike for warming up. There is not a total gym at my exercise facility so that is kind of what I have been using the leg press for - just to provide a moderate stretch in the flexion position. But I am at 5 months - I would not have done so even a month ago due to the 10# resistance on the leg press.
@Polkadot - I tend to think in non sequiturs so did not even notice
. . . good win yesterday over Iowa. . . big game next week. I fear we will be on opposite sidelines.
@VW54 - not sure why PTs don't caution about the leg press or other machines. Probably the same reason they still push/force knees to bend. It is frustrating to get mixed messages about all of this. As an example, just a few posts earlier, @Celle said no weight machines for at least 6 mos and @Josephine said a year. That's a pretty big difference. Which is it? Inquiring minds want to know.
@liam2015 - after several weeks, the kneeling feels more comfortable. The picture doesn't show it well, but I was holding a pull-up position, so did not have all my weight on my knees. And the pad is pretty cushiony. I have not yet tried, but will hope to be able to kneel on a cushion in my garden next summer.
For me, squats (not too deep), lunges, and crab walks with bands are actually much more effective for strengthening quads and hamstrings as they are more dynamic and require activation of more stabilizing muscles. Plus they are more akin to everyday movements.
@JJ65 - the total gym is different. They have one at my PT clinic. Before I could do a pedal revolution I used it to warm up and loosen up my knee prior to PT, just sliding up and down with no resistance. After I could pedal, I switched over to the bike for warming up. There is not a total gym at my exercise facility so that is kind of what I have been using the leg press for - just to provide a moderate stretch in the flexion position. But I am at 5 months - I would not have done so even a month ago due to the 10# resistance on the leg press.
@Polkadot - I tend to think in non sequiturs so did not even notice
. . . good win yesterday over Iowa. . . big game next week. I fear we will be on opposite sidelines.@VW54 - not sure why PTs don't caution about the leg press or other machines. Probably the same reason they still push/force knees to bend. It is frustrating to get mixed messages about all of this. As an example, just a few posts earlier, @Celle said no weight machines for at least 6 mos and @Josephine said a year. That's a pretty big difference. Which is it? Inquiring minds want to know.
@liam2015 - after several weeks, the kneeling feels more comfortable. The picture doesn't show it well, but I was holding a pull-up position, so did not have all my weight on my knees. And the pad is pretty cushiony. I have not yet tried, but will hope to be able to kneel on a cushion in my garden next summer.
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kmak81230
post-grad
Last night we went to a fundraiser with a great 80s cover band. I was on my feet dancing for about 2 hours. At the time I felt pretty good - a few adult beverages helped I expect. 
We did not do the limbo and I did not perform my 80s dance moves with too much enthusiasm. This morning the knee still felt pretty good so I went for a 2 mile walk on a flat trail - was tired the last half mile so icing and elevating currently, but nice to know I did no damage as a result of my night on the town.
We did not do the limbo and I did not perform my 80s dance moves with too much enthusiasm. This morning the knee still felt pretty good so I went for a 2 mile walk on a flat trail - was tired the last half mile so icing and elevating currently, but nice to know I did no damage as a result of my night on the town.
phrog
senior
Wow!! You truly are a rock star! Dancing the night away and a two mile hike. 
Reading the comments about the leg press machines made me think of the 12 weeks I spent at physical therapy. I loved the "shuttle" which had virtually no resistance at first and could be set to facilitate increasing bend gradually. At the end of the 12 weeks, I was starting quite close to the board for the legs so a lot of bend was involved. If the PT was increasing the resistance, it was so gradual that I didn't even notice. I'll try to attach a picture from the internet.
Reading the comments about the leg press machines made me think of the 12 weeks I spent at physical therapy. I loved the "shuttle" which had virtually no resistance at first and could be set to facilitate increasing bend gradually. At the end of the 12 weeks, I was starting quite close to the board for the legs so a lot of bend was involved. If the PT was increasing the resistance, it was so gradual that I didn't even notice. I'll try to attach a picture from the internet.
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![[Bonesmart.org] kmak's TKR recovery thread](https://data.bonesmart.org/attachments/52/52432-6c616cb3684499ef9e6c2149011ef49a.jpg?hash=bGFss2hEme)
Josephine
NURSE DIRECTOR EMERITA
Doesn't matter - it can still result in the torsional movement
Exactly - because they a) are incorrectly instructed, b) don't know and c) both of the above!
I was probably being overcautious but that was the opinion I've heard around the conferences.
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