TKR Still working on getting both knees done.

Ghost Rider

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I'm a carpenter 56 years old and both my knees hurt from arthritis. Other carpenters post surgery 5+ years I know said " The doctors don't want you working on your knees so you go on disability.

I've seen a few doctors and now they are saying this like " disability that's on you" or " you should be fully recovered by 8 weeks 12 at the max that's all the disability they will sign for. Any more your primary doctor will have to sign for.

I watched a complete surgery using a Smith and Nephew implant and I see the real probability of harming the implant crawling around all day on your knees.

So how many people are given the green light to continue to work on their knees at all much less 8-12 weeks post surgery?
 
I would say no one should be working on their knees at 2-3 months out from surgery. Your implant would probably be OK but your soft tissues would be far from being healed enough to do that. Can you sit on your bum and work?
 
If it helps with your decision I'm now 7 months post op and only tried once to kneel at 5 months and do not recommend it to anyone I set myself back a good 3weeks as the soft tissue became inflamed and very very sore. My surgeon basically told me kneeling is best avoided and if necessary only after a year or two with loads of padding underneath. A builder friend of mine ignored all warnings from his surgeon he went back to work too soon he is now 3 years post surgery & he can hardly walk and has since had to claim disability.
 
BoneSmart recommends taking about 12 weeks off work for an easy job, and then doing a Phased return to work if possible. For a physical job such as yours, you would need longer than 12 weeks.

As others have said, it probably wouldn't e advisable to return to work that required you to be on your knees most of the time. Some people can never kneel and some surgeons prefer their patients not to kneel.

I can kneel, but it feels uncomfortable and I don't like doing it.

By the way, @Ghost Rider , Since you haven't yet had your knees replaced, I'm going to move your thread to the Knee Surgery Pre-Op Area. People who have had surgery still go back there, to respond to questions.
 
@Sara61 Interesting re: kneeling. I was wondering about when it is safe to kneel and if I will ever be able to comfortably kneel - like when doing yoga. Too chicken to try at this point as I feel my soft tissues are still healing. Good to know your experience.
 
@partialfixFeb I only knelt as I tried to reach something and toppled over :rotfl: and my only way of getting back on my feet was putting my operated knee on the ground and pushing myself up with my other knee- after that experience I have no intention of kneeling again Lol x
 
Ghost Rider,
We had a member several years ago who worked as a Butcher, I know he took off additional time to allow his knee to recover so he would be able to keep up. He was happy that he waited before challenging his knee with 8 hours a day of heavy labor.

I would talk to your primary physician about giving you disability until your knee properly heals for the type of heavy use you anticipate.

I can kneel as long as I do not stay there too long.
 
@Sara61 Oh, my! I cannot imagine using a knee on the floor to push myself up off of the floor - or relying only on my operated knee as the knee to pull myself up. Ouch.
 
Thanks everyone for posting. Celle my thinking was more post op people would see my thread but I see your thinking.

I guess I have to see my primary doctor but I don't feel optimistic. I get the feeling that disability if you're not in a wheelchair there is a sigma and they don't want to do it.

I feel like I have to keep working till I'm crippled when I was in my late 20s I was diagnosed with disc degeneration disease (L4-5) I started lifting with my legs now my knees are shot. Ten years ago I had shoulder surgery now my left hip hurts like hell, comes and goes not like my knees that hurt all the time.

My back kinda leveled off unless I have to lift a lot a heavy stuff then for a week or more I get pain down my legs often to my feet

I don't know what I'm trying to say here just I would do the surgery today if I didn't have to worry about going back to work to pay for our healthcare coverage.

Oh and I have significant permanent hearing loss with tinnitus :old:
 
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Oh and I have significant permanent hearing loss with tinnitus :old:
I have a moderate hearing loss with significant tinnitus. I’ve been taking Arches Tinnitus Formula for years and I do believe it helps the tinnitus. It’s a little expensive but it’s worth the cost to me. An ear, nose, and throat doctor suggested I try it years ago and I’m so glad she did!
 
Oh and I have significant permanent hearing loss with tinnitus :old:
I have a moderate hearing loss with significant tinnitus. I’ve been taking Arches Tinnitus Formula for years and I do believe it helps the tinnitus. It’s a little expensive but it’s worth the cost to me. An ear, nose, and throat doctor suggested I try it years ago and I’m so glad she did!
I will try a bottle just to see. I started taking Silence Solutions Silent ears formula. It's the same type of thing. No scientific evidence that they work but some people swear by them. I found them to help possibly 10-20% improvement. Their deal is if you leave a review, good or bad you get a one time free bottle, so they have more positive reviews.
 
Hola, and welcome to Bonesmart GR! I had a right knee TKR mid-December and can knee upon a soft surface enough to change me bedding (my bed is against the wall so I have to kneel into it some to get fitted sheet on) or get up from the floor from my floor exercises. But as people hear have said it the surrounding tissues that remain tender for a LONG time.

I still have pain in my incision point and surround areas if pressured and for sure feel some discomfort from kneeling too long. Again not from the implant but around it. Yet, I think I do better than others know at 5.5 months. Still I am glad my job does not require kneeling.
 
I'm still making plans for my surgery. I wanted to ask post surgery members how long after surgery before you could kneel down. Can anyone with kneepads walk on your knees for 20+ feet?

The doctor I want has a policy that after 12 weeks you can return to full duty. I haven't heard anyone say the could kneel after a year much less 12 weeks.
 
I’ll be 3 months post op next week, and I kneeled twice yesterday...but only for maybe 15 seconds at a time. It’s probably different for everyone, but I’m not going to do it again anytime soon!
 
1.5 years after PKR, I can kneel with knee pads. It is not something I like to do, but it is possible. I need to desensitize my right knee, I am having my left knee done July 1st... I have to have one knee I can kneel on...
 
@Ghost Rider - I have moved your post from the
Knee Recovery area to the Knee Pre-Op area, since you have yet to have your surgery.

You will still get responses here, because people who have had their surgery still come back to pre-op, to offer their experience.

Do you have a job that requires you to kneel a lot? I'm wondering why you are asking about walking on your knees for 20+ feet.

This is the deal:
  • Some people can kneel and some cannot kneel after surgery.
  • Some people (like me) can kneel, but prefer not to, because it feels strange and uncomfortable.
  • Some surgeons prefer you not to kneel, so you should ask your surgeon.
I have had three knee replacements and I can kneel on carpet, but I would only kneel on hard surfaces in exceptional circumstances. I haven't tried using knee pads, but I think they could help a bit.

I would certainly not consider going back at 12 weeks post-op to a job that required me to kneel a lot.

Have you discussed your job requirements with your surgeon?
 
I will be 8 months post surgery next week and find it very difficult to kneel, not sure if it is mainly fear as earlier on in my recovery I had to kneel out of necessity and it really hurt my knee in the process.:flabber: My surgeon did tell me to bend down bending the knees slightly as opposed to kneeling.
 
I'm still making plans for my surgery. I wanted to ask post surgery members how long after surgery before you could kneel down. Can anyone with kneepads walk on your knees for 20+ feet?

The doctor I want has a policy that after 12 weeks you can return to full duty. I haven't heard anyone say the could kneel after a year much less 12 weeks.
Don't get your hopes up. I'm into my 26th post TKR month and can't kneel. Prior to TKR I never gave kneeling a thought but now I can appreciate how often I have to kneel to do things. I hope you fair better.
 
As a carpenter I have to kneel down, crawl around a bit getting up and down all day long. If I can't do it and do it quickly I won't work that much. I always have to compete with nepotism and I won't be able to kneel down. Not to mention work is drying up.

Don't get your hopes up. I'm into my 26th post TKR month and can't kneel. Prior to TKR I never gave kneeling a thought but now I can appreciate how often I have to kneel to do things. I hope you fare better.

I'm meeting Dr. Berger for the 1st time July 13th. Based on what I have read he is one of the best possible surgeons I can get. Talking with the person fielding the calls she says the doctor claims after 12 week per knee I will be 100% able to return to work, although his own website says it may take more than a year to kneel.

The assistant says any disability beyond 12/24 weeks is on your primary doctor. I meet with my primary and he said yes but he would have to wait until post surgery 6-12 months to make sure I was unable to preform my job. I understand that from his perspective.

A different doctor Dr. Levi in Chicago area but different hospital. He says NO you can't work on knee replacements you can chip the ceramic covering on the knee. He says he will sign disability papers after the surgery.

I don't believe I will be able to work on my knees post surgery and I want to file the paperwork immediately. I get 12 months of temporary disability and get a few hundred a week but I get my hours for insurance paid, so my wife and I will have insurance for one year post surgery. So if I wait a year to apply the up to 2 years waiting for disability I will be on Cobra costing 2,000 a month and I wasted a year for a miracle so far I haven't found one person that says they can work on their knees.

So I want to refer to the information I found here that nobody is saying they can kneel at all comfortably much less having to do for hours at work. Maybe I'm consumed by anxiety of not knowing how this is going to play out. I am hoping Dr Berger will look at my situation differently. Otherwise I go with Dr Levi but there are issues mostly with the office personnel and more questions I want answered that make me feel uncomfortable. Or find another doctor.

Sorry for my writing I find it difficult to express myself in typed words.
 
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I need to know if I will be able to return to work after surgery. Does anyone work on their knees continuously minutes to hours, getting up and down all day.
 

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