TKR kneeper's done!

[bottomshollow]

Oh! boy! when it rains, it just seems to really pour sometimes. But you've taken care of this in a timely way, so hopefully it will resolve itself in the near future. Hang in there, we're all rooting for you.

 

[KneedKnees]

Kneeper ~

Sorry to hear about the plantar faciatis - but glad that you've been to the doctor and that its being treated! Hopefully, as you say, it won't impede your knee recovery.

It does seem that when it rains it pours - not just in our "knee" lives, but also in our personal/work/family lives. I guess that just goes to show that life goes on, and our we need our knees to help us keep up!

 

[Jamie]

Kneeper....I'm so thankful you went to see the doctor immediately! Prompt attention to plantar fasciitis is very, very important. This should not impede your knee recovery in any significant way. Just take care of yourself and follow what the doctors tell you to do. You have to get that ligament healed before you can start to stretch it out to normal again.

So you're going to get an EXTRA lesson in patience, aren't you!!!:th_heehee:

 

[MsHeidi]

Kneeper, I suffered from plantar fasciitis for years and finally had surgery on one foot, which I would recommend avoiding if at all possible. I finally seem to have found relief in Birkinstocks. That's all I wear now. If I am wearing different shoes, it's with a Birkinstock insert. It took a while to adjust, but I've been good for a couple of years now, after suffering on and off for over a decade.

 

[kneeper]

Thanks everyone. The doc also said that even though I wear good shoes I might consider orthotics. People with RA are apparently more susceptible to this stuff. So probably a miracle I haven't had this issue before now. :wink1:

 

[old goat]

I had this happen shortly after the first knee replacement. I had a terrible bunion on the right foot where it was. I had the bunion removed and had to wear a boot for about 6 weeks. It seemed to get rid of the bunion being in that position. I am so glad it isover. That can be very painful. Good luck. I did find a very helpful web site with great exercises. :ideaIPB: I can't remember what it is but I do know it is easy to find, lots of my teacher friends have found it too.

 

[sunflower]

Well, I've developed plantar fasciitis and tibial tendinitis in the foot opposite the operated knee....

Owie! Boy is that painful! Makes you want to be in a when it's bad enough. I had PF once and it felt like I was walking on a knife edge. I got to my family doctor pretty quick and had a cortisone shot near the heal. It helped the pain but unfortunately steroids make me :cry4: and I started boo hooing at a silly t.v. commercial. Ah well, beats the sharp, cutting pain any day.

 

[kneeper]

Well the doc and PTs seem to be on top of the situation. I think the foot may be slightly better--but I've been warned it's a long process.

On the other hand, the good news is that the new knee feels good. And it's taking a bit of a workout with the opposite foot being so bad. I really think it's following that 6 months (mostly there)/1 year (feeling normal) estimate my OS told me about.

I'm bummed b/c walking is so difficult (and I really wanted to be doing some before the snow flies & ice floes form :hissyfit: ) but I have been trying to keep up with the exercise bike a bit. That doesn't seem to aggravate the foot. And it doesn't hurt to start the day with some heel slides and leg lifts in addition to rollering the foot and stretching...:wink1:

Thanks for letting me vent...

 

[MsHeidi]

I'm feeling for you, Kneeper. I've had very bad PF in the past and I'm super-grateful that it hasn't flared up with my surgeries. I'm kind of surprised that all the usual post-surgical down time didn't help yours. I would try the orthotics, but, fair warning, they take some serious getting used to. At first, especially if your foot is really agitated, it feels like you're trying to walk with an egg-shaped rock in your shoe! Hopefully, stretches will really help. I hope you feel better soon.

 

[sunflower]

Kneeper, is your PT doing ultrasound and massage on your foot? I hope you get to feeling better pretty soon so that you can enjoy a nice, brisk walk in the crisp evening air.

 

[grabbit97]

I had PT yesterday, and because of my shooting pains up to my hip, and groin, he pushed and pulled and twisted, trying to get the kinks out of the leg, but I will tell you, I HURT today, and won't let him do that again... big mistake... I will tell him to just massage, and not hurt me like that again.
Not worth it....

 

[kneeper]

Kneeper, is your PT doing ultrasound and massage on your foot? I hope you get to feeling better pretty soon so that you can enjoy a nice, brisk walk in the crisp evening air.

Yes. I also have a roller to use and some stretching exercises to do.

MsHeidi--i never had PF before--it could be my new walking patterns compensating for the new knee during recovery threw things off a bit.

grabbit--sounds like the PT was too vigorous. Maybe some *gentle* massage would be ok though.

 

[sunflower]

I've heard that yoga helps tremendously with keeping the foot flexible. I like stretching my toes and calf doing a few of the poses. Not many, but a few. Just can't get all the way into yoga.

 

[zjrog]

Having my own heel spur issue this past year (on the back of the heel, not PF..) and on the same leg as my new knee, really put a crimp in my summer. I'm glad its not part of my current list of problems though. Stretches and massages go a long way towards helping.

 

[kneeper]

Look mom, I'm doing stairs! Well the plantar fasciitis really put a crimp in my stairs progress, but it has improved to the point where I'm trying stairs a couple of times a day at work. I can go down fairly normally. The knee is still a bit stiff--probably need to focus more on strengthening those quads. Been a little preoccupied with the foot. :DOH:
I have one more PT session for the foot. I wonder if I should ask her about the knee while I've got her? :wink1:

 

[KneedKnees]

Kneeper ~

I'm doing stairs up at school once or twice a day, but still use the elevator going down. Just a little too much stiffness and pain stepping down.

Glad to hear the plantar fasciatis is getting better. The things that pop up in our lives to distract us from our exercising are frustrating! I feel that I've lost some flexibility because of the focus I've been placing on my personal family issues lately. But - we take care of what needs to be done, and then we go on! I hope that you continue to get stronger and are able to go UP more easily!

 

[zjrog]

Congrats on the stairs! More work on the quads is never bad. Hope you've put the PF to bed for a while.

 

[kneeper]

But - we take care of what needs to be done, and then we go on!

Yeah, that's all we can do sometimes. You are doing well, especially considering everything you've been going through with your family.

I hope that you continue to get stronger and are able to go UP more easily!

Thanks. The UP actually has been pretty good for quite a while. The going down normally is what has been slower.

I don't know that I'll ever get 130, but the new knee has as least as much bend as the other one & my guess is it will continue to get a hair better.

 

[kneeper]

An observation: my old (left) knee seems to be hurting less in the last few weeks. Dare I say it feels pretty decent? (Though I am taking Tylenol 3 times a day for everything else that hurts).
The latest xrays show "moderate to severe degeneration." I'm thinking maybe as the new knee heals it is taking its fair share of the burden which could benefit the left?

Or now that I've said that, watch--the left will start hurting a lot again. :skeptical:

 

[Jazyb]

It's always risky even mentioning it :rolleyespink:. The times I have said that my knee is behaving and then it hits me like a thunderbolt!! :DOH: Have you got any idea when you are getting your left knee done?