I'm doing a bit better now, but have really disappointed myself with this long recovery.
You are expecting far too much, too soon.
Complete recovery from a knee replacement takes a full year. Until that year is up, your knee is still a work in progress. This is not a surgery where you will bounce back quickly, no matter how fit you were before the surgery.
Where you are now is not where you will end up. This recovery is a huge trial of patience.
I am finally walking fairly normally in spite of the fact I do not feel normal. Pain occurs intermittently and I can't stand the feeling of that tight band around my knee.
IT's still only just over two months since you had this major surgery. Have you thought about the amount of trauma your knee received? It is normal to still feel pain at this stage, especially if you try to overdo things.
The rubber band feeling is also normal. It will hang around for a while, but will gradually fade away. Just give it time.
"Tight band" feeling across the front of my knee
My doctor forbade me to go to PT at week 6, but I go anyway. (I hear you Josephine!) I have always been active and it depresses me to not be doing something resembling exercise. I also started yesterday to go to a spinning class at the gym. I put the tension at zero and just revolve my legs while the class does their thing. That way I don't get bored and can pedal for an hour without too many consequences.
Your doctor was wise. Too much exercise for your knee at this stage does contribute to inflammation and pain.
Go to the gym by all means, but concentrate on upper body work.
Your knee is still healing. It's wounded, not lazy, and it doesn't need a lot of exercise.
The spinning class sounds OK, as long as you continue to keep the tension at zero, but I think you should cut the time back to half an hour.
ROM has never been my issue. Pain has.
Some pain is still normal. Too much knee exercise contributes to increased pain, though.
The only movement that I cannot do is to bend my knee backwards so that my heel bends up towards my butt when I am standing on the good leg. I am very frustrated with that. Does that come back in the long term?
It may come back with time, or it may not. Give it time and see what happens.
I'm curious to know if I will likely be able to sit cross legged or kneel?
Cross-legged should be possible, given time.
Some surgeons recommend not kneeling at all and others say you shouldn't start trying to do that until about 6 months after surgery. Ask your surgeon for his recommendation.
If you do start trying to kneel, begin on a soft surface, such as a pillow on the bed, then graduate to a cushion on the floor.
You should never aim to kneel and then sit back on your heels. That is bad for your knee implant. It may be possible to put a cushion between your buttocks and your heels and do it that way.
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