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TKR left knee replacement recovery

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Willow##!
You are still very early in recovery, your ROM is fine for now, and will increase as your swelling and inflammation go down. The granuloma should go away as you continue to heal. Please be sure the Physio does not push you beyond discomfort with the new exercises. Here is a gentle exercise for ROM, Heel slides and how to do them .
I agree with your last sentence.
willow ##! said:
We all just have to remember this was a major surgery and to be patient with the healing process.
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Hi everybody. I just made it to nine weeks post op. Was at physio today and had a 120degree flexion& 0 degree extension. Should be pleased with myself,but my leg is still very painful, especially after walking through a grocery store or the mall. Seems to be concentrated more on the shin bone . Have to ice frequently. Leg still tires quickly. Must still be a lot of healing to do. Hope everyone is hanging in there and keeping a positive attitude. Some days just feel so depressing,but then,you get up the next day and everything is a little bit better. We have to just keep smiling. Don't give up . One day the pain & discomfort will just not be there and we will suddenly feel like ourselves again.
 
Hi to all. Reached the 11 week point Was discharged from physio with 120 flexion&0 extension. Will start going back to gym tomorrow. Can ride bike for 10 minutes,do hamstring curls @30 lbs & squats x30. Leg raises with 3lb ankle wts x20 two times a day lying & sitting. Knee is still swelling ,pain in to is region ,down front of shin. Afraid I may be developing shin splints. Maybe should not be using any weights. Still require Tylenol 3 after gym. Have only been twice. Didn't think I was going to be able to walk tomorrow. Leg was quite painful. Still pain. If standing too long,very stiff after sitting g. I am still elevating& icing. Leg gets very tired especially after shopping. Can walk well without cane,but use it if I go to mall. For groceries I can use the shopping cart,but am very tired when I get home what with having to put all the groceries away also. Means having been on my legs for 1 1/2 hrs. Sometimes need a Tylenol 3 during the day also.. usually most days only take extra strength Tylenol x1 and magnesium 500mg at bedtime foe restless legs. When I don't go to gym, I do my physio e exercises at ho.e with no wt. I finally after 11 weeks have had a good notes sleep. Never thought that was ever going to happen. Still get up a couple of times a night,but usually am able to get back to sleep. This is a very long & painful journey. I never thought it was going to be like this and it isn't'anywhere being over yet. I am in this predicament for th long haul, like everyone e else. We will all get to where we can function normally again . In a year we will look back on this journey and hopefully be able to say. We Made It.
 
willow ##! said:
Maybe should not be using any weights
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Willow ##!,
It is not advisable to be using weights this early in recovery, may be contributing to your swelling and pain. You still need to do gentle exercises, short walks, and rest, ice, elevate, and medicate as prescribed.
Reading your post you are doing too much too early and would benefit from slowing down and letting your knee heal. Your ROM is great, and will improve as the swelling goes down, even if you cannot see it is in the joint.
Go back and read the post op articles about recovery and how long it takes. It can take a year or more to fully heal.
 
My thoughts exactly--I don't think you really need weights. You can always do that later if you really want to. In the meantime all your muscles, tendons, bone are sensitive right now.
 
Thank you for replying and your advice. It's the reason I like and enjoy this forum. I value everyone's input. I still have problems knowing my limits. I was at gym today,used machines without at a.felt they were heavy enough on their own.did ride stationary bike for 15 minutes with no levels. Should I increase the time on the bike to 20minutes and just do my leg raises and squats at home. Had to come home from gym and ice my knee.hope others are not trying to follow my example by doing too much too soon. I am 12 weeks today and thought I would be able to resume all my usual activities by now. Guess I am wrong
 
At 12 weeks you start to feel normal, takes up to a year or more to be 100% after a TKR. Better to error on the side of doing less rather then more until you are fully healed.
 
I may have eased in more slowly than necessary with knee #2, but after trying too much too soon and developing long term tendonitis with knee #1, I went slow this time. It is a bit trial and error, but you can try adding a couple of minutes and see how it goes. If you have more pain and stiffness, you did too much. If it's ok stick with that amount for a week or so before adding more. That's what worked for me and knee #2 feels great.
Just remember it will likely be a few more months before you feel "normal." Healing is progressing invisibly for many months.
 
Since you are choosing to exercise it is pretty easy to take it slow and steady. I start out new stuff for 5 minutes then take a break and evaluate how it is going and do another set if knee is feeling okay. Remember you aren't a new exerciser, you are recovering from serious surgery! If a normal minimal set is 10 reps then do 5 reps and if 3 sets are usual do 2. If that is fine by your knees then add more next time.

I elevate and ice any time I exercise now and exercise means any time I am up doing laundry/vacuuming/washing up/getting mail for more than 15 minutes as well as using the pedaler/walking/hiking/PT. Suspect I won't want to be doing it for too much longer and suspect I ought to be continuing e/i after exercise for at least the next 6 months.

I also get excited that I can finally do things again. Going to be hard to hold back if knee feels normal in 12 weeks, real hard. Haven't had any big set backs but it hasn't taken much to set me back a week which I hate!
 
willow ##! said:
Can ride bike for 10 minutes,do hamstring curls @30 lbs & squats x30. Leg raises with 3lb ankle wts x20 two times a day lying & sitting. Knee is still swelling ,pain in to is region ,down front of shin. Afraid I may be developing shin splints. Maybe should not be using any weights. Still require Tylenol 3 after gym. Have only been twice. Didn't think I was going to be able to walk tomorrow. Leg was quite painful. Still pain.
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It's far too early in your recovery to be doing all that exercise. And you're right - don't use weights. It's best not to use any weights until about 6 months.
Your knee is telling you that you're overdoing the exercise. Please listen to it.

Do remember that full recovery from a knee replacement takes a full year. No matter what you do, you can't speed that up, but you can slow it down by overdoing things.
 
KYata said:
I elevate and ice any time I exercise now and exercise means any time I am up doing laundry/vacuuming/washing up/getting mail for more than 15 minutes
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very true
 
Thank you for all the advice. I actually find it necessary to ice & elevate when I'm on my feet foot longer than 15 minutes. Whether it's cleaning the house,preparing supper, grocery shopping. I thought that perhaps I could do my physio e exercises at home,them go to gym,ride bike for 10 minutes,and just do upper body workout - arms,shoulders, chest
 
Tried walking down stairs today,one after the other instead of one at a time, wow, that was more difficult than I thought it would be. Maybe I will start with walking down 4 steps at a time & slowly increase one day at a time.
 
That's how I'm doing it. A couple of steps at a time. Slowly and deliberately.
 
willow ##! said:
Can ride bike for 10 minutes,do hamstring curls @30 lbs & squats x30. Leg raises with 3lb ankle wts x20 two times a day lying & sitting.
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Please, cut out the weights and squats. It's too early in your recovery to be doing them.. No weights until 6 months is better for your knee.
Squats are also very hard on a healing knee - and it is still healing.
At this stage, the only squatting you should be doing is when you sit down and get up from a chair.
 
I am finding that walking down stairs one after the other is more difficult and painful than I imagined even at 12 weeks. Lee must still be quite swollen inside
 
At 4 months ,I still have right hip pain too. Am scheduled for an ultrasound guided cortisone injection this week. Had one in April with relief, but have fallen on my rt hip & knee 3 weeks ago and hurt it again. Just trying to walk faster than I should. Thought by this time I should be able to do a little more,so off to the gym I went yesterday.pedalled on bike for 10 minutes & walked on treadmill for 20 minutes. Started at speed of 2.5 & worked up to 3. Then did 2 reps of leg presses at 30 lbs x 12times each. Was proud of myself.didn't require any pain meds when I got home,but last night,some bruising & swelling over New knee. Back to icing & elevating this morning. Two steps forward and one step back. Some days I get so frustrated & discouraged. This seems to take too long to recover.
 
@willow ##! , Do you use your cane every day still? Do you use it when you walk from your parking spot into your place of employment? I am 9 1/2 weeks post-op and still need my cane if I am going to a store, etc. When I am inside my home, I don't need my cane any longer. I can see slight improvement every week and am very grateful for that.
 
@willow ##!
Please go easy on those leg presses with weights! They put a lot of strain on your new knee, which is still only 4 months old. that fact that it swelled afterwards is its message that you did too much for it.

Yes, it does take along time to recover - a full year, in fact, before all the internal structures of your knee are fully healed.
 
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