TKR Left Knee TKR Recovery
- Thread starter JDinCT
- Start date
- Joined
- Jun 26, 2017
- Messages
- 47,911
- Gender
- Female
- Country
United States
selketine
senior
That's awesome to hear @JDinCT - what a relief for you and your family! I'm happy to hear all went well. My son in Orlando had no issues either. The worst part for them was probably the tornado outbreak on Wednesday afternoon that just covered the mid to lower part of the state in tornadoes and tornado warnings.
OP
OP
JDinCT
senior
- Joined
- Oct 26, 2018
- Messages
- 278
- Age
- 67
- Gender
- Male
- Country
- United States
Thanks for everyone's well wishes!
We have a scheduled flight out of NOLA this afternoon at 2:30 PM local time. Gotta be out of the Air BNB at 11 AM. So we'll head direct to the airport. If everything works out, will get home about 7 PM tonight.
We got power back in our neighborhood about 5 AM this morning. Our county had 78% of the residents without power yesterday.... that was over 190,000 homes.
Will be long travel day for the new knee. Hope it's up for it.....
We have a scheduled flight out of NOLA this afternoon at 2:30 PM local time. Gotta be out of the Air BNB at 11 AM. So we'll head direct to the airport. If everything works out, will get home about 7 PM tonight.
We got power back in our neighborhood about 5 AM this morning. Our county had 78% of the residents without power yesterday.... that was over 190,000 homes.
Will be long travel day for the new knee. Hope it's up for it.....
- Joined
- Jun 26, 2017
- Messages
- 47,911
- Gender
- Female
- Country
- United States
Yay for power! Thankfully yours is back on.
Allow yourself enough time to take breaks from walking. You can really pile on the steps in airports.
If you don't have your seats yet, try to get an aisle seat so you're able to stretch out into the aisle if necessary.
Check on a bulkhead seat if there are no available isle seats. If you can get your hands on some zip lock bags, they may come in handy if you're feeling sore / achy from walking. A flight attendant should be able to fill one with ice for you if you're feeling the need for some cool comfort. If may help to get up and take a little walk in the middle of your flight to ward off stiffness. Staying well hydrated is also beneficial. Stretch and flex your muscles often while seated. Do calf squeezes and ankle pumps. Orders from Headquarters
May your flight be smooth. Safe travels, JD!
@JDinCT
Allow yourself enough time to take breaks from walking. You can really pile on the steps in airports.
If you don't have your seats yet, try to get an aisle seat so you're able to stretch out into the aisle if necessary.
Check on a bulkhead seat if there are no available isle seats. If you can get your hands on some zip lock bags, they may come in handy if you're feeling sore / achy from walking. A flight attendant should be able to fill one with ice for you if you're feeling the need for some cool comfort. If may help to get up and take a little walk in the middle of your flight to ward off stiffness. Staying well hydrated is also beneficial. Stretch and flex your muscles often while seated. Do calf squeezes and ankle pumps. Orders from Headquarters
May your flight be smooth. Safe travels, JD!
@JDinCT
Actually, you can request a wheelchair and tell them you are disabled. You are right now, so take every available help you can get. I did when I needed it, and was so grateful I did!
- Joined
- Jun 26, 2017
- Messages
- 47,911
- Gender
- Female
- Country
- United States
You can request handicapped assistance when you book your flight. This involves a wheelchair and a porter to help assist as you sit in the wheelchair. The porter will check your bag and take you to the gate. You'll board before other passengers and can take the wheelchair all the way down the ramp if necessary.
@sistersinhim Were you able to do this when you arrived at the airport, or did you request this service ahead of time?
@sistersinhim Were you able to do this when you arrived at the airport, or did you request this service ahead of time?
The first time I did it at the airport. The second time, I requested it when I booked. So, both ways worked for me.
OP
OP
JDinCT
senior
- Joined
- Oct 26, 2018
- Messages
- 278
- Age
- 67
- Gender
- Male
- Country
- United States
Hello everyone!
Successfully made the trip from NOLA back to Tampa Friday. The new knee traveled relatively well, much better than the outbound trip.
The Tampa/St. Pete area is devastated. Still over 500,000 in Tampa area without power.
We were VERY fortunate at our house. No flooding, no water intrusion, about 30-40 roof tiles missing, soffit damage, landscape damage. Got our power back Friday morning, Other than that, we are good. Been working furiously the last couple days trying to get the house back in order. Taking it as easy as I can on the knee... but things have to get done.
Thanks so much for everyone's well wishes, thoughts and prayers!
Hope everyone's recovery is going well! Haven had much bandwidth to review everyone's progress.
Successfully made the trip from NOLA back to Tampa Friday. The new knee traveled relatively well, much better than the outbound trip.
The Tampa/St. Pete area is devastated. Still over 500,000 in Tampa area without power.
We were VERY fortunate at our house. No flooding, no water intrusion, about 30-40 roof tiles missing, soffit damage, landscape damage. Got our power back Friday morning, Other than that, we are good. Been working furiously the last couple days trying to get the house back in order. Taking it as easy as I can on the knee... but things have to get done.
Thanks so much for everyone's well wishes, thoughts and prayers!
Hope everyone's recovery is going well! Haven had much bandwidth to review everyone's progress.
Thank God you are back home safely, and you have only aggravating, minor damage. Take care of that poor knee. Things can wait until you are better.
selketine
senior
Sounds like you were in a decent spot for this storm - vs. being a bit farther south I'd guess. Phew - so much destruction for those folks in a short period of time. I hope that's the end of the season.
My son in Polk County fared well - didn't lose power and no flooding at his (fairly newly built) apartment complex. I think the tornadoes Wednesday afternoon were the worst scare for them as it turned out.
Glad to hear your knee did better with the return trip - hopefully you can get some rest in for it.
OP
OP
JDinCT
senior
- Joined
- Oct 26, 2018
- Messages
- 278
- Age
- 67
- Gender
- Male
- Country
- United States
Had my first post-hurricane PT today. Honestly, I wasn't expecting to do very well since I've been on my feet (knee) pretty much non-stop over the last several days. It actually forced me to focus on my knee and stretching form.
Therapist introduced the leg press today. I was able to easily do three sets of 10 and it made my quads feel very good.
ROM was measured to be 0 degrees extension and 123 degrees flexion. I was very surprised for flexion to have increased 3 degrees since last session as my knee felt relatively stiff going into the session.
Hope everyone is progressing well!
Therapist introduced the leg press today. I was able to easily do three sets of 10 and it made my quads feel very good.
ROM was measured to be 0 degrees extension and 123 degrees flexion. I was very surprised for flexion to have increased 3 degrees since last session as my knee felt relatively stiff going into the session.
Hope everyone is progressing well!
- Joined
- Jun 26, 2017
- Messages
- 47,911
- Gender
- Female
- Country
- United States
Back to the grind after all of the excitement. My heart goes out to all affected by the hurricane in ways, big and small. Hopefully it won't take long to get your house back in order after the weather event and you continue to thrive in your recovery. Best wishes for a good week and a peaceful one at that!
@JDinCT
@JDinCT
- Joined
- Jul 1, 2023
- Messages
- 7,071
- Age
- 71
- Gender
- Female
- Country
- United States
Nice update!
Remember on leg press, or any machine, to only increase in 10% increments.
And as your tendons and ligaments haven't healed, avoid locking out the knee in full extension or full flexion - stay in the middle section of your range of motion to reduce strain on tendons.
Remember on leg press, or any machine, to only increase in 10% increments.
And as your tendons and ligaments haven't healed, avoid locking out the knee in full extension or full flexion - stay in the middle section of your range of motion to reduce strain on tendons.
OP
OP
JDinCT
senior
- Joined
- Oct 26, 2018
- Messages
- 278
- Age
- 67
- Gender
- Male
- Country
- United States
Thanks for the reminder! I'm a bit sore this morning... but it's that "good" type of muscle sore... like it worked hard and needs some recovery but will result in more strength.
OP
OP
JDinCT
senior
- Joined
- Oct 26, 2018
- Messages
- 278
- Age
- 67
- Gender
- Male
- Country
- United States
Happy Sunday everyone!
Celebrated my six-week knee-aversary this past Wednesday 10/16/24. Had my OS follow-up and he is very satisfied with the recovery progress. I asked him about the soreness in my ankle and down my shin (almost like shin splints). For the ankle, he stated that the Mako Robotic assist surgery uses a cuff that tightens around the ankle to mobilize it during surgery. His opinion that the initial soreness may have been attributed to that process. However, my ankle is still sore like a minor ankle sprain. I'm chocking it up to post-surgical soreness and tenderness. Just something I didn't experience with TKR #1.
The shin pain and tenderness he attributed to post-surgical pain likely resulting from tight IT band. This should normalize during recovery.
Some progress to report:
1. Only taking Tylenol regularly now. 3X/day. Taking tramadol on an as needed basis. Feels great to be off the oxy completely.
2. Now able to ascend and descend stairs foot-over-foot. Ascending is pretty normal, but descending I have to be very deliberate and use the handrail.
3. Continuing outpatient PT and therapist is incorporating some strength and balance exercises into my regime which I'm happy about. Starting to feel muscle strength returning, albeit slowly and it does come with some soreness the day after PT. My OS extended my PT to the end of the year. Not sure I'll need it for that long, but it's nice to know it's there if I need it.
4. The last two nights, I only woke up twice per night for a walk. For me that's a significant improvement as I was waking up every 1-2 hours previously and my overall energy level was very low due to lack of consistent sleep. I hope this is the beginning of a new positive trend.
5. Pretty much off the walking stick. I still have to take it easy for the first 10 steps or so if I've been sitting for 15+ minutes and I still have to actively concentrate on normal walking form.
6. After a 3-4 minute warm up on the bike, I can slowly rotate fully both forward and backward. It's not super comfortable, but I feel it does help with loosening up the ligaments that that tightness in the front of the knee.
All the best to everyone in their recovery journey!
Celebrated my six-week knee-aversary this past Wednesday 10/16/24. Had my OS follow-up and he is very satisfied with the recovery progress. I asked him about the soreness in my ankle and down my shin (almost like shin splints). For the ankle, he stated that the Mako Robotic assist surgery uses a cuff that tightens around the ankle to mobilize it during surgery. His opinion that the initial soreness may have been attributed to that process. However, my ankle is still sore like a minor ankle sprain. I'm chocking it up to post-surgical soreness and tenderness. Just something I didn't experience with TKR #1.
The shin pain and tenderness he attributed to post-surgical pain likely resulting from tight IT band. This should normalize during recovery.
Some progress to report:
1. Only taking Tylenol regularly now. 3X/day. Taking tramadol on an as needed basis. Feels great to be off the oxy completely.
2. Now able to ascend and descend stairs foot-over-foot. Ascending is pretty normal, but descending I have to be very deliberate and use the handrail.
3. Continuing outpatient PT and therapist is incorporating some strength and balance exercises into my regime which I'm happy about. Starting to feel muscle strength returning, albeit slowly and it does come with some soreness the day after PT. My OS extended my PT to the end of the year. Not sure I'll need it for that long, but it's nice to know it's there if I need it.
4. The last two nights, I only woke up twice per night for a walk. For me that's a significant improvement as I was waking up every 1-2 hours previously and my overall energy level was very low due to lack of consistent sleep. I hope this is the beginning of a new positive trend.
5. Pretty much off the walking stick. I still have to take it easy for the first 10 steps or so if I've been sitting for 15+ minutes and I still have to actively concentrate on normal walking form.
6. After a 3-4 minute warm up on the bike, I can slowly rotate fully both forward and backward. It's not super comfortable, but I feel it does help with loosening up the ligaments that that tightness in the front of the knee.
All the best to everyone in their recovery journey!
Last edited:
- Joined
- Jul 1, 2023
- Messages
- 7,071
- Age
- 71
- Gender
- Female
- Country
- United States
Great six week status report!
Yes, on the strengthening exercises my recommendation based on experience plus exercise physiology is at six weeks, with tendons and ligaments not yet healed, one day on, at least two days off.
Yes, on the strengthening exercises my recommendation based on experience plus exercise physiology is at six weeks, with tendons and ligaments not yet healed, one day on, at least two days off.
