I vowed that I would follow the doctor's program to the best of my ability because I don't want to be crippled up anymore. He sent me to a rehab hospital and apparently Medicare requires that I do 2 hours of physical therapy per day to pay for the hospital stay. I have wondered if the pt was only exacerbated my swelling and if it is too much but at first I thought that was the doctor's way of excellerating the healing.
I too went to a rehab hospital for a week after my surgery. They required 3 hours of PT (one of which was occupational therapy) a day. So two hours of physical exercises. I had read BoneSmart extensively prior to surgery, so I had a plan in my head about what I would and would not do. I just never forced my knee, especially if it was sore. I would do the minimum needed to get through my exercises; I did not pull all the way on any straps, just did enough to move the knee a bit. I refused some when they caused pain. I loved the walking, though, and told the PTs that, so we ended up walking more. Mostly I used PT as a way to get out and about and socialize with the PTs and other patients. That's how I got through it.
It's natural for us to want to trust our surgeons and therapists. They have training we don't. But surgeons aren't experts in recovering from TKR. They read a lot about it, but otherwise they have to trust unreliable reports from PTs (who want to look good) and patients (most of whom do all right on PT or at least want their surgeons to think so). PT works really well for some patients; for others, not so well... but the surgeon may not hear much about the latter or about alternative paths of recovery. PT certainly isn't going to tell them or write papers for publication that don't include lots of PT!
So while we hope to follow our surgeon's program, sometimes we have to... tweak it a bit. The end goal is not to have survived PT or be able to say "I followed orders." It is to get rid of pain and regain a functional knee.
I know that we are all different but yesterday I was working on the Newstep machine and the lady next to me was only a few days out from the surgery and having no trouble bending her knee. I was discouraged as I have had so much problem with my knee replacement. I don't know why one can be so good and another so bad.
I had a good recovery and I was that lady. Not that very one, but "that patient" who had good ROM right away and made other patients in PT cry. Literally. One woman broke out in tears when she saw me doing the same exercise and I had more bend. I felt horrible. She had also had BTKR and we were both doing the best we could. But she got discouraged.
We tell people not to compare knees because of this. Someone else ALWAYS has better (fill in the blank). Bend. Extension. Strength. Less swelling. Less pain. Incision appearance. You name it, someone is acing whatever you are not. I sigh enviously over some of the quick recoveries I read about! I had a good one myself. There's always someone who makes it look easy.
No one knows why some people have an easier time of recovery than others. I personally think PT is over-emphasized, and yet I also know people -- in my own family -- who did their PT religiously and had good results. I did the least PT I could get away with and I too have great new knees. I think it comes down to what works best for you. Your knee will tell you what is working! Mine were happy with very little PT and lots of walking. My mother did the stationary bike and no PT, and now she can sit on her feet. How did that happen? I can't sit on my feet.
I guess I'm saying to trust yourself. You're smart and you care. You can understand what your knees are saying about how much exercise to do. Once you trust that, you can relax and let recovery happen. It takes as long as your knee needs.
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Especially once you get home on Monday, you can direct your recovery toward gentle exercises only and lots of rest, elevating, and icing. Elevation is wonderful for reducing swelling; you can elevate as much as you want, even sleep with your leg up at night.
