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Knee Infection* Limb Salvage Surgery Recovery

Re activating side quads: based on my martial arts injury/rehab experiences plus my two TKAs, I would suggest this as an earlier focus, rather than increased flexion or straight leg raises. The side quad activation is more "knee friendly" because you can do that via slight adjustments of standard "quad sets" - which my ortho team was comfortable with me doing immediately post op despite their "Less is better" approach in the initial weeks. Also getting quads firing nicely will help the other goals.

To target your inner medial quads, you do the quad sets with your entire foot cocked, toes pointing outward.
To target your outer lateral quads, foot is cocked with toes pointing inward.
To enhance this, softly place your fingers on the targeted area.
 
Check it out everybody!! Had to make it a GIF because videos can’t be uploaded on here
 

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Also, I’ve already transitioned from two crutches to one crutch. I’ll likely try my cane again soon! I’ve also stopped taking immediate release oxy’s during the day. Before, I was taking 5mg every time I woke up, 6 hours later, and then before bed along with a 10mg extended release morning and night. So I’ve cut down total use pretty substantially!

This leg/knee feels so good for being two weeks post op. Maybe I just have low standards for how I should heal because I was going through chemo the previous surgeries haha. It bends well, extends well, has good patella movement and tracking, feels good walking on… not much to ask for right now! Everything is going as it should
 
Amazing! Look at you go! Winds of change are blowing and it's great to see since you've been through so much.
Keep up the good work and stay in touch. I believe many are watching your progress with interest. :thumb:
@daddydaygo
 
Little update: I had my PT eval, and she was blown away. I think the scar tissue removal made a huge difference on my leg. Things that used to hurt, don’t hurt anymore. (I used to have some major patella pain when I would do seated leg extensions which assume was from the scar tissue). And during this eval, I was able to go all the way out with minimal pain. That was my biggest pain problem I had with my knee before, so I really hope it stays this way.

I’ve stopped taking the extended release Oxys in the morning and only take one a night. I trial ran only taking an immediate release at night but woke up and needed another one. So I’ll likely just use the ER at night for a couple more nights and try again. If something is hurting during the day, I’ll take a 50mg Tramadol.

Speaking of pain during the day. My ankle has been a major issue with walking. I must’ve sprained or strained something in it because that hurts more than my knee. It started like a week ago when I left the hospital, but has gotten worse. So I’ve just been taking it easy on walking. I see my OS in a couple days so I’ll ask him for his opinion on it. But other than that my knee/leg pain is like a 2/10 tops. So that’s great.

I’ll post some staple free pics on Wednesday!
 
Great update... that ankle would benefit from, yep, ice (not as often or as long as a surgical knee) and elevation til you see your OS.
 
Sounds like you're making great progress, daddydaygo!
Let us know what your OS has to say about your ankle pain. I hope it eases for you soon.
Will look forward to staple free pics. Have a great Sunday!
@daddydaygo
 
daddydaygo said:
My ankle has been a major issue with walking. I must’ve sprained or strained something in it because that hurts more than my knee.
Click to expand...
That is true of me too but I don’t think my ankle was injured. I think in my case it is fluid from my knee moving downhill under the influence of gravity to make my ankle swell. Ice and elevation helps a little but walking helps the most, probably by moving the fluid out.
 
Ended up getting X-rays on my foot. Turns out I have osteopenia in my foot/ankle and who knows how high up my leg (low bone density, at this point we can only speculate it’s from lack of weight bearing for so long). Anyways my Ortho has a hunch it could be a stress fracture(s) due to this, so I’m taking it easy on it for a couple days and if it doesn’t get better I’ll get an MRI on it for a definitive answer. Ive gone back to two crutches and toe touch weight bearing because the pain is definitely up there. I hope this isn’t the case, as this will only mean more time not weight bearing- but we’ll see in the next couple days. In brighter news, I had my 6 month remission chest CT and X-rays, and I’m officially 6 months cancer free! Also, I got my knee to 105 with little effort in PT, which is absolutely amazing. I’ll update when I get this foot situation sorted out!
 
That 6 month milestone is excellent!!!! :egypdance:
 
One month down since the last surgery! :yes!:
I hope you're having a good week and looking forward to the holidays soon upon us.
Unbelievable how quickly time passes. Have a great weekend, daddydaygo!
@daddydaygo
 
Mini update: My foot pain is getting better. PT has shifted their focus on my foot rather than knee the past couple sessions. They’ve been doing different types of massages and releases on it and it has definitely helped. Maybe it’s not a stress fracture after all. I’ve gone back to one crutch and even walk unassisted if something involves only a couple steps (cooking, getting in the shower) I do have a minor limp which I think is from my foot but we’ll work on that in PT. And it’s still really early so I can’t expect perfection I guess.

Life has gotten pretty normal for me. I’ve been able to get out and work on my truck in the driveway, drive to the grocery store, do more stuff around the house. I DEFINITELY feel it the next day if I’m on it a lot though. I also wake up every morning in pretty substantial pain though but it goes away after a couple hours. I’ve read about some other people experiencing that?

I’ve been using this cream I was prescribed called Diclofenac on my knee when it acts up, and wow it makes such a difference. It’s a nice addition to my pain management arsenal. I still am taking a 5mg Oxy every night and intend to stop here really soon. I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned it, but I’ve been on opiates basically non stop for 10 months now (because of the timing of all my surgeries) so my body has definitely developed a dependency that I’ll have to deal with when I get there. I tried stopping my last surgery and started experiencing withdrawal symptoms and I imagine will if I tried to stop now. I’ll have to read up on tips and tricks on helping with that. Anyways, thanks for reading!
 
With my earlier L knee I went through a phase where it would be so painfully stiff on awakening in the morning that I would gasp aloud and have to use both hands plus my other leg to ease it off the bed. Fortunately it was stable to bear weight and responded really well to gingerly walking until it loosened up. It was really bad from about 6 weeks to 12 weeks and then literally went away one day.
 
It seems you continue to make positive progress, daddydaygo!
I wish you all the best when the time comes to wean off the opiates. Glad you've read up on tips and tricks and hopefully your physician will have some also. Stay in touch, your recovery is inspirational. A great week to you!
@daddydaygo
 
Happy Two Month Anniversary since your revision, daddydaygo.
I hope you continue to do well...enjoying steady progress.
Wishing you the merriest of Christmases and the happiest, healthiest New Year ever!
@daddydaygo

:merry-xmas-smiley-emoticon:
 
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