TKR LKTR 19 May recovery

Sandy11

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Hello Friends,
You have been very helpful in preparing me for the surgery.
Finally, it was done yesterday. Would like to share my experience.

Surgery Day:
Surgery started just before 8 AM and was completed at 9.45 AM. Was in recovery room till 11. I was supposed to be discharged by noon after PT's visit and other checkups. But had to be shifted to a room as my BP went down. I was feeling normal and could do whatever they wanted me to do to their full satisfaction. But PT was stopped midway due to low BP. Eventually everything became alright and was discharged at 5.45 pm. Was home before 7.30 pm. Climbed 14 steps to my main living area.
Slept better than expected. My main problem was getting up from bed/chair and sitting down. Could not lift or put down my operated leg myself.

Day 1:
Today getting up and sitting down is better than yesterday. But still cannot put my leg down or lift it up myself.
Did some icing and elevation. Completed set of 10 excersises 3 times so far. Plan to do 4th time before going to bed.
My pain level is 2-3 but that is due to the nerve block they have put. It will come off tomorrow evening and then pain level will increase for a day or two and then start declining as they say.
 
Welcome to Recovery!

Please go easy on the exercises. There is no need to them 3-4 times a day. At this stage once a day is enough, and not all at once. Your main job right now is to let your body heal. Too many exercises too early can hinder that, especially while you still have the nerve block working. The nerve block will prevent you from knowing if you are overdoing, which can cause extra pain when it wears off.


Regaining our ROM is more about Time than repetitions of a list of exercises.

Time to recover.
Time for pain and swelling to settle.
Time to heal.

Our range of motion is right there all
along just waiting for that to happen so it can show itself.

In the general run of things, it doesn't need to be fought for, worked hard for or worried about. It will happen. Normal activity is the key to success.
 
Yes, once the block wears off you will probably not be doing quite so many exercises for a while! You likely will not even be able to lift your leg for a few days! Just take it slow. The first few weeks are a challenge. Don’t rush the process!
And congratulations on your new knee!
 
I will leave you our Recovery Guidelines. Each article is short but very informative. Following these guidelines will help you have a less painful recovery.

Just keep in mind all people are different, as are the approaches to this recovery and rehab. The key is, “Find what works for you.“ Your doctors, PTs and BoneSmart are available to help, but you are the final judge as to the recovery approach you choose.

Knee Recovery: The Guidelines
1. Don’t worry: Your body will heal all by itself. Relax, let it, don't try and hurry it, don’t worry about any symptoms now, they are almost certainly temporary
2. Control discomfort:
rest
ice
take your pain meds by prescription schedule (not when pain starts!)​

3. Do what you want to do BUT
a. If it hurts, don't do it and don't allow anyone - especially a physical therapist - to do it to you​
b. If your leg swells more or gets stiffer in the 24 hours after doing it, don't do it again.​


4. PT or exercise can be useful BUT take note of these

5. At week 4 and after you should follow this

6. Access to these pages on the website

The Recovery articles:
The importance of managing pain after a TKR and the pain chart
Swollen and stiff knee: what causes it?
Energy drain for TKRs
Elevation is the key
Ice to control pain and swelling
Heel slides and how to do them properly
Chart representation of TKR recovery
Healing: how long does it take?

Post op blues is a reality - be prepared for it
Sleep deprivation is pretty much inevitable - but what causes it?

There are also some cautionary articles here
Myth busting: no pain, no gain
Myth busting: the "window of opportunity" in TKR
Myth busting: on getting addicted to pain meds

We try to keep the forum a positive and safe place for our members to talk about their questions or concerns and to report successes with their joint replacement surgery.

While members may create as many threads as they like in the majority of BoneSmart’s forums, we ask that each member have only One Recovery Thread. This policy makes it easier to go back and review the member’s history before providing advice, so please post any updates or questions you have right here in this thread.
 
You likely will not even be able to lift your leg for a few days!
Yes, I forgot to add that this is very normal. It was about 2 weeks before I could lift my leg myself.
 
Sounds like you’re off to a positive experience. I agree with taking it easy on the exercises. And lifting your leg will come in time, mine felt like a ten ton log for about 5-6 days (had to use strap to lift it up and down). Then all of a sudden I was able to lift it slightly without the strap and every day got better.
 
Glad you are doing well. I had a RTKR today, a day surgery like yours. Feeling good now. Hope I have a good Day 2 as well.
 
Sandy11, glad to hear it went well so far! I think I had BP worries last time, too, not rare...

This time it took me about 5-6 days to lift my leg by itself. I have a pair of PT-ready snap-apart pants that I can grab to move my leg up or down and if I grab the edge, it works well as a leg-moving handle! Am 3 weeks in and when it’s really achey, I still help move the leg. So don’t worry: that ability comes back on its own!
 
Sue, why not start your own thread and keep us posted on all your comings and goings? Congratulations on your new knee!
 
@Sandy11 , My TKR twin! I had mine on May 19, also. Hope your recovery is as smooth as possible. I don't think I am doing exercises as often as are you. I get up and walk with my walker about every two hours as long as my husband is home. I do my 4 exercises twice a day -- but if the heel slides hurt beyond discomfort, I quit. I, too, had some low BP readings before and after. Fine now and my cardiologist has adjusted my BP meds down a bit since I have lost weight. Best of luck to you. Keep us informed.
 
Thank you all for your wishes and advice on excercising and ability to lift my knee. I am going bit easy on my excercises. Still need help in lifting my knee, but bit less.
I like " My TKR twin!" @Flutter1 :)

Day 2:
Though slept well at night, In morning my pain level increased to 3-4. After pain medication it was okay and I spent the day peacefully. My ortho adviser who calls me daily to check on me, told me to remaove the elastic bandage and other white bandatge below it so I could see the incision clearly, and also, to get more effective icing. I must admit that I have not been doing much of icing.

Day 3:
I took off my nerve block at noonf today. Had shower. I was dreading for the pain level to increase as the pain block was gone. But fortunately, it has remained the same at 2.
Since yesterday I have swelling in my ankle on the operated knee. It has not gone down inspite of my moving around and doinf basic excercises like heel rotations, heel pumps, small heel slides and elevation.

Sue and Flutter1, hope your recovery is also going on well. And hope the same for smokey1 too.
 
I think if you elevate AND ice, it will help the swelling. Most BoneSmart members have great confidence in icing and you will see it highly recommended.
 
Sandy11, I have some ankle pain and swelling too, in my new baby knee leg... I am suspecting in my case that’s it’s related to the pre-surgery collapse of my lateral side, where the knee buckled in due to the degradation of the knee joint on that outside area. I was very knock-kneed! All of the muscles and tendons on that side are more tender, I get the nerve zingers along that side, and the back of the knee on the outer side is much more tender, too.

So, I often ice and elevate, moving the ice packs around to the several achey areas while they are still good and cold...
 
Thank you, Sisterpat and Barbara,
you both are right. I am going to focus more on elevation to get rid of the swelling.
From tomorrow onwards, planning a proper schedule for everything as me and my husband will be by ourselves. I am fortunate to have all my family here in Seattle area, all at 25 minutes or less driving distance. So spending lot of time with them. My 2 daughters, one has come for 4 days to help me out and another who is a doctor at the same facility where I got my TKR done, spent op day and 2nd day with me and coming today. I saw and will be seeing my sons-in-law and grand children. My brother and other relatives also will visit me today. So from tomorrow, we can plan the day properly. My adorable caring husband is quite a schedule freak.
 
You may find you need a nap after all that visiting. It's great to see people but can be tiring after surgery.
Personally, afternoon naps were my friend. In the first couple of weeks, morning naps too. :heehee: I wasn't on a schedule, but typically by mid afternoon I'd feel the need to lie down. I would get set up with my ice and elevation and doze off for a bit.
 
Since yesterday I have swelling in my ankle on the operated knee. It has not gone down in spite of my moving around and doing basic exercises like heel rotations, heel pumps, small heel slides, and elevation.
Moving around will actually cause swelling not relieve it. You can ice and elevate the whole time you are sitting or laying down as long as you have a thin cloth between you and the ice pack.
 
Swelling is very normal and can/will last for a while.
 
My Sister’s 2 TKR’s stayed swollen for nearly a year! They are fine now. Take heart!
 
Day 4:
Have developed a bruise on back upper calf with pain level 3 there since yesterday. General pain level is only around 2. For ankle swelling which is the same, I am not able to elevate my leg more than 20 minutes as it starts feeling numb and very uncomfortable. I cannot do ankle pumps properly due to the swelling. My getting up and down has improved a lot. Take 1 Oxy in morning when I get up and 1 at night before I go to sleep, 2 tylenols 3 times a day. Plan to reduce night time Oxycodon dosage to half from tomorrow. I have been sleeping well so far.

Day 5:
Now I have one more bruise behind the knee joint too. The whole area feels quite tight. I still cannot lift my leg without assistance. Plan to add icing in my regime hoping it will aid the healing process. It had fallen out of my radar due to low pain level. Thanks to smokey1 for the reminder.
You all have advised me to go slow on exercises. I have been given 10 different moves to do with 10 repeatations 4-5 times a day. They are,
1. Ankle circles
2. Ankle pumps
3. Gluteal sets
4. Quadriceps sets
5. Heel slides
6. Terminal knee extension [keeping towel roll below knee joint]
7. Hip abduction [sideways heel slides]
8. Straight leg raise
9. Active knee extension sitting on chair
10. Assisted knee flexion sitting on chair

How many exercise you all do daily?
 
Sounds like you are off to a good start! I’m 8 years post btkr, and have had a great outcome. My wife is in surgery right now as I write this so I thought I would brush up on bonesmart(helped me out immensely). If you don have one yet, have someone get you an ice machine(a cooler with a sleeve for your knee and a pump). That and being dedicated to my PT are the things that I credit with my outcome. That ice machine was probably the best $200 I have ever spent, and it’s sitting on the counter waiting for it’s new friend as we speak. Good luck and know that it’s a marathon and not a sprint,
 

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