TKR LTKR March 17th 2016<

[newlybionic]

I went to the store once I was walking with the heel toe strides and not limping any more. Take your old sneakers with you too so they can look for any abnormal wear patterns.

 

[gizmotto31]

1. Most of the time a 1 or 2. Sometimes a 3.

2. Off heavy stuff besides an occasional Norco 7.5/325 sometimes before or after more active times. Other than that, I am taking Aleve and Tylenol.

3. I ice my knee as much as possible. Almost every time I am sitting. Even at work. At least for 5-8 hours a day still and even when sleeping.

4. Same as above

5. Extension 0, Flexion 101

6. mild-moderate swelling

7. activity level Moderate. No yard work yet. I try to clean a room a day. Do my own shopping now. Cook easy meals.

8. Home:
Heal Slides: 10 reps 1 set 3x a day (this is the only thing I do every day)
Bike: 10-12 minutes
Practice Stairs 5 steps 10 reps 1 set
Swim a few laps (just did yesterday and will not again until wound heals)

PT:
10 minutes of VMO
15 minutes of massaging and gentle stretching
10 minutes bike
5 minutes flexinator
Stair stretching and practice 3 stairs up and down 3 reps
Wall Sits 15 reps 2 sets
Assisted squats (no added weight). 10 reps 3 sets
Calf raises 15 reps 2 sets
Standing Quad Sets With Resistance Band: 10 Reps 3 Sets
Box Step Ups (front and side) 15 reps 2 sets
Short Arc Quad Sets 15 Reps 2 Sets

The actual exercises usually are interchangeable and vary each session. It's not all in one day. I go twice a week. I would say that the first 2-3 weeks, therapy was useless and harmful. I could tell that my knee wasn't ready for it (easier stuff than what I am doing now). Now that it is healed more, there is less swelling and less pain. Now after each session I notice a big difference to my strength, ROM, and gait and actually enjoy it.

 

[Josephine]

1. Most of the time a 1 or 2. Sometimes a 3.

Okay

2. Off heavy stuff besides an occasional Norco 7.5/325 sometimes before or after more active times. Other than that, I am taking Aleve and Tylenol.

Yes, okay, but HOW MUCH?!

3. I ice my knee as much as possible. Almost every time I am sitting. Even at work. At least for 5-8 hours a day still and even when sleeping.

Jolly good

4. Same as above

Jolly good!

5. Extension 0, Flexion 101

Not bad considering you're only 5½ weeks out.

6. mild-moderate swelling

Sounds about right!

7. activity level Moderate. No yard work yet. I try to clean a room a day. Do my own shopping now. Cook easy meals.

Bit early but okay


Home:
Heel Slides: 10 reps 1 set 3x a day (this is the only thing I do every day) - heel slides are very easy to do badly and doing 30 reps in one session 3 times a day is badly! Read this Heel slides and how to do them. Besides which, your ROM is good, there is no need to do these
Bike: 10-12 minutes - okay but only once a day and none at all at the weekends
Practice Stairs 5 steps 10 reps 1 set - your ROM is good, there is no need to do these

My comments in bold
PT:
10 minutes of VMO - so how is this accomplished?
10 minutes bike - okay

5 minutes flexinator
Wall Sits 15 reps 2 sets
Assisted squats (no added weight). 10 reps 3 sets
Box Step Ups (front and side) 15 reps 2 sets
these are all exercises aimed at flexion. You don't need to do so many. Besides which, that's 90 reps for one thing (quite a lot) and for another, your ROM is fine so you don't need them anyway.

Stair stretching - okay
3 stairs up and down 3 reps - only three? Good!
Calf raises 15 reps 2 sets - this is standing on tip-toe - very hard on the knee. I suggest you stop doing these
Standing Quad Sets With Resistance Band: 10 Reps 3 Sets - very hard on the knee. I suggest you stop doing these
Short Arc Quad Sets 15 Reps 2 Sets - also very hard on the knee. I suggest you stop doing these

Your doing rather too much. This amount of exercising is unnecessary. Your ROM is good so you could quit all exercising now. The rest will come with normal activity.

 

[gizmotto31]

First, Can someone please kindly change my thread title to LTKR March 17th 2016?

I am now about 8 weeks out. In so many respects, I am doing great. I am only doing PT once a week now and got released to do my own leg workouts with weights (not free weights). I swim, ride the bike, and have been doing yard work now. My flexion is slow and has been stuck at 103 for about 10 days. It makes me wish I had put more thought into a manipulation. My surgeon said it was up to me, but if he had to gamble, he thinks I will get between 110-120 without it.

The thing is, I am starting to get more and more depressed about having this done. I wonder if I'll ever be as active as I want to be, and if I ever will have enough flexion to do the things I want. I still have a limp. I still have a lot of pain and stiffness. I know I am ahead of progress in so many ways, but it is starting to wear on me. I had this done to be able to be active in my 30's. To play tennis, golf, and softball. I know I need to be patient and I know I am only 2 months out, but I still feel physically worse than I did prior to surgery. I get that this takes 6-12 months to fully recover and that post-op blues is very common. Knowing this doesn't help the anxiety of wondering if I will ever be able to run again as It feels like it so far away.

It's my own fault as I try some of things and realize I just can't do them yet and it feels physically like I never will. I do believe I just had a down night and will bounce back. I'm just looking for a pick me up....some encouragement from those who did finally run and do some of these things I miss so much.

 

[newlybionic]

I can understand how you feel. You are doing a lot for just being short of two months. You will be able to do what you want to do. Try not to look for improvement in days but in weeks and months. If you are trying to work hard to get to where you want to be you might actually be slowing your recovery down. You might need to take some time and let your knee heel. You will be able to do all the activities that you want to.

 

[kneeper]

I agree--you're still recovering at 8 weeks even though it seems like a long time. You'll get there--you're just in the "are we there yet?" period.

 

[Celle]

First, Can someone please kindly change my thread title to LTKR March 17th 2016?

"Tis done!

My flexion is slow and has been stuck at 103 for about 10 days. It makes me wish I had put more thought into a manipulation. My surgeon said it was up to me, but if he had to gamble, he thinks I will get between 110-120 without it.

It's normal for progress to mark time for a bit, but you will move ahead again. I usually think that, when you seem to hit a plateau, your knee is actually consolidating the progress it has made. Taking a breather, so o speak, before moving ahead again.

Believe your surgeon. You are going to get there!

The thing is, I am starting to get more and more depressed about having this done. I wonder if I'll ever be as active as I want to be, and if I ever will have enough flexion to do the things I want. I still have a limp. I still have a lot of pain and stiffness. I know I am ahead of progress in so many ways, but it is starting to wear on me.

I know how hard it is to feel that you should be progressing faster, but you are actually doing very well. Try to remember that what you have now, at 8 weeks, is not what you will have at the end of your recovery.

It must be hard when you are young, but your knee itself takes just as long to heal as any other knee. It's natural to expect to move ahead all the time, but try not to expect too much, too soon. This recovery is a marathon, not a sprint, and even though you are young, you still have to endure slow progress. That's hard, I know, and it's going to test your patience, but it will be worth it in the end. Hang in there. Things are going to get better!

 

[Skywatcher]

I know just how you feel, I'm at 14 weeks and getting really fed up. Hang on in there.

Sent from my SM-T560 using Tapatalk

 

[gizmotto31]

Try not to look for improvement in days but in weeks and months.

Thanks...when i do look at the progress in total im impressed. Still hard when I know I was doing more before surgery, but i will work on this. I have heard from others who have returned tennis and golf at 6-8 weeks so I had these silly expectations and all it accomplished was letting me down.

I know how hard it is to feel that you should be progressing faster, but you are actually doing very well. Try to remember that what you have now, at 8 weeks, is not what you will have at the end of your recovery

Same thing...i will work on it. I knew it in my head but my body gives me doubts. Hearing that it still gets better helps restore the faith so thank you : )

 

[Celle]

I have heard from others who have returned tennis and golf at 6-8 weeks so I had these silly expectations and all it accomplished was letting me down.

Your knee is on its own recovery journey and it will do it at its own pace. You can't speed that up. Yes, there are a few people who have a fast recovery, but they are in a minority. Most of us recover much more slowly. As you've found out, it's a mistake to compare recoveries, because it sets you up for disappointment.

I have a friend who boasts that he went back to work at one week after a knee replacement. He did, but he doesn't tell the whole story.
He went back in a wheelchair, mornings only.
His wife helped him to get dressed and then she drove him to work.
At work, he was short-tempered and grumpy and his colleagues wished he had stayed at home.
Except when he was working, he spent all his time in bed, with his wife waiting on him, hand and foot.
He wouldn't take pain medications, as he thought they were "for cissies." Consequently, he couldn't sleep and he kept his wife awake, too.
His wife ended up a wreck and when he boasted about going back to work so early, she would just smile sadly.

You can't believe all you hear!

I knew it in my head but my body gives me doubts. Hearing that it still gets better helps restore the faith

It will get heaps better, for sure.

 

[Minstrel]

gizmotto31 - After reading your thread, I felt compelled to add "my two cents worth". My TKR was just 9 days before yours and I, too, consider my self to be a very active person. At 60 years of age, I am considered a 'young' knee replacement patient, so for you at half that, I can begin to understand how difficult this period of forced inactivity is for you.

Something I was told a couple of times by medical professionals, including my surgeon, is that the younger you are, the harder recovery is. It all has to do with expectations. No matter our age, however, we all are subject to the trauma of knee surgery and for that, we have to heal. And to heal, we need to rest.

By the way, your ROM is pretty darn good. Truthfully, I don't know what my numbers are because I haven't been measured in over 2 weeks. I can say, however, that my ROM is better than it was because of how much more I am able to do for myself even just a couple of days ago. At this time, I am measuring progress by what I am able to do and this past week, in particular, has been phenomenal (the biggest milestone reached being the ability to drive a standard transmission). I intend to get measured again before my next check-up in early June, but for now it's enough for me to know that I am more mobile and more able to do things for myself with every passing day.

As for the blues - well, it's tough . . . very tough . . . especially tough for you because of your age. Where I live in near northern Canada, summer is on our doorstep and that means a season of high activity. I would dearly love to be out on my bike or my rollerblades, hiking, paddling, swimming . . . but I'm not there yet. I fully expect to be and I believe that a positive attitude will hasten my recovery.

So, take heed of the advice that the forum moderators give here. Celle, Pumpkin, kneeper, newlybionic, Jamie, Josephine - all of them - have been such a source of comfort for me. Since finding this forum just 3 weeks ago, all of my grief and anguish have dissipated. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't read, and sometimes re-read, not only the articles they send to all participants, but the posts in response to people like you. What Celle posted about the fellow who bragged about going back to work early . . . well, recovery is not a race, can in no way be a race, because we have all started, and will all finish, at different lines.

Now is the time to rest, relax, and allow your knee (as well as the rest of you) to heal. As for me, my backyard, a good book, and a beer are beckoning . . .

 

[Minstrel]

Just noticed that gizmo31 had her surgery in 2016 not 2017 - duh . . . guess I need to pay more attention to the posting date. But I do wonder if her last post didn't somehow make it to the top of the postings list, as I check the newest postings regularly?

Anyway, it would be interesting to hear how gizmo31 is doing now that her first year has passed.

 

[flyaway79]

@Minstrel I was reading this and thought the same thing? 2016 and not 2017? Would love to hear from her now too!

 

[Celle]

But I do wonder if her last post didn't somehow make it to the top of the postings list, as I check the newest postings regularly?

gizmotto31's last post here was on May 13, 2016 - after you joined BoneSmart. She has probably moved on and is getting on with her normal life.