TKR Ma Dudd’s ongoing rtkr rollercoaster

[Ma Dudd]

Gosh Ski_bum you are active ,unfortunately due to a serious fracture to my back years ago riding ,I can’t risk certain sports and I also have arthritis in my left shoulder that I had an arthroscopy on a few years ago and have regainEd most movement but it does ache.I take amitriptyline at night and that helps me sleep but I am slowly cutting back meds however I doubt if I will get away with removing them altogether but hopefully downgrade. I have one of those little seated cycles ,so having a go on that plus hopefully try my middle sons huge gym bike which can be fully adjusted .I think we would love to be able to do everything but I am happy I can stand up and walk around relatively normally and it gets a little better every day.Good luck on your recovery xx

 

[Atkinson8]

Downhill ski! I'll be happy if I can go up and down a flight of stairs without hanging on for dear life! I also feel the aching, and sometimes pain when I'm moving about and pushing the limits of my knee a bit (which doesn't take much). It really comes home to roost at night, when I'm not moving around. I'm sure it will all work itself out as the tendons, muscles, and whatever else gets back where they need to be.

 

[Ma Dudd]

Well made it to week 9 and driving again ,beginning to go up and down stairs relatively normally too ,but I wondered has anyone had weird ankle discomfort ,its at the back of the ankle and sometimes seems to click ,it’s ok at rest but worse when I flex it up not down .Any ideas ?

 

[Ma Dudd]

After doing some research ,I found that when they replace your knee it alters your leg ,whereas before you might have had a slightly bow leg or the reverse ,the new knee straightens it all and in my case the likelihood is that in guarding my knee pre op, I had put my weight differently on my foot ,now it’s where it should be it pulls on the tendons at the back of the ankle .I found heat works to relieve it and just don’t overdo the walking Hope this helps someone else too xx

 

[Jockette]

I agree, all is connected and your ankle is part of your leg, and it has had to adjust. Sometime it’s just surprising that a new pain shows up weeks later, but that seems to be the nature of this recovery.

 

[Ma Dudd]

Hi all ,wonder if anyone can recommend the best type of shoes or inserts after knee replacement,I am sure my back of ankle pain is due to gait issues ,I reckon a good pair of inserts or supportive shoes / trainers are needed .I tend to wear leather lace deck shoes a lot ( not boater but not good with heels )

 

[maryo52]

I think you're having completely normal experiences. I'd love to have someone around, e.g. in my house or social group, to reassure me, and my thoughts tend to dwell on these deficiencies. But if you can think of it this way -- you're less than 2 months out from a year-long recovery timeline, you are doing just fine.

I don't know if you've been doing quad sets. My PT asked me to do 90 a day. The quad muscle is known as the key to the knee. Muscles require a nerve impuse to activate, and quad sets not only help tone the quad muscle, but exercise the nerve pathway. I find when I first get up my quad needs a little help waking up and I'll do 10 quad sets right there. I have chronic nerve pathway issues to the quad.

Keep the faith. You're doing great!

 

[Ma Dudd]

Thanks Maryo52, I think you put it in a nutshell as why so many of us are grateful to Bonesmart, most of us don’t have much idea whats normal or sort of expected, no one to ask , so Bonesmart has certainly provided me and I expect others with reassurance .In the uk there’s some info but it’s patchy ,so when something happens you second guess whether you should speak to the doctor or not ( if you can get hold of him) .You have been through the wars maryo52!

 

[Ma Dudd]

Well still in early stages at 11 weeks and maybe pushing the everyday activities too far ,I now have a problem with back of ankle pain ,likely Achilles’ tendon (itis) but holding off trying to speak to a doctor as it’s very difficult to get hold of them ,let alone see one ! So I have followed the bonesmart advice and RICE,which is helping, but it’s interesting that it has a knock on affect on the muscles etc of the knee replacement . Has anyone else managed to join the overdoing it muppet club and was it similar ?
( note to admin ,can you merge my other thread with this one and use the new title )

 

[Jaycey]

@Ma Dudd threads merged - please keep all your updates on this thread. Just let us know if you want the title changed.

As our dear friend Jo always said, everything is connected to everything. Yes if you over do not only will your knee complain - other areas will too. At only 11 weeks out it is still very early days in a process that takes one year or longer.

Slow down and back off all that activity. And listen to your knee.

 

[Ma Dudd]

Thanks Jaycee ,You and Jo are absolutely right ,I reckon it was going up and down stairs ,I am back to one step at a time ,I think it’s the human condition to always want to run before you can walk

 

[Atkinson8]

At almost 12 weeks, I find I'm super sensitive about anything (except for PT) touching my knee or any area surrounding it. I jump in defense, even if it doesn't hurt. It's odd, but instinctive. Even at night, I ice, and when the ice pack has warmed, I still place it on my knee area as a "security blanket."

 

[Ma Dudd]

At almost 12 weeks, I find I'm super sensitive about anything (except for PT) touching my knee or any area surrounding it. I jump in defense, even if it doesn't hurt. It's odd, but instinctive. Even at night, I ice, and when the ice pack has warmed, I still place it on my knee area as a "security blanket."

Yes ,I agree ,I don’t want anyone touching the knee ,it’s pretty stable but numb on one side.I don’t have a problem with the joint as I have pretty good flex or so PT says ,but then again everything here is online .For me it’s putting everything into practice and its the muscles and tendons that complain ,I think it’s easy to overdo it .I use ice but not as much now, as oddly I find it uncomfortable at times ,but it really helped my ankle recently .Good luck with your recovery .