TKR March 8/22 RTKR Excited for the next step!

[Axx72]

My TKR journey began in April 2016 when I had my first meniscal surgery due to many years of cycling both competitively and for fun. May 2021 was my second meniscal injury, the repair procedure which only gave me, arguably, a 50-50 chance of improving my pain. Due to the osteoarthritis in my right knee, my surgeon, out of Alberta hip and knee replacement clinic in Calgary, set my procedure date for March 8. Gave me a goal so I worked my butt off to be in the best shape I could possibly be before surgery.

I am now 3 weeks post procedure recovery and have more than 90° flexion and and close to straight. Going a bit stir crazy because I feel like I need to be doing some thing all the time. Self-control plays a big part in making sure you heal properly and don’t overdo it. Listen to your body it will tell you what you are capable of doing.

I’m early in the game but I am super excited about what the future holds and working in earnest to get back to doing the things I love to do. Don’t let anybody tell you that you can’t do it

 

[Layla]

Congratulations and Welcome to BoneSmart and recovery! Thanks for joining us.
You sound excited and have a positive outlook which will take you far. I’ll leave our Recovery Guidelines below. Much of the info still applies at three weeks post op and beyond. Wishing you only the best on your healing journey!

Knee Recovery: The Guidelines
As you begin healing, please keep in mind that each recovery is unique. While the BoneSmart philosophy successfully works for many, there will be exceptions. Between the recommendations found here, your surgeon's recovery protocol and any physical therapy you may engage in, the key is to find what works best for you.


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
elevate
ice
take your pain meds by prescription schedule (not when pain starts!)
don't overwork.
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
the BoneSmart view on exercise
BoneSmart philosophy for sensible post op therapy
5. At week 4 and after you should follow this
Activity progression for TKRs
6. Access these pages on the website
Oral And Intravenous Pain Medications
Wound Care In Hospital


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 a 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 history before providing advice.

Wishing you all the best as you continue on your healing journey!

 

[MSN58]

Best of luck n your recovery!

 

[sistersinhim]

Listen to your body it will tell you what you are capable of doing.

You are so right. If it hurts or swells while or after doing something then your knee is ready for it yet. Back off and give it another week or so before trying it again. With 90 degrees already, you certainly don't have to worry about your ROM. Just be careful to not overdo it. It'll make that bend go down because of swelling from inflammation.

 

[Susie-Q]

Congratulations on your new knee!

Keep us posted on your recovery, slow and steady wins the race!

 

[Axx72]

Greatly appreciate all the support and personal experience posts.

Never been a fan of taking drugs as I like to know where pain tolerance is and don’t want to push mobility too far because of pain killer level. Knee never wants to be in the same pos. for too long. I like to get up and move at least once an hour because it alleviates pain and stiffness.

My biggest complaint is sleeping through the night. Back/side sleeper, don’t have issues getting to sleep. After taking some analgesics (varying strength depending on pain) I get about 4 hours before I have to move/ice. Again, no lasting knee comfort in any position. Seems to require movement.

Sound normal? Advice on better sleep?

 

[Jockette]

Yes, that all sounds normal, in fact, 4 hours of sleep at a time is actually pretty good!

Here‘s an article from the Recovery Guidelines:

Sleep deprivation is pretty much inevitable - but what causes it?

Time and again members complain about not being able to sleep and after a while, that it gets to making them feel frustrated, despairing, depressed and even ill. I thought perhaps a short treatise on the reasons for disturbance of sleep patterns was long overdue. It won't help you to sleep but...

bonesmart.org

 

[NewRightie]

Greatly appreciate all the support and personal experience posts.

Never been a fan of taking drugs as I like to know where pain tolerance is and don’t want to push mobility too far because of pain killer level. Knee never wants to be in the same pos. for too long. I like to get up and move at least once an hour because it alleviates pain and stiffness.

My biggest complaint is sleeping through the night. Back/side sleeper, don’t have issues getting to sleep. After taking some analgesics (varying strength depending on pain) I get about 4 hours before I have to move/ice. Again, no lasting knee comfort in any position. Seems to require movement.

Sound normal? Advice on better sleep?

Yeah, 4 hours is about my all time record unless I somehow achieve the trifecta of pain meds, extra tired (but not too extra-tired) and achieving the perfect position. With my first knee last November, that meant sleeping on what used to be my least preferred side with the surgical leg down against the mattress and the other on a big fluffy body pillow past my surgical leg so there was also maybe a 30-45 degree tilt of my torso. I had another pillow to wedge under my torso to keep me from rolling any farther over. I have some neck issues that make my arms fall asleep so even when my leg might’ve still been happy, I needed to rotate. Flipping onto my left side was much more complicated as I couldn’t get it flat against the bed that way. Eventually a very flat pillow supporting my surgical leg was tolerable but mostly, I’d find myself leaning back against the fluffy body pillow at the reverse of the angle I was to begin with. It was a series of trial and error with the various pillow choices. I called it my nest and was quite disturbed to have it in a pile on the bed when the sheets were changed days after achieving perfection!

This time, with new Leftie just over a week old, I’ve been trying to just reverse the system but it’s not that easy lol. I think I took another week or two before I’d attempted bed vs recliner. Also last time, I would start the night in the recliner and make the switch at 3 or 4am. That way, I could have more hope of being in a comfy enough position to sleep until it was time to get up.

You’re on your way and it seems like it’s going well!

 

[Axx72]

It’s nice to have feedback from people who are going through the same experiences. when I wake up early in the morning and my wife finds me walking aimlessly around the kitchen or going up and downstairs, simply for pain relief, she thinks I’m crazy.

Again, like many are commenting on it, it’s just a matter of having patience.

Officially started doing full rotations on my spin bike last Monday. Extremely excited that there seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel..

 

[sistersinhim]

Officially started doing full rotations on my spin bike last Monday. Extremely excited that there seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel.

Fantastic! That is great for as early as you are in your recovery.

It’s nice to have feedback from people who are going through the same experiences. when I wake up early in the morning and my wife finds me walking aimlessly around the kitchen or going up and downstairs, simply for pain relief, she thinks I’m crazy.

I can completely understand your method of pain relief. I'd wake up and night in pain and get on my recumbent bike for about 5-10 minutes and that would work it out and I could go back to sleep. This was way in my 4th or 5th month out. It's the little things we find to help up through this recovery that count.

 

[Axx72]

Saw my surgeon today at seven weeks. Looked at me as I walked out of the waiting room, threw up his hands and said wow! Told me he couldn’t tell that I had TKR based on my walk.

All that aside, my knee gets really achy in the evening still and wakes me up between 3-5AM as per routine. I have been spinning every second day for about 20 minutes at between 50-60 RPM. The passive resistance and momentum of a spin bike seem to make a huge difference in range of motion. I started with my seat quite high and then I’ve been slowly lowering it to my natural bike height.

I mentioned bone smart to my surgeon Dr. Sharma yesterday, as being a great forum for people who simply want to know where they stand and get a bit of support from others going through the same trials. He said he would check this site out.

Don’t get discouraged and keep going!!

 

[benne68]

... threw up his hands and said wow! Told me he couldn’t tell that I had TKR based on my walk.

What a great report! You can't ask for a better assessment than that.

Keep up the great recovery -- and keep us all posted on your progress.

 

[Axx72]

Recovery is achy and painful. Not searing tearing pain but if I’m therapeutically pushing the limits of my ROM it’s gonna be uncomfortable and gains will increase and regress. Somdays I just want to take drugs and forget about the path ahead, bury my head in the sand…. Digging deep and remembering that this procedure was my choice and no one can do the job for me. Everyone’s motivation comes from a different place. Realizing that it will get better and I will get back to a fulfilling lifestyle….I will climb, bike, ski and ride again. Here’s to everyone going though the same recovery who refuses to quit, give up!! The mountains are calling

 

[hawk2go]

Don't quit!!!!!

You are so early in the TKR recovery process. Having also had meniscus surgery, I was shocked at the difference in recoveries - like shocked that the difference was months/years vs days. I've had the left knee for nearly 7 years now (wow, just did that math) and the right knee for just over 8 months. I can attest that for me the pain of recovery is way better than the pain of deterioration, mainly because recovery pain will very likely end soon.

 

[JojoFitness]

It’s nice to have feedback from people who are going through the same experiences. when I wake up early in the morning and my wife finds me walking aimlessly around the kitchen or going up and downstairs, simply for pain relief, she thinks I’m crazy.

Again, like many are commenting on it, it’s just a matter of having patience.

Officially started doing full rotations on my spin bike last Monday. Extremely excited that there seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel..

Good for you! I agree and was ecstatic the first time I could do a full rotation on my Peloton! That was about at the four week mark, and I now cycle both backwards and forwards for about 20 minutes most days, before I do some home stretches and PT. It helps loosen it up. And yes, walking is a great pain reliever for me too. Cheers!

 

[Samsrf]

@Axx72 I am with you. Just a few weeks behind- but just this Wednesday @7 weeks I finally completed a full rotation on the bike at the highest seat height. I cried because I just want my life back. When I told my husband this accomplishment he thought that meant I was ready for our “usual” 10 mile ride down the beach! He also told a neighbor I would be out surfing in a couple weeks because I am healing so well ‍♀️ I love his optimism- It’s hard to be patient when life is zooming on around us, and these muscle aches (growing& stretching into new alignment) is waking us up. But here’s to you for not giving up. This recovery is slow and sometimes sucks- but I am not giving up either. Cheers to a new day and that much closer to the mountains or the sea!

 

[benne68]

I finally completed a full rotation on the bike at the highest seat height.

Yay! I vividly remember the feeling of joy when I was finally able to do that.

@Samsrf and @Axx72: You are both doing really well for so early in your recovery. Keep looking forward and thinking about all those things you will be able to do again soon.

 

[Axx72]

So my Chiropracter has me at 1° at extension and 117° at flexion.
Says she’s very happy with my progress. Still have daily routine oscillation of soreness and swelling above the joint. Most of my discomfort comes from morning flexing routine from full extension to full flexion. As the day progresses and endorphins are higher I’m able to do normal household and backyard work, while sometimes paying for it at the end of the day.

Started riding my mountain bike last week. Am able to ride about 6km every 2nd day. Reasonably flat roads with pretty low gear-downs on mild upslopes. My knee is definitely stiff for the first five minutes and then eases up to the point where I have virtually no discomfort towards the end of the ride. I am going to to install my clipless pedals as I believe that little bit of hamstring activation on the upstroke will be very beneficial.

Recovery is still yo-yoing and sleep is inconsistent, which is normal. Some days are better than others. Again, I’m excited for the next step

 

[Axx72]

@Samsrf It’s super cool that you are around the same stage of recovery. Keep pushing as long as you’re not in pain. Don’t let anything get you down. Tomorrow is always a fresh start with no mistakes.

 

[Axx72]

Every day a little further! Every day a little more…. Unless my knee says “No!”