TKR Michele's RTKR recovery journey

[Cheleigh]

Thank you sweet ladies @Layla and @Jockette . The cupping did help yesterday. My PT just did three dry needles and it felt so weird like it “opened up” that area and I actually got to 86 ROM with no assistance. My PT said at this point if I continue to improve ROM she sees no need for recommending an MUA . Haha! I still cannot find the face palm emoji.

On another note, I was bummed that the BoneSmart recommended OS I had scheduled with office cancelled my appt because he only works on upper extremities now. I scheduled online and there wasn’t anything that said he didn’t work on knees and his video was about knees too but it was from 2016. Anyway, so I’ve scheduled with another BoneSmart recommended OS first week of November.

Thank you for the articles Layla. I need to read them over and over because it’s quick to forget when you’re hobbling around slow and errrr just slow.

 

[Jockette]

BoneSmart recommended OS

Our surgeon locator is a list of surgeons. Some are on the list because our members knew and liked them, some are on the list because they listed themselves. They are not specifically recommended, just listed, to help people find them.

 

[Layla]

You're welcome, Cheleigh. Hopefully you find the articles enlightening.
It's good to read that you found relief through the dry needling yesterday. I hope you continue to improve with each treatment.

I am sorry the surgeon you targeted changed direction in his practice. I wish you better luck with your appointment in early November. Please let us know how it goes.
Have a great day!
@Cheleigh

 

[Cheleigh]

Ahhh very good to know @Jockette thank you!

They were very enlightening @Layla! Thanks again so much! I hope you have a great week too!

 

[Cheleigh]

Hello! Today I’m 8 weeks post op. I’m wondering how long y’all were numb. Parts of my knee are still numb and it’s definitely gotten better with time, but two months out I wonder if it’s nerve damage or if it will eventually “thaw” out. Also, how long did you take anti inflammatory and Tylenol? How long did you elevate and ice? I’m still elevating but not icing unless I feel like I overdid it at PT. Thank you! I hope you’re having a great Wednesday!

 

[benne68]

two months out I wonder if it’s nerve damage or if it will eventually “thaw” out.

Nerves can take a year (or even longer) to "wake up" after a surgery like this. In most cases, people notice that the numb areas gradually "shrink" over time. I still have spot on the lateral side of my knee that is numb; but the rest is feeling normal again.

how long did you take anti inflammatory and Tylenol?

This is a very personal decision and depends upon how you are feeling. Do you still have a lot of pain and swelling?

If not, try to step the meds down a bit -- either by reducing your dosage or by stretching out the frequency you dose. See what happens and adjust accordingly.

How long did you elevate and ice? I’m still elevating but not icing unless I feel like I overdid it at PT.

This is another "listen to your body" thing. If you still have swelling or discomfort, you'll benefit from icing and elevating. I did a lot of elevating and icing when we were on vacation at 8 months post op because we were doing a lot of hiking and I needed the relief.

 

[Zanza]

...how long did you take anti inflammatory and Tylenol? How long did you elevate and ice? I’m still elevating but not icing unless I feel like I overdid it at PT. Thank you! I hope you’re having a great Wednesday!

I hope you're having a great Wednesday too! I take one eight hour Tylenol and one Aleve every morning, and the same again in the evening, and I've done that for years and expect to do that for the rest of my life. I have arthritis all through my body, and I had major spinal surgery. I'm always in pain, but my four little pills a day keep it to a manageable ache. My knee is still numb and stiff at four months out, and I suppose that will go on for a while more, but the swelling has gone way down and I can walk a couple of miles every day without a problem. I think the pills help, and I don't have a problem with the concept of taking them regularly. It would be nice to be pain-free but I think for me that's an impossible dream. Still, things could always be worse. At least, that's what I tell myself.

 

[InkedMarie]

I’m four years post op with my first knee & parts of it are still numb.

Marie

 

[Cheleigh]

Thank you benne68 Zanza and InkedMarie ! Very helpful and good to know. That’s a great description “shrinking over time” the numbing has definitely done that.

I volunteered all day yesterday at my daughters co-op (I homeschool) and was so concerned about that making me hurt but I did fine and wasn’t in excruciating pain or anything and just elevated and rested when I got home and so far so good this morning. I hope everyone has a great beautiful Friday!

 

[Layla]

Hello! Today I’m 8 weeks post op. I’m wondering how long y’all were numb. Parts of my knee are still numb and it’s definitely gotten better with time, but two months out I wonder if it’s nerve damage or if it will eventually “thaw” out

Crazy as it sounds, for some, small areas have remained numb for a few years even. It happened with BoneSmart's Nurse Emeritus, Josephine, with over 50 yrs experience in orthopedics. She shared that after her TKR she had an area of numbness for several years after a surgery, at some point finally forgetting about it. It came to mind around the time she was five years post op and she realized the area was no longer numb.

Cheers to volunteers! It's good to read you made it through the day yesterday and took the time to elevate and rest once back home. Great progress, Cheleigh. A wonderful weekend to you!

 

[Cheleigh]

Thank you, @Layla!I hope you have a great weekend!

 

[Cheleigh]

Just wanted to share that I finally measured 90 ROM at PT yesterday (and to think the post op paperwork they sent me home with said I should be at that by week one or two. Aghhh. How do people do it?) I want to note that this was after what would have been an appointment with my awful OS who was telling me he was scheduling an MUA if I wasn’t at 90 by that appointment (which I wouldn’t have been because I measured 86 on Tuesday). This was also a week where I did zero at home PT exercises because my iron has been low all week and I’ve had little energy and just feel bad in general. So rest, elevate and regular around the home chores is all I did. My PT was pretty interested in that fact. I didn’t want to go to PT yesterday because I knew I’d do awful at everything but went ahead and wound up doing better than ever. Go figure. I’m glad though. Very glad!! Yayyy! Happy Saturday!

 

[InkedMarie]

I’m so glad I had no such paperwork. I’d have burned it.

Marie

 

[Zanza]

I want to note that this was after what would have been an appointment with my awful OS who was telling me he was scheduling an MUA if I wasn’t at 90 by that appointment...

He can schedule it but he can't force you to show up for it. As for your range of motion, wow, you rested and let the swelling go down and you could bend more. Amazing! You'd think the medical professionals would ponder that a bit.

 

[benne68]

So rest, elevate and regular around the home chores is all I did. My PT was pretty interested in that fact.

Isn't it surprising that PTs don't understand this?

Sadly, very few are formally educated in how to help someone recover from joint replacement. So they default to the training approach that they learned for people recovering from injury. Apples and oranges!

 

[Cheleigh]

@InkedMarie too funny! It was pretty useless and unhelpful paperwork.

@Zanza yep! He has a god complex.

@benne68 yes it’s sad too because I really believe people (like me) would recover better and differently if not pushed so hard with PT right out the gate after surgery. My PT said, “we really need to pay attention to how your body is responding to different exercises or lack thereof, so if you’re seeing better results from doing less let’s keep at that”, because I’ve been saying for a couple weeks now that I believe less PT is “more”.

 

[sistersinhim]

I did zero at home PT exercises because my iron has been low all week and I’ve had little energy and just feel bad in general. So rest, elevate and regular around the home chores is all I did. My PT was pretty interested in that fact. I didn’t want to go to PT yesterday because I knew I’d do awful at everything but went ahead and wound up doing better than ever. Go figure.

You improved because you rested your knee and let it settle down some. I never took formal PT, just my normal daily activities, and recovered wonderfully!

 

[Cheleigh]

@sistersinhim , I posted on Facebook about me making a mile stone during a week that I didn’t do any at home PT exercises and of course a friend came on and said, “you won’t be successful without PT”, I started to say well this past week proved your theory wrong, but didn’t feel like arguing with someone in cyberspace lol.

I am so curious about recovery for folks who forego PT entirely… Did you forego because your ROM was great after surgery or what was your reason aside from wanting to let your body naturally heal first? Did your OS recommend PT?

 

[sistersinhim]

Between my 2 knees, I've had 12 knee surgeries. My first one was a scope with a lateral release on each knee that was spaced out about 4 months apart. I was divorced and had no one to drive me to PT, so I just did the things I needed to do around the house. I found that my knees snapped back beautifully that way. So, after that, I just rehabbed my knees by doing my daily activities.

I was found to have birth defects in both knees when I was in my early 20s and was told eventually I'd have to have total knee replacements. I knew many surgeries were in my future which included many recoveries. Since doing my daily activities worked in the past I knew they'd work for me for all my future recoveries.

 

[panammaniac]

@sistersinhim , I posted on Facebook about me making a mile stone during a week that I didn’t do any at home PT exercises and of course a friend came on and said, “you won’t be successful without PT”, I started to say well this past week proved your theory wrong, but didn’t feel like arguing with someone in cyberspace lol.

If I had a dollar for every piece of unwelcome advice I’ve received since I learned I’d be getting the surgery... “Make sure you stay on top of your PT.” “PT is gonna hurt but you have to do it or you’ll never recover.” “I had that done several years ago and I recovered quickly because I followed all of the doctor’s instructions and did my PT.” Ugh, I heard it all so much. I’m not foregoing my PT completely. I’m going in once a week, but I’m not really doing the home exercises they’re giving me. I’m just getting all of that activity and stretching in through my ADL’s. The big thing for me is focusing on walking with a proper gait. I have limped constantly for a few years and now I have to train my body to not do that, and it’s hard. But if I walk properly I get a good stretch on the knee and I think that’s as good as or better than any of the exercises I’ve been prescribed. I actually like goi g to PT right now because I think some of the machines I get to use there are helpful. My PT even commented that I do far better on the machines than I do with her trying to manipulate me manually.