middle of the road

[lissa]

:sct: I try to be uplifting in my posts, but this one is just to share this long long period of not being able to skip...but better than .... I thought I was so great, being up and walking at 4 weeks. The bend was the big push and I had that! Who knew...I would be walking with bent knees, not fully extended...and that it had to be corrected like now, cause I'd end up teaching my legs walking this way was OK. Who ever talks about extension? I must have missed that class! So for the past two grueling weeks and several more to go..I have had to re=teach myself how to walk. This means getting the extension..so every other exercise is extending...I sit with a 10 pound weight above my knee twice a day ( they want 3 times, yea right) for 20 minutes..leg extended on to a chair in front. Feels like you're pulling your knee right through to the other side...not fun at all! Then when I walk anywhere, it's exaggerated knee lock thing that slows me down..and also hurts! .......AND the therapists!! All of a sudden, its OK for them to pummel your scar and the surrounding tissue like dough..a new painful experience! I wouldn't let god massage me this brutally..oh and, less I forget, there is this tight hamstring that keeps this one leg from full extension..so that get's hammered on...amazed I'm not black and blue! Well, yes, there is improvement, how could you help not...but gee whiiz...when does it end! I know three to four months is supposed to be charm...but I so would like to pace up and down the hallway as my husband does, walk rapidly in either direction with ease! Poop! Can I walk up and down stairs with ease? Yes! Can I ride the bike for 20-30 minutes with ease? Yes! Do I look like a hooker strolling up and down the hall with this exaggerated gait...and does my husband get a kick out of it? Yes...I'm just grumbling! Thanks for reading!:wub::wub: Lissa

 

[loggon]

Lisa

Sorry but I have to tell you your post was so cute I could not stop laughing.

I just picture you walking like a hooker. :shk::hehe:

That is what this site is all about. Post and get anything and everything off your mind.

Surprised your doctor did not tell you about the extension.

My PT would tell me and my OS that the extension was more important than the rom.

So sorry you have to go through this. But you will get there with the extension.

I am 5 months out and still suffering from a lot of stiffness when I sit for a while or in the morning when I get up.

Jo says she thinks it is the IT band. So I am going to do some of the stretches for the IT band and take advil (if I can remember to) for inflammation.

But you know you will get there just hang in there.

 

[Motherofmany]

Lissa,

It does get better. Give it time. The words we all hate to hear. I'm on my second TKR. Thought the first one was going to kill me, but alas I survived and after the second the RTKR is doing just fine. It still has room for improvement, but it will come with time.

The gait (as they call it) will improve. I felt so foolish having the remind myself heel-toe, heel-toe over and over. I thought I would never get that rhymn out of my head. I had improved and then here I am again reminding myself to stand straigth and walk with heel-toe. I will be two week tomorrow and already am walking without assistance around the house. Keep crutches handy for any outings. They are so much better than that aweful walker. It was okay for the first week, but it is so clumsy and awkward, I was glad to ditch it.

The pool helped me the most with my walking the last time. Just walking forward, backwards, sideways did wonders and helped me not to limp. Try it and see if it helps. Until then, strut your stuff and let hubby get a chuckle. Laughter is good medicine!

Blessings,

 

[lissa]

Lissa,

It does get better. Give it time. The words we all hate to hear. I'm on my second TKR. Thought the first one was going to kill me, but alas I survived and after the second the RTKR is doing just fine. It still has room for improvement, but it will come with time.

The gait (as they call it) will improve. I felt so foolish having the remind myself heel-toe, heel-toe over and over. I thought I would never get that rhymn out of my head. I had improved and then here I am again reminding myself to stand straigth and walk with heel-toe. I will be two week tomorrow and already am walking without assistance around the house. Keep crutches handy for any outings. They are so much better than that aweful walker. It was okay for the first week, but it is so clumsy and awkward, I was glad to ditch it.

The pool helped me the most with my walking the last time. Just walking forward, backwards, sideways did wonders and helped me not to limp. Try it and see if it helps. Until then, strut your stuff and let hubby get a chuckle. Laughter is good medicine!

Blessings,

Pool..are you walking with your feet touching the bottom?
Tell me more. thx! Lissa

 

[Surfsister]

My limp disappeared almost overnight. It's as if the joint loosened up just enough to allow me to extend and bend properly for a normal stride. Your gait will improve. My physical therapist worked seriously on my extension, much to the delight of my surgeon. They both knew that extension was important. I didn't. I still don't have complete extension or anything near a complete bend. However, I walk without a limp and I can live my life as I did before the surgery. (Well, I'm still dealing with the surgical pain but I'm not even taking any painkillers.)

I promise you your normal gait will return. It's going to take awhile though so stop holding your breath on that. (I almost turned blue when I did.) The torture you're going through now is worth it. All that we go through after surgery, in my mind, is worth the many subsequent years we'll have with a bionic joint that works.

P.S. I go to massage therapy to work on my IT band and scar tissue issues. It definitely helps. I think we will eventually improve my ROM. If we don't, that's fine too. It's just nice to have someone working on this joint and the supporting muscles.

 

[Jamie]

Lissa, my challenge was also my extension. It took months of kicking my leg out when I walked to really get it back. Even after a year and a half, I consciously try to hyperextend when I stand still....I can't, but I try just to be sure I'm extending as much as possible. Good luck...try and be patient....it will come.

And I agree with you that extension can be every bit as difficult and painful to get going as flexion.

 

[Motherofmany]

Pool..are you walking with your feet touching the bottom?
Tell me more. thx! Lissa[/QUOTE

Yes, I walk in around 4 foot of water. Chest high is the best if you are going to exercise.

Basically you walk back and forth across the pool. Forwards, then backwards around five times to warm up. Then you can go sideways doing the grapevine. This helps with the IT Band.

After you get warmed up, you can do marching with knees high and then lunges across the pool. The water takes all the pressure off the knees and helps with your gait.

I also did leg lifts front, back and sideways holding on to the railing. You can do squats and forward and backward kicks. It is harder to kick backward toward your rear.

This will give you a good workout without stressing the knees. Another exercise that was good was to use ladder to do step ups and down. You use your arms to lock around ladder and step up and down with your TKR foot. This helps loosen the knee. As you get better with this, you can try the second step to get more ROM.

Many of these exercises are found in the total knee book. I was able to gain 20 degrees ROM the month I committed to the pool everyday. I also lost my limp and was able to walk tall and erect again without limping.

One more thing that Kelly always told me. When you get better, use a few noodles under the arms in the deep end and run like crazy. Your feet aren't touching the ground when doing the running exercise. Helps to work out stress and frustration.

I also liked balancing on the side of the pool and doing the scissors, criss crossing my legs and kicking like you do when swimming. Eventually you can work up to the backstroke with the frog kick and regular swimming.

Hope these few simple exercises help. Great workout without the pain and lots of fun too!

Blessings,

 

[ship4]

Lissa,
Keep up the good work as it will be worth it in the end. I remember standing in the shower at about 3.5 months out and realizing I locked my knees. I hadn't been able to do that in 12 years! What a great feeling it was to realize I was actually standing up as straight as possible with locked knees!
You will too, just keep working at it......

 

[Judles]

Since when does a hooker walk with bent lnees??? Tjanks for the laugh! Now feel good, Lissa!!! ((;0)

 

[Judles]

Since when does a hooker walk with bent knees??? Thanks for the laugh! Now feel good, Lissa!!! ((;0)

 

[lissa]

Pool..are you walking with your feet touching the bottom?
Tell me more. thx! Lissa

Yes, I walk in around 4 foot of water. Chest high is the best if you are going to exercise.

Basically you walk back and forth across the pool. Forwards, then backwards around five times to warm up. Then you can go sideways doing the grapevine. This helps with the IT Band.

After you get warmed up, you can do marching with knees high and then lunges across the pool. The water takes all the pressure off the knees and helps with your gait.

I also did leg lifts front, back and sideways holding on to the railing. You can do squats and forward and backward kicks. It is harder to kick backward toward your rear.

This will give you a good workout without stressing the knees. Another exercise that was good was to use ladder to do step ups and down. You use your arms to lock around ladder and step up and down with your TKR foot. This helps loosen the knee. As you get better with this, you can try the second step to get more ROM.

Many of these exercises are found in the total knee book. I was able to gain 20 degrees ROM the month I committed to the pool everyday. I also lost my limp and was able to walk tall and erect again without limping.

One more thing that Kelly always told me. When you get better, use a few noodles under the arms in the deep end and run like crazy. Your feet aren't touching the ground when doing the running exercise. Helps to work out stress and frustration.

I also liked balancing on the side of the pool and doing the scissors, criss crossing my legs and kicking like you do when swimming. Eventually you can work up to the backstroke with the frog kick and regular swimming.

Hope these few simple exercises help. Great workout without the pain and lots of fun too!

Blessings,

Hey, these look terrific! I can't get this downloaded so I can print . Can you retrieve it from your computer and send directly to my email? [email protected]

 

[Motherofmany]

Done! Hope you are able to print it out now. Best wishes for a complete recovery.