TKR MikePP's Recovery Thread

MikePP

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I, too, am new. Had TKR on my left knee on June 1, 2020. Am struggling quite a bit ... especially with ongoing pain. After reading notes in this forum, it appears my PT person has been doing all the things one shouldn't. I talked with my surgeon's nurse this morning, and she suggested I stop PT and continue doing home exercises in moderation. I canceled my remaining PT sessions.

My flexion, with help, is in low 120's, but my extension is 5 to 7 degrees. I'm very concerned about the latter. If the extension doesn't improve in the next few weeks, I've been told I'll be stuck with a limp.
 
HI, @MikePP .I have copied your post from the June Sunbeams thread and started this recovery thread for you, so we can advise you without disrupting the other thread. Please continue to write about your recovery on this thread .

it sounds as if your recovery is going well, apart from you having a rather pushy PT person.
It's that pushing at PT for fast results that is the cause of your pain. Your therapist is having you do more exercise than your knee is ready to do.

I agree with your surgeon's nurse, that you should back right off the exercises and let your knee recover.
It's your knee and you have the right to do that.
Saying no to therapy - am I allowed to?

Try not to worry about those Range of Motion (ROM) numbers. There's no need to rush, because ROM can continue to improve for at lest a year post-op. Your flexion is excellent and your extension is not very far off straight.

It's not at all unusual for extension to take longer to achieve than flexion does. That's because those big muscles and tendons at the back of your leg have to be stretched slowly and gently. You'll get to 0 degrees of extension, I'm sure.
The exercises suggested in his article may help:
Extension: how to estimate it and ways to improve it
Just take it gently.
 
Here are our recovery guidelines, to help with your recovery:
Knee Recovery: The Guidelines
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
ice
take your pain meds by prescription schedule (not when pain starts!)​

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

5. Try to follow this

6. Access to these pages on the website

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 the 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 the member’s history before providing advice, so please post any updates or questions you have right here in this thread.
 

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