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TKR MoragsMum's Recovery

MoragsMum said:
I have been completely thrown - in the very best way! - by finding Bonesmart today. Your stories are both harrowing and immensely helpful...My TKR (first) was on November 8th, and I've had two PT sessions a week since then. MY PT came to my home for the first 6, and on the second we went outside with a single crutch, later progressing to no support at all, and walking along the street for far too long. It left me with a swollen knee, and very exhausted. At the time I asked him what was he trying to prove, it's not as if I'm in some contest for the toughest 73 year old. I live in a very crowded city, with uneven pavements, people on bikes and found the whole experience terrifying. Yesterday I met with the OS, and told him it seems more within my capacity to walk gently around the block a couple of times a day rather than one arduous forced march. Happily, he agreed with me. Then today the PT placed 3 kgs weights on my knee for ten minutes!! Long story short, I am so heartened by everything I read here, and at our next session will start taking PT back to something more in line with what I've read here, a bit of teenage rebellion... Cannot thank you enough for all your input, and for this brilliant site. Wishing us all smooth recovery through more moderate PT!
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That is brutal.

I'm a carer so had no choice in 'getting on with it. I had months pf prehab with my physio to get ready for this and because of it, I consider my rehab to be going along at a great pace [no aids around the house after three weeks etc] and I got a metaphorical Gold Star from my surgeon [a pure knee man and very well known in his field] at my six week post op consultation. He signed me off with the rider 'you know where I am if you need me' and my physio became my lead professional.
I have two x 1hr sessions a week with her, half an hour on the treatment table and half an hour in the gym.

Bike, rower, leg press and leg curl and then icing. She encourages me without overdoing it and she makes sure I have my crutches with me for two reasons
a] it warns others, and myself, I'm not 100% stable yet
b] they are there to keep me upright and with no undue pressure on either hip or knee.

As she said, gait wise, walking badly without crutches or walking well, with them? No contest.

Use whatever walking aids which help and remember, you aren't 'there' to impress anyone with your walking prowess. The only person to impress is yourself and if you have a tumble because of uneven ground or a not yet stable joint you will not be impressed at all.
I am way ahead apparently in the rehab stakes but I still take my crutches [can't be bothered with a walking stick] with me outside the house, even though I don't need them most of the time
 
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You are doing so well! Great to hear about that sensible and moderate programme. I'm wondering if the PT facility I attend is even capable of toning things down...will soon know. If not, then will go elsewhere.
 
I can walk without crutches but don't outside the home. Its safer to walk with aids and in crowded places it warns people to give you space. I can't imagine what it would do to my knee if someone pushed past me knocking me off kilter. I have had a couple of set backs in the 7 weeks since my op but with advice from this site accepted that I had done too much and I rested. My mobility and some strength just appears to come back on its own without any real pushing e.g. I can lift my own leg onto the bed and I have not done straight leg lifts since week 3 due to them causing me too much pain - my leg just knew when it was ready to lift on its own. I have loads of other success examples but I do still have areas of concern and must also say that I am no way near in the clear but I am trying to learn patience from my bonesmart friends. Good luck with the rest of your recovery.
 
Welcome to BoneSmart @MoragsMum! Let me share a little about my own recovery. Prior to my TKR I was aware of the BoneSmart gentle approach to recovery as opposed to rigorous PT. I was lucky enough to find the site before my TKR. Even though I knew about the BoneSmart approach my OS was all about PT and "whatever ROM you have when your scar turns silver is all the ROM you will ever have." He was the trained surgeon that has done many, many replacements, he must know what he's talking about right? So off I went to my first visit to PT, about 2 weeks out from TKR. The next day when my knee was more swollen and I was in much more pain I opted for a BoneSmart recovery. I never went to another PT session. That was one of the best decisions of my life. Not only did I suffer less pain, but my ROM has continued to improve over two years. I've been hiking over rough terrain for good distances, scuba diving, and just living a happy active pain free life with more ROM than I ever thought I would have again after many painful years. I've now had a hip replacement with equal success following a BoneSmart approach. You don't have to suffer needlessly to have an amazing recovery. It is a long journey but if you stick with the BoneSmart approach the journey will be less painful and you will still reach the same final destination. Ultimately you get to choose the path, the tough rocky road through painful PT, or the BoneSmart path through the meadow with the pretty wild flowers. :flwrysmile:
 
This morning I had my first post-BoneSmart physio. I told the PT that either we take a gentler approach or I would look for a different setup. "Of course we can do that!" he said, although I was mentally ready for arguments. So there we were, and it was a very different couple of hours. Thanks again to all you great helpful people who introduced me to a kinder philosophy - that's already life-changing. Onwards and upwards!
 
FCBayern said:
Welcome to BoneSmart @MoragsMum! Let me share a little about my own recovery. Prior to my TKR I was aware of the BoneSmart gentle approach to recovery as opposed to rigorous PT. I was lucky enough to find the site before my TKR. Even though I knew about the BoneSmart approach my OS was all about PT and "whatever ROM you have when your scar turns silver is all the ROM you will ever have." He was the trained surgeon that has done many, many replacements, he must know what he's talking about right? So off I went to my first visit to PT, about 2 weeks out from TKR. The next day when my knee was more swollen and I was in much more pain I opted for a BoneSmart recovery. I never went to another PT session. That was one of the best decisions of my life. Not only did I suffer less pain, but my ROM has continued to improve over two years. I've been hiking over rough terrain for good distances, scuba diving, and just living a happy active pain free life with more ROM than I ever thought I would have again after many painful years. I've now had a hip replacement with equal success following a BoneSmart approach. You don't have to suffer needlessly to have an amazing recovery. It is a long journey but if you stick with the BoneSmart approach the journey will be less painful and you will still reach the same final destination. Ultimately you get to choose the path, the tough rocky road through painful PT, or the BoneSmart path through the meadow with the pretty wild flowers. :flwrysmile:
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Thank you so much - what a truly inspiring message, and I'm so happy for you. I'm wondering if a critical mass will be achieved - with all the baby boomers in need of joint replacements - will the word get out that a different approach to physiotherapy is needed? Will it be taught in physiotherapy courses?? Hoping so!
 
MoragsMum said:
I'm wondering if a critical mass will be achieved - with all the baby boomers in need of joint replacements - will the word get out that a different approach to physiotherapy is needed? Will it be taught in physiotherapy courses?? Hoping so!
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That would sure be a welcome change!
 
Something surely needs to change regarding physio treatments for TKR (vs. other knee injuries and trauma).
 
All progressing well at PT with the now calmed-down physio. What a relief! A new query - for the past three or four days, after no matter what morning activity, I have lunch and at the end feel so exhausted, and have to pop into the recliner for an hour and a half's nap (to avoid falling asleep on the plate!). Is this familiar to any of you? And if so, does it pass? TIA
 
What you are feeling is what we call the energy drain. Your body is working hard to heal the trauma of this surgery. It can last for months. It’s very normal.

(Jacycey and I posted at the same time!)
 
Update! I gave my PT his marching orders last week, and started a daily regime of BoneSmart exercises. Feeling much more optimistic! Meanwhile my toe/heel walk kicked in, and the intense after-lunch fatigue ended. One thing I got from the PT was his explanation for the dried up peeling skin on my surgical leg - he maintained it's the skin's reaction to the trauma it sustained, which sounds feasible. Wishing everyone Season's Greetings and a great New Year of recovery and health
 
:yes!: Good for you, you will feel so much better for it, exercise slowly at your own pace, your knee will thank you for it in the future.
Not sure if you can purchase in the US but Bio Oil is superb on the skin, it deeply hydrates and also fades the scar, my 2019 scar is barely visible. Next week once I've removed the band-aid, I too will start using on my right knee.
Wishing you continued success into 2022 :merry-xmas-smiley-emoticon:
 
Yesterday I had a wonderful surprise. Had an appointment with a new PT, whose method exactly matches BoneSmart’s. Her first words were – look at you, with a TKR on November 8th and you came here by car, walking without a stick. (I do have one, but thought better not to bring one, as if to prove my progress, silly me). What she meant was that I'm overdoing things, in spades. She says I should be taking it much more easy, resting a lot, always using a stick outside the house, just focusing on stretching and very gentle exercise. It was like feeling you’d gone to heaven! She massaged my knee for half an hour (more heaven) and then said I would need to just use a skateboard and do very gentle bends & stretches. Wow! She asked me for the BoneSmart URL, and another one which I found tremendously helpful in terms of information before and after the TKR. She lectures on physiotherapy at a local university teaching hospital, and I felt so glad that she’s passing on her beliefs to her students. When I asked her about the aggressive approach, she said she believes that it’s all the fault of ortho surgeons who somehow transmit their warped approach to the PTs. Bottom line, I’m feeling even more optimistic with this thumb’s-up for everything I’ve learned from all of you!
 
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