NCAA Basketball Ref

[rsmith9915]

I'm having TKR 6-19-09 in Ft Worth. My Doctor tell's me I will be ready for the up coming season. What can anyone tell me about this? From what I've read it does'nt sound like it. But he says I'm in very good shape and I will bounce back very quickly. And he tells me he would never have someone like me to stop Refereeing. His group is Texas Hip and Knee Center. Has anyone ever use these guys. I'm being sent to these guys from my hometown by my Orthopedic Surgeon. He says they are the best and he is going to use them himself.

 

[Surfsister]

As athletic as I am, I have no idea when the upcoming season begins. You're going to have to provide more information on that. I'm in great shape too. I'm told I'm doing well. Of course, it's hardly fast enough for me.

You also need to tell us what kind of movement your job entails. I know you have to run up and down the court. But what other kinds of movements will you be doing? Pivoting? Stopping quickly? What did the doctor say about this?

There will be people who say you can't do those things on your new knee. Frankly, you will be the best and only judge of that. There's a guy I've found on the internet who's running on his new knee every day. I will be surfing on mine in a few months. My doctor told me of an 86 year old who played tennis on his. I think now that many younger folks are getting knees replaced, it still remains to be seen how long we can athletically tax these new joints before we have to have them redone. I plan to be somewhat gentle on mine only because the sports I do don't involve a lot of high impact.

I'm glad you found the forum!

 

[rsmith9915]

Thanks Surfsister. The new season will start in Oct. I do have to stop, cut, and go.

 

[loggon]

Yep they are the best. There are a few doctors in the major towns that belong to the group. You have to be outstanding and their piers usually will use them and a lot of orthopedic surgeons do refer a lot of patients to them

Since everyone is different in their recovery, you really won't know until you have the surgery. But since you are in good shape mostly
the quads being strong, you probably will have a fast recovery.

When you read the post you will see how quickly some have recovered and are out and about and how some are a little slower.

Good luck and just know you will be in good hands.

I use one from this Group (Austin) but he is well know through out the country, he has pioneered in some of the procedures.

Again let us know how you do keep us posted. Jo and Jamie will be able to help you with any questions.

 

[rsmith9915]

MY Doctor is Crofford. Thanks for the infor. And I will let you know how it goes.
What is better Spinal or General?

 

[Surfsister]

Well, those types of movements are said to be hard on the new joint. Most people will say you cannot return to your job after replacing your knee. I'm not in that camp, of course. What you will certainly have to do is strengthen the supporting muscles as much as humanly possible. You may even have to wear a brace just in case.

I was told of a guy in his 30's who is on his second set of knees. He's a hardcore pro skateboarder. He has not stopped skating. He wore out his first set of knees and has moved on to a second. I was also told of a woman who was a hardcore rock climber. She, too, is now back to rock climbing. Mind you, both of these activities are considered too hard on prosthetic knees. I would guess that surfing will end up shortening the life of my new knee. I really don't care. I got the new joint in order to maintain my quality of life. For me it's all about athletics. If I can't move, I'm not happy. (You can imagine how much fun I've been throughout my recovery. I did swim today and actually kicked a little.)

You should ask your doctor if he has any seriously athletic patients to whom you can talk about this surgery. Some doctors do this voluntarily. Mine did not (but I still love him). I was lucky to slowly find other athletes with prosthetic joints, one of whom frequents this forum.

I will say this: Don't let people tell you it's impossible. For weeks I felt that there was no way I could return to surfing. The knee felt and still feels that useless for my athletic purposes. However, I'm beginning to see the signs that the knee is coming back. It will take awhile, but I'll be back in the ocean sooner rather than later.

There is a recent thread about spinal vs. general anesthesia. I had the spinal. I'd do that again in a heartbeat.

 

[rsmith9915]

Thanks again. I'm not going to stop any athletics. I've been very athletic all my life and not stopping now.

 

[Max Wallace]

I had BI-TKR in November 08 and was able to return to work at 7 weeks. Although I was riding a bike at 7 weeks I was far from being able to participate in sports. I am no where as athletic as you seem to be I was in good shape but had been sedentary for 10 years waiting to have this surgery. I am now at 6 months and I can hunt, play golf walk for 5 miles and do anything I want. I have no limitations except what I put on myself most exercising is aerobic to avoid the jarring effects of running or jumping, the doc said that that causes excess wear on the bearing. I had nerve blocks and would recommend that on the base that it eliminates the pain for a couple of days and allows you to move more without that initial pain. I am 46 and needed surgery for 10 years prior just wanted to wait as long as possible to allow the quality of the implants to improve. My recovery was relatively pain free except for PT sessions. I took very little pain meds except for before PT. Some on this site have had similar experiences but some have much more pain.

Max

 

[Gringo]

I just had a LTKR five weeks ago in Houston. I travelled there from where I live in the Caribbean. I did a lot of research before picking the doc.

I had some conversations with him and others about what kinds of motions and activities were okay and not okay with this prosthetic. Twisting motions and impacts were both on the Not Okay list. I would imagine bungie jumping would be a no-no, as well.

You will have two pieces of metal that are essentially pegged into the cut ends of your two major leg bones. From a purely mechanical standpoint, they are the equivalent of being well fitted pieces nailed in with short nails. (thats a huge simplification, but the mechanics are the same) Under normal use ( walking standing, etc.) the weight of your body and the contraction of your quads will tend to keep all these pieces together and in place. A wafer of plastic between two metal plates. Think of the plastic glider on the bottom of a chair leg. Putting weight on the chair just makes it more solid. Dragging the chair across the floor, however, puts a lot of side loading on it. Enough of that, and the little plastic glider will pull right out of the bottom of the chair leg, with a bent nail.


I know pretty much what a basketball ref does. I think if it were me I might be talking to a orthopedic guy about what you could do to protect the new joint from lateral forces. Maybe a brace just for when you were working the game?

 

[ship4]

rsmith9915,
Welcome to the forum! There are a number of things to be considered regarding how you will move and perform post TKR. Are you having LTKR, RTKR, or BTKR?
Your body will retain the muscle memory for the movements for refereeing.
I had BTKR June 18, 2008. I was a PE teacher, Women's Varsity Basketball coach & Softball coach in my mid-late 20's. Two children later, I opened my own Family Child Care Business where I continue to care for up to 6 preschool age children between 7:30 AM and 4:30 PM Monday - Friday.
As long as you have your upper body strength, and have exercised your quads prior to surgery, barring any unforeseen issues, you can be back refereeing by October.
My goal was to be able to stand, walk a distance longer than around the block, garden, and get back to downhill skiing.
I had 9 children in my home 12 days post op. I had a parent client working with me for 7 weeks last summer as I recuperated. I was on my own handling 6 children at week 9 post op. I was walking, standing, gardening, raking, last fall. I also started skiing again on February 1st of 2009. That was because the best snow is around in February, and this was the date the OS suggested..... I was 8 months post op.
I would suggest during your rehabilitation, you increase your walks to build up your stamina as well as your ROM.
The reason you hear of others going thru a set of knees quickly is they do not keep tabs on the spacer. I fully expect to keep these knee replacements for the rest of my life. I also fully expect to have the spacers replaced when they show wear and tear. My OS will take an x-ray at my 1 year appointment on 6/19/09 of both my knees. He will again take x-rays in 2011, 2013, 2015, etc (every 2 years) and when the wear on the spacer shows it need to be replaced, he will open the incision line, pop out the spacer and replace it with a new one. This way the metal implants do not become damaged. Who knows, my OS may decide I will need to have x-rays annually if it warrants it......
I wish you success, and longevity in refereeing with your new knee. My husband is a baseball umpire, assignor, and trainer here in NH. One of his fellow umpires had BTKR the year before I had mine, and he went right back to umpiring the following season! Recovery has lots to do with motivation, and physical fitness prior to surgery, IMO.
Best,

 

[loggon]

RS
The OS at Texas Orth. will tell you what you can do and what you can not do. I will tell you this, they do not like for their patients
to go off on their on doing things they have told them not to do.

So I suggest you make a list and ask you OS. Then follow their
instructions only. They also have the Physical Therapist they
prefer usuallly. That Therapist will know what and how the OS
wants them to proceed with their therapy.

I believe you said he said you will be able to return to Ref. in time for the season. These OS are very good. I do not know yours and
there are several in the group in the larger cities. If he said you
would be able todo it I bet you will. Just be sure you do what he says. They will have you up and walking the same day you have your surgery or if you surgery is late day the next morning. Moving that knee is a biggie with them.

They usually have a seminar one evening where patients come and hear one of the doctors explain in detail what they do and how they do. You really need to go if they offer this. Mine did and it was
great. They also served sandwiches, etc. because if was around 6PM
You might want to call and check on this because if they don't then the hospitals also offer this type of class.

Good luck and be sure to let us know how you are doing. Bet you will be able to return to you job for the first game. Just follow your doctors advise

 

[Josephine]

I echo what everyone else has said but I don't really have any more to offere there. However, you said general or spinal - brother, have a spinal every time! It's safer, less complicated, less side effects, better pain control for the first few hours - first few days if you have a femoral block as well! And you body doesn't have to recover from the ravages of a general anaesthetic which, let me tell you, is not insignificant! Yes, do have a spinal. You won't regret it.

 

[Gringo]

Ditto on the GA. It really, really screwed up my system. I am thinking I have lost probably fifteen pounds since the surgery. For the first two weeks I could only stomach sushi ( no kidding), and anything cold with vanilla. Yoghurt or ice cream. Milkshakes.

Just driving past a fast food restaurant in the US that sold burgers would make me nauseous. And I used to LOVE red meat. My taste was totally gone. I am not going for GA again if I have a choice.

 

[rsmith9915]

Has anyone used The Hip And Knee Center? The Hospital is Plaza Medical in Ft Worth, Tx. Dr Theodore Crofford is my OS. Was told he is one of the best in Texas.
Thank all of you very much.

 

[Josephine]

I think if a surgeon tells you that's where he would go for his TKR, you could pretty much take that recommendation to the bank!

 

[loggon]

:hehe: Well Gringo you just sold me on GA:hehe:

15 lbs:thmb:

I have always had GA never a spinal. I was under for over 6 hrs for a major surgery. I have never had a problem.

I think it depends on what they give. My anesthesiologist
met with me prior to surgery to ask questions, then he
mixed what was best for me.

Just never had a problem. I usually wake up right away
in the recovery room.

I did have the problem but am not able to smell and eat a little beef. But I have talked to several folks that have had both GA and Spinal and after knee surgery they seem to have the same problem on some foods. Mostly beef.

Glad you lost the weight that is if you wanted to.:evil:

 

[Texas]

I had GA I was fine as well. I am from Texas and heard great things about that group. I think If you want to go back to doing what you love . You can do it. Get your body prepared enough and push after and you will be fine. You Dr must have had a reason to say that........Good Luck . Keep posting............You will be fine...........

 

[Gringo]

I had gone under GA twice before. No problems in either of the other times. I met the Anesthesiologist, . We had a long conversation, while a nures was sticking this needle into my groin, as I recall.

 

[Texas]

I wasnt given a choice but that epidural actually sounds good well if they make me sleep or that medicine that you dont remember anything. You all really didnt feel anything or remember anything...no pain.............? Yes I had the nerve block in my leg but it kept coming out...

 

[Judles]

I had general as well!!! It was wonderful for me,too! My anesthesiologist had the brightest blue eyes I had ever seen! That was the last thing I saw before going in! It was a very good experience for me, Thank G-d!!!! So I guess its....to each his own!!!