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TKR Now two years post op and still recovering from nerve damage

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Margaret, good luck on thurs. I hope you can get though this without a MUA.
Let him know about the lack of sleep as well. When that happens to me I am worthless when I try to do PT.
 
Thanks. The tape only stayed on for 24 hours, just to see what affect it had. Don't think anything during the day, nothing when doing exercises, so just no pain when straightening overnight.
 
Hi Margaret

I hope your meeting with your OS goes well and you get some answers on your issue. I shall be looking out for you and keeping my fingers crossed for you :thumb:
 
I'm convinced that if I don't get enough sleep the night before, I can't do a good job with my physical therapy the next day. It's happened twice now. I still need that good night's rest.

Good luck with your appt. tomorrow!

Dori
 
Hi, appointment with surgeon went well. He said there's not much fluid around the knee.

He measured flex at 92 and wasn't concerned - said will uprove for a year or more.

He said my muscles are contracting well and he believes my quad lag will improve as my strength builds up as there is some wasting and the inner range that I'm having trouble wth is the first to waste. He said my knee is coming up straight, so not concerned about the lag. He is a great advocate of using an exercycle for improving quads. He advise me to take it easy going down stairs or down inclines until the quads are stronger. He's not an advocate of intenstive strength training and said just keep doing what I'm doing and it will all come together.

Extension he was please with. Its at zero. He had meaured it in Aug 2010 and it was 10 and he said it would have been worse than that by the time of surgery in Dec 2011.

I see him again in 3 months.
 
..... and just one more thing. At home to get on the plane is steps, not airbridge. And I managed them holding onto the stair rail on one side, crutch in left hand and walked up about half of them normally. Felt absolutely wonderful! Then I tried it on another set of steps just with rail on one side, and blinking knee gave way as usual. Ah way, can't always work!
 
But it's better --right ? Moving in the right direction !!
 
Hi Margaret

That all sounds good from your OS and I'm sure you will improve more with time and patience. My leg has wasted away and I know I will have to put in a lot of work to get the muscles working as they should - we shall get there :thumb:
 
Thanks Jo. Things just seem to have stopped. Getting no worse, getting no better.
 
I just read through the last 20 or so posts. (Hi Margaret - we had TKR at about the same time) I also wake up with pain when my knee is bent, takes awhile to work it out - am going to ask my PT about taping. She did leg taping early post-op to relieve the swelling and bruises, maybe she knows about this. Another thing I noted was issues with inner side of knee. My first knee (July 2011) was coming along nicely - occasional pain on inner aspect of knee but would go away, not worried. Told PA at OS about it a couple of times and she said to watch it etc. However, yesterday, extreme discomfort came on rather suddenly --- I went back to my walker for the evening -- this is an "over 7 month-old" knee. Anyone know possible cause? It is a little better this AM, but still there. I will guess -- maybe have been putting too much pressure on it by favoring it after RTKR? Overexercise? (happened after a short but ordinary walk) Is this a sign of something serious?
 
Hi, I have found ,by following patients on Bone Smart and doing a lot of reading that the "rubber band" feeling is quite normal. I had bilateral and myy right knee has always been ahead of the left in recovery, and feels 99% normal after only 5 months. I have been told, and believe, that the tight band feeling, in my left le, is due to remaining swelling on the inside. I believe it because when I am off of them, and put them up, even for a short time, this feeling subsides a great deal. A month ago this included my left thigh muscle, on the front, and is now gone. Every day, every week, I see any "weird" feelings in my knees disappearing. My surgeon said I have to allow a year before they will feel normal, and like they are part of me. I believe him. As promised to my grandaughters before I got my "new knees", I actually went to the Mickey's Very Merry Christmas at the Magic Kindom, at three months out, and walked the entire time and was completely amazed; tired and sore for a few days but thrilled. Hang in there, do the exercises and therapy; very important. BLTKR 9/13/11.
 
Hi Margaret

I really understand how you feel about standing still in your recovery. I did exactly that for two or three months at around 4/5 months out from the TKR, a long while after yours, you are still early days yet. I couldn't get passed the stiffness and tight band feeling for a long time, and just when I seemed to be accepting that I might always have it, I went a few days before realising that I hadn't thought about it every day. It hadn't gone, and to a certain extent I can still feel it, but its ten times better that it was, and still getting better.

My ROM improved so much in the last 4/5 months and I feel still has some improvement left in it, so I continue to exercise and think positively, and thank God for helping me through it. If I can continue to try to help others in the same situation and circumstances than that is a great feeeling! :yes 4:
 
Thanks so much Aretha. It does help to know others have taken time too. The ROM I have accepted will take time. I'm seeing physio only once in 3 weeks now so that we can see longer term improvements and I keep up my home exercises, exercycling and walking 1.5km each day.

Quads continue to be a problem. I can see them working, but they just aren't strong and won't pull my leg up straight. Physio says up to 30% lag. Now thinking about acupuncture.
 
...and on a much lighter note, I went to choir practice last night. Our first one since Christmas. I lasted the full hour and a half, spent most of it sitting with my foot resting on another chair. We're learning Wade in the Water and Autumn Leaves. So I'm really happy that I got to first practice, but sad that I decided I can't audition to be a Nun in Sound of Music that our local Showbiz is putting on in May. I just feel I wouldn't cope with the rehearsal schedule. Ah well, can't have it all.....
 
NHKneeLady said:
.....yesterday, extreme discomfort came on rather suddenly --- I went back to my walker for the evening -- this is an "over 7 month-old" knee. Anyone know possible cause? It is a little better this AM, but still there. I will guess -- maybe have been putting too much pressure on it by favoring it after RTKR? Overexercise? (happened after a short but ordinary walk) Is this a sign of something serious?
Click to expand...

This is probably related to your activity and I wouldn't worry about it at this point. But....do slow your activity, take some pain meds (over the counter is fine) and ice/elevate if your knee still hurts. Soft tissue injuries still happen...just like they did before you had a knee replacement.
 
Today I increased the tension on my exercycle and managed 4 minutes on setting 3, which is the setting I used to ride on before my TKR. Rode total of 12 minutes. Knee aches a bit more than usual, but nothing much, so I'm feeling quite pleased with myself.
 
Well done Margaret :thumb: I am now using my exercise bike and it feels great. It makes me feel almost normal again :th_heehee:
 
Hi Margaret - This seems to be a time for trying to move ahead. I tried a new machine in the gym yesterday -a kind of leg press - it wasn't a good idea :DOH:- but not disastrous --so back to the bike for me, too. I also am moving the tension up slowly which seems fine.Think I'll stick with the combo of bike, walking, and swimming -it works. Good for us at 10-ish weeks !!:yahoo:
 
Hi everybody, now just over 10 weeks since TKR.

Last night I walked one mile with no crutches. It felt good. Hubbie said I wasn't limping, and looked very normal.

Putting weight on it when I get up in the morning is painful but has eased after I've had a shower and done first set of exercises.

I don't know what my ROM is at moment, but I think it has improved over this past week, but only slightly. I think its swelling in the back of the knee that restricting it. Anybody else experiencing this?
 
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