TKR October 6, 2016 2½ weeks post op'

[little red canoe]

Also prescribed twice a day for three days post surgery.
It took the pain away before surgery and made me relaxed
Very relaxed. The surgery was a breeze. On admitting I said I was in no pain. The staff smiled and said "everyone says that"
I went to a facility that does 2000 joint replacements a year among 5 OS and has their own floor waiting room and operating suites. It's all very planned and seamless

 

[little red canoe]

well.. four hours on feet today.. and 60 miles of driving.

I feel normal coming on soon.. I did 2 miles according to Fit Bit on mostly level ground and all feels very nice. No hotspots. My gait feels purposeful and strong now.

There is an end to the tunnel.

Not expecting another replacement. The left knee has never hurt.

 

[sistersinhim]

Fantastic!

 

[little red canoe]

Aagh.. furious. I broached cutting back on PT to the PT and she said I needed more ROM ( today at 3 and 120) and without PT wouldnt get it. I said I would rather spend the day hiking and she said walking doesnt do much for the knee but its good for the heart.

The upshot is the stuff I do in the PT is the stuff I do at home and can do in the gym now as in the leg press ( with no resistance and the bike).

Its getting expensive.. She indicates months and months of PT. She is gentle and nice but I just don't understand what value I am getting. Insurance does not cover all of it. We have a high deductible.

 

[newlybionic]

You don't need to continue with PT. It is your decision to make. I gained increased range of motion by adding in activities that need to be done day to day. It's still a little early to start with leg presses. So ditched PT and save up your money and take your shiny new knee for and vacation!

 

[little red canoe]

Actually the leg presses felt great. I do like to ski..

 

[KarriB]

You're a great patient, love going to PT so of course they want you to continue. My dad stopped PT after 2 weeks because his insurance didn't cover it and he could do everything at home that he did at PT, excluding how they pushed on his knee (which they did the day he said he wasn't returning) . Quitting PT didn't hurt him at all.

 

[referee54]

I had three reasons to go to out-patient PT--I had gait issues that needed to be resolved; I had a plan to get back on the baseball field to umpire, so there were, later on, some "sport-specific" exercises that I did; and I enjoyed the camaraderie with the PT's and the other joint-replacement patients. Due to my wife's insurance, out-patient PT for me was, luckily, rather inexpensive.

 

[Celle]

Aagh.. furious. I broached cutting back on PT to the PT and she said I needed more ROM ( today at 3 and 120) and without PT wouldnt get it. I said I would rather spend the day hiking and she said walking doesnt do much for the knee but its good for the heart.

You don't need the PT. There's nothing wrong with your ROM at all. An extension of 3 will soon improve as long as you lengthen your stride when you're walking. And she's completely wrong about walking. It's the best exercise of all for your knee.

Of course she wants you to keep going. To let you leave before you have the ROM numbers she wants will make her look bad - and the PT facility will lose the money your insurance company is paying.

I'd just leave, without any discussion. It's your knee and your choice.

 

[sistersinhim]

It's your knee and your money. Why waste it when you can do the same things at home? Your ROM is great for less than 2 months! You don't need anymore PT. Your knee will continue to improve ROM on its own. Just using it in your daily life is PT.

 

[referee54]

I had great success gaining extension by using the exercises listed---I would lie face down on the bed, use a heating pad for my hamstrings, and then dangle my leg over the edge of the bed. I would slowly add light ankle weights over time---and I would do this exercise to both legs several times a day---and then I would ice afterwards. That really helped me loosen up my hamstrings and get more extension. I do not think that you need PT for that at all.

 

[little red canoe]

Well today I woke with pain of 7 and even with Leftover hydrocodone it's not going away.
I can't extend past 20 easily
I haven't done much except two hours standing yesterday

The pain is knifelike and on the medial anterior of the knee
It's neither hot nor swollen. The pain is exactly what I sought relief from in a TKR
Flexion is about 80 with a twinge on the outer kneecap
I'm trying to loosen up with a pedal exerciser

 

[little red canoe]

I'm wondering if it's the house slippers

 

[sistersinhim]

Oh my goodness. Have you done anything different? Your knee is still an infant and will rebel with any change or added activity. Is icing helping? For me, that works better than Oxy. I hope you can get that pain much decreased and enjoy this Thanksgiving Day! Did you do too much preparation for today?

 

[little red canoe]

No over two days I made two pies.
Icing is constant makes it worse or no effect
I worked on extension yesterday by putting foot on ottoman. I could only tolerate two minutes. The medial pain started then. But only when I extended. Now it's constant
Wish I had never had this done

 

[ks1960]

Oh no!! I am so sorry to hear this. I seem to have the same issue with the extension (mine is also at 3). The exercises for extension are the only ones that hurts, and they leave me with that shooting medial anterior pain (which nothing but oxycodone will touch). I am pretty sure that was my extension before surgery, so I am just not worrying about it anymore.

I do find that gentle stroking massage helps a little.

 

[little red canoe]

My OS told me to expect pain o both the medal and lateral aspects as he did a huge amount of scraping.
But why is it worse now than it's been ?
I don't have oxycodone. Just hydrocodone
And I have even been comfortable for a week with no meds

 

[chsed]

It sure didnt hurt as much as when my good leg slipped out from under me and bent my bad knee to at least 145.. dont want to do that again!

Oh boy, Little Red Canoe, I have done that very thing more than once! Most recently, just days before my TKR. So I have a healthy fear of doing it again. Thankfully I am 4 months out from my surgery, and no falls.

Listen to everyone here and be patient with yourself. I mistakenly thought I'd be feeling pretty darn good by 6 weeks....what?!? Nope, it didn't happen. But now at 18 weeks I do feel pretty good and the knee is much better than pre-surgery, but I can see that I still have room for improvement. Patience is a virtue.

 

[chsed]

Just read that you aren't doing very well today, I am sorry! If it helps, you are still early in the process (and boy did I hate hearing that when I was in your shoes--but it's true), and I definitely had those days where it seemed like I took a giant leap backwards in progress. It's terrible! I did learn on those days to just let the pain dictate some rest and TLC, and it always seemed to do the trick.

 

[sistersinhim]

I bet the the leg on the ottoman did it. I started my extension exercises by laying on my tummy and hanging my legs and thighs off of my bed. The after pain was awful for a few days. Are you icing behind the knee? It sounds like it has been really stretched, thus causing pain. I had much more problems with extension exercises than flexing ones. That is one tender place back there and it seems to pull on both sides of the knee. The best results I got for extension was just walking with long strides. I used the walker to do this cause I was very unsure of my balance and strength. I hope you can find something to ease your pain. I have never had hydrocodone so I don't know if it would work better for me than the Oxy. Get plenty of rest and elevation the next few days.