TKR On the other side of surgery

[DodgyKnee]

That's good news! You and I seem to be following similar paths. It took me to about 8 weeks to get to 90° but it was transient.

Now at 9 and a narf weeks, I'm getting it consistently (or very very close to). So don't be upset if it comes and goes.

 

[uva55]

I read you update, you are doing great, your ROM is really great. I feel the bike really helped me with loosening up the knee. You asked when will you start walking faster, I still try not to go too fast, I am very afraid of falling and injuring the knee, I am sure my fears will go away some day, but now I am still super careful, in Cuba many of the streets and sidewalks are in very poor condition and I sprained my TKR foot and that was being careful and walking slow...yeah I know how to have fun, LOL

Keep up the good work!!!

 

[Joyfull61]

That's great news. If you'd been able to do those five PT sessions a week, you'd probably not be doing as well! Your OS is hard core.

 

[thecoll]

Starting week 9 post op:
Woop woop....got to 95 ROM today at PT and 6 rotations on the bike which is different then my recumbent exercise bike. All the therapists gave me high fives. I was so excited as I had the toughest therapist today and she said I am doing so much better. She measured my ROM while I was laying on the table with my knee bent. But we also hung my leg off the table and she gently pushed it back, no pain and she said my ROM looked about 100 doing that. Excited to see my OS tomorrow as he wanted ROM improved or threat of MUA again. Then I got a call from OS office stating they are going to be closed tomorrow due to Hurricane Matthew. Thanks alot Matthew!!! Now appt is next Wed, more time to work on bending. Hard to believe I only have 4 weeks left of my FMLA and then back to work. Mixed emotions.

 

[julesm86]

Great report!!! You're coming along really well! Praying for all of you in FL with Matthew there~~stay safe!

 

[greatlakes]

Great report, so happy for you. But also worried for all of you in Florida. Take care, Colleen!

 

[memgirl]

So glad to have found this forum. I am 9 weeks post-op and feel like my recovery has been so slow. Reading these posts are making me feel more "normal". Will continue to follow!

 

[newlybionic]

@memgirl Feel free to start your own thread where you can post your experiences and ask any questions that you might have,

 

[newlybionic]

Congrats on the 95! And you did that without going to all the PT sessions your OS wanted. Taking it a little easy helps bring down the swelling so flexion can increase.

 

[thecoll]

Starting week 10 post op:
I had 3 PT appts this week and we worked on stretching, walking with a bend and stair climbing. The therapist did not measure my ROM at all this week but I would stay it is still 90-95. I would love to be able to say 100 but it does not feel like it. After doing PT and home exercises I would swell a little but had more tightness. I have a very bad habit of lifting my hip and trying hard to keep it down when at PT. Since my appt with my OS was canceled last Fri due to hurricane, I saw his Physician Assistant on Wed. I have seen her many times the past 6 years so I am comfortable with her. She did not check ROM but checked my extension and said it was good but not to forget to work on it and not just bending. She released me to start working from home only not to work on site. Also to continue PT for 3x's week for 3-4 more weeks to work on getting ROM to 120. Excited as no threat of a MUA. Has anyone else out there experienced increased ROM after 10weeks? If so how did you go about getting it? Doing daily chores around the house are getting easier. The health care system I work for requires staff to have flu shot so they were giving the shot today at the cancer center I work at so I went and got it so I do not lose my job. I sneaked in so coworkers did not see me in shorts but saw 2 who were impressed with my walking. Felt more positive this week especially reading others posts who are further ahead of me talk about how they are so much better and resuming life. At 10 weeks out I feel I have aways to go till I stop thinking about this new knee so much.

 

[newlybionic]

That tight feeling you have is caused by swelling. There is very little space in your knee and even a little bit of fluid there can cause that feeling. For me I found that once I was doing many of the normal things of life I stopped PT and exercises. I just did some stretching and worked a bit on extension. Once that tight feeling was gone I wound up being able to flex to 130 degrees. Are you still icing and elevating at all? I still find myself doing that especially after a long day on my feet.

 

[KarriB]

I gained ROM up to a year after my TKR when I realized I could squat in the water. I agree with Marian, that tight feeling is swelling inside the knee that may not be visible to you, unless the tightness is above the knee. I found that riding the recumbent bike was the best thing for my knee. It helped to loosen it up, it was always the first thing I did at PT before working on my gait exercises.

 

[thecoll]

Are you still icing and elevating at all?

Yes, I am still icing and elevating. I tend to elevate without ice so perhaps I go back to icing more. So the tightness is caused by swelling, I did not know as most of the time I can not see the swelling. Looks like backing off on PT and exercises will help, just afraid to lose any ROM I do have.
The tightness is mainly to the outside of the knee just past the incision.

 

[dianehelen]

You sound pretty good, still progressing, and less frantic about Mua threats. Im glad you are clear to work from home. I think that will give you some feeling of normalcy, something we all crave. I still have that tight feeling too. I think that will probably last a while.

 

[Celle]

Has anyone else out there experienced increased ROM after 10weeks? If so how did you go about getting it?

Sure! ROM can continue to increase for a year, or even longer, after a TKR.
More than a year after my last TKR, I noticed that my ROM had increased spontaneously.

I didn't do anything to increase my ROM, except for plenty of Rest, Ice and Elevation. I just let time pass, and did my normal activities of daily living, because it's time, not exercise, that increases ROM.
Your knee needs Time to heal, Time for swelling to go down and Time for all your soft tissues to get over the trauma of major surgery and start working efficiently again.

There's no such thing as a window of opportunity, within which you have to increase ROM.
Myth busting: the "window of opportunity" in TKR
ROM: it's worth the wait for ROM
ROM: it's never too late to get more ROM!

So the tightness is caused by swelling, I did not know as most of the time I can not see the swelling. Looks like backing off on PT and exercises will help, just afraid to lose any ROM I do have.

Your knee can still be swollen inside, even when you can't see swelling. It's a pretty tight space inside there and it doesn't take much extra fluid to stiffen up the joint.

Yes, backing off PT will help, as will increasing rest, elevation and icing.
You won't lose the ROM you already have. I know that @KarriB had her leg immobilised for weeks and it didn't impeded her ROM.

I'll give you these articles again. Perhaps re-reading them will help to reassure you and help you to understand that there is no need to rush to get ROM.
TKR: work “smarter” and not “harder”
TKR: Evidence shows that less really is more when it comes to exercising!
TKRs and our fast food society
Life in the slow lane
Knee recovery - Lose the Work Ethic!!
Post-operative exercise – the BoneSmart view

 

[KarriB]

Yes, I was not allowed to bend my knee after the washout/spacer exchange. With the TKR a month earlier I approached PT like a madwoman! I am very competitive (come by it naturally) and was going to recover and do better at PT than anyone. I had a sheet under my foot for pulling it back 5 minutes twice a day along with the other exercises. I wasn't in tons of pain, because I took oxy before PT , but even the oxy couldn't mask the pain when they wanted me to do squats 2 weeks out. But when the infection came along, then the surgery, my OS said the soft tissue was so compromised he wanted me in an Imboliser for a week. A week grew into a month, but I had NO swelling at all that month. I had also kept the leg elevated the majority of the time, but didn't ice as I couldn't feel it through the brace.

When the OS said I could slowly transition out of the imbolizer he prescribed non-aggressive PT, no sheets to pull on heel slides, just gently back and forth about 2 inches at first. My knee was stiff, no doubt about it and I wouldn't suggest not bending at all to anyone. But a month after that I was able to get a full rotation on the bike and went back to work part time 2 months after the 2nd surgery. My OS said that when I get the left knee done it'll be non-aggressive PT again. Maybe there'll be something to look forward to when I finally make that decision!

I think backing completely away from PT might be a good decision. Just ice and elevate as much as possible for a week or so, then continue with daily activities. I will tell you, I was a wreck about not bending my knee, I was worried I would have a peg leg the rest of my life. Every time I saw my OS (8 times that month) I asked him if my knee would ever bend again. He always said the same thing, "your knee will bend when we tell it to bend" and it did.

 

[thecoll]

@Celle Thank you for the reading material and reminders.
@KarriB wow, can not imagine being immobile for that long but encouraged to know ROM can continue with time.
Today I have been out if it. Feeling achy all over and cold, which I am never cold. Perhaps it is from the flu shot I got yesterday. Regardless, I have rested, ice and elevated most the day having done zero exercises. I can see a difference when I walk it feels tighter today thus not walking properly. See what tomorrow brings.

 

[KarriB]

Two weeks ago I had a fever and nasty cough, the cough is hanging on still. Annoying, I thought I'd be healthier not being in a school exposed to all those germs.

 

[greatlakes]

Hope you feel better, Colleen!

 

[thecoll]

I felt so much better today. I did roughly 15 minutes on the recumbent bike this morning, this afternoon I did some bending exercises and some small chores, all in all not bad. Tomorrow I start working from home...mixed emotions. Good thing is I can get my 8 hours in anytime I want within the 24 hour period. Which means I can take time to rest, ice and elevate if needed. I will be sitting at my table using dual laptops so I know I will need to elevate at the table as my foot swells when my leg is down for a period of time.