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TKR One year kneeversary

As I recall I was able to shower (trying not to get the knee very wet), pat dry with a clean towel and then put a fresh bandage on. But check with your surgeon's office.
 
OUTSIDE!
With help of PT and DH I descended our front steps and walked the length of my block and back this morning. THEN the same dynamic duo monitored me climbing the stairs to the second floor of my house where I learned how to get in the tub and position self on bath chair. Once I recover from that flurry of activity I'm going back up and taking a shower! My ROM has not changed but I am so pleased with this increased mobility that I could not care less!
 
:wow:am so glad you are doing so well! It's calming me because you are just a week+ ahead of me, also left knee. I too am wondering how I will manage with pain, since I know I am quite sensitive to pain and I bruise easily.
Wishing you continued healing, and all the best support. Your dynamic duo sounds terrific!:cheers:
 
Thank you vw54 for the kind words. I really am taking it pretty easy per the BS guidelines and It seems to be working. You are going to be ok. I made this quote from the painter Frida Kahlo my mantra in the days prior to surgery: "At the end of the day, we can endure much more than we think we can."
 
Wow, Keefsmom, just Tylenol on Day 3 sounds miraculous to me! You rock, like someone else named Keef, lol.
 
Pheebs my son is named after him! Keith Richard curran! However the real keef would have downed all the Percocets 10x over by now!
 
Wow! I'm amazed by your progress. It's tiring but oh so fulfilling to walk on your new knee, isn't it? As muy OS told me, "It's yours now. You can't hurt it. So make it your own." You are making it your own.
 
@keefsmom, I am literally LOL! I had some ginger-ale that didn't quite get down the gullet but it was worth the mop-up!:loll:
 
ISO courage/encouragement to exercise
I need to be better about the ROM exercises but every time I try to do heel slides or even gentle bends the tightness around and above the knee makes it feel like the area is going to burst. So I avoid them. Who wants to kick my butt a little today? I've been at 70 flexion since Last Thursday..extension showing some progress and not as difficult. Love walking but that's not enough is it?
 
For the first couple of weeks... and still at times... when pulling a heel slide back it would feel as if my knee/incision would burst. I felt the stretch. MY OS assured me nothing was breaking those sutures, but it FELT like that. I just pulled back until I felt discomfort, then held that for ten seconds. Release. Extend. Do it again.

Walking may be enough. I'm not far along enough to provide good advice on that, but... I walk every day, a little farther each day, and I think it's the best exercise of all. Yes, I do some heel slides and work on extension still (though I'm close to being done with that), but I think the walking has done the most to loosen the stiffness of my joints and get me closer to my goal of getting rid of my walker. I figure walk as much as you want/are able.
 
Yes know the feeling! I just made myself a modest schedule alternating the two types of flexion and extension exercises I'm doing. When I look at it written down it seems less daunting. Sometimes we just need to articulate the problem to get a little clarity, right?
 
Your knee is going to have swelling at this point even if it doesn't look bad. So it will feel tight when you do the heel slides. I did a few in the morning and a few in the afternoon but didn't go nuts. I also wasn't walking as much as you are at this point. Time on your feet will also increase the swelling, which makes bending more difficult.

Recovery from this surgery takes many weeks for everyone, it's just the fact of the healing process, though we each recover a little bit differently. No need to do everything in one day. :wink:
 
keefsmom said:
ISO courage/encouragement to exercise
I need to be better about the ROM exercises but every time I try to do heel slides or even gentle bends the tightness around and above the knee makes it feel like the area is going to burst. So I avoid them. Who wants to kick my butt a little today? I've been at 70 flexion since Last Thursday..extension showing some progress and not as difficult. Love walking but that's not enough is it?
Click to expand...

keefsmom said:
Yes know the feeling! I just made myself a modest schedule alternating the two types of flexion and extension exercises I'm doing. When I look at it written down it seems less daunting. Sometimes we just need to articulate the problem to get a little clarity, right?
Click to expand...
Don't overdo the exercising! It's really not important at this early stage. All the exercise you need right now is walking to and from the bathroom and kitchen.
It's far more important to let your knee heal and help the swelling to go down. So, do lots of rest, ice and elevation, and take your pain medications on schedule.

It's not exercising that gets you your ROM - it's time. Time to recover, time for swelling and pain to settle, and time to heal. Your ROM is there right from the start, just waiting for all that to happen, so it can show itself.

Your knee will continue to bend more as the swelling goes down.
There's no need to rush to get ROM (Range of Motion), no deadline you have to meet, because ROM can continue to improve for a year or more after a TKR.
Myth busting: the "window of opportunity" in TKR
 
Good advice kneeper it really doesn't appear swollen at all maybe that's why I'm thinks my I ought to be able to do a bit more. I am not doing anything to the point of pain though and very modest number of reps. After the 2 pm session I slept for 2 hours so the knee and body definitely talked back! I also need to be kind to the left knee which is bone on bone too and has been a champ so far!
 
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