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TKR Over doing or not doing enough?

Hi! Checking in to report positive progress! Swelling is subsiding, stairs are becoming easier ( of course, that is relative) and I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving with my children and 5 Grands! Yes, it DOES finally turn that corner and slowly, but surely gets better!
 
Hi @Thesoutherncook glad to hear someone is in the holiday mood. I think I have a case of the post-vacation blues. My pocket of persistent swelling also seems to be dissipating but those dang stairs continue to be a bugaboo. I am tired tonight, so resting, which is really not my true nature. It really is funny how one day I can be feeling strong and healthy and ready to conquer the world, and then the next day I am disappointed and worried that I am not doing better. My poor husband, he doesn't have a clue who he is waking up next to from one day to the next.
 
Forgive me if you've already addressed this, but how is your "old" knee? Mine old one has been getting inj for 5 yrs. It is not in very good shape. My PT says that is what is keeping me from going downstsirs comfortably. I have managed the last 4 steps going down to my studio. I hold onto the handrail for dear life BUT Ive found that I CAN do it. The old guy hurts and has less ROM than Buddy. Go figure?
 
My nom-TKR knee is bone on bone but it can still handle a lot. It is my TKR knee that is vey painful walking down stairs. I hope to get some answers tomorrow.
 
Wanttobebiking said:
I can only do it if I touch my toe first and do a weird twist with my hip.
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I thought it was just me. I even described it the exact same way. I lost that weird hip twist a few weeks ago. This morning I walked down the stairs in my home normally without much pain, about a 2. Time and patience.

Wanttobebiking said:
so I am opting for a glass of wine, a movie, and a little icing tonight!
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sounds like a good choice.

Wanttobebiking said:
I started the stationary bike in PT and made my first revolution sometime during week 2 post-op.
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Wow! I'd have to check my thread but I'm sure that my 1st full revolution was into my 10th or 11th week. I was able to do lots of other stuff before I could go round and round. My PT said it made a difference because I was on a recumbent bike, which was easier to mount but harder to rotate until I had really good flex.
 
Had my first (second-round) PT appointment today and the verdict is in. My TKR leg and core need strengthening and stretching so I can handle going down steps normally without pain. (She determined this in the eval a couple of weeks ago, but I guess I didn't fully hear or believe her.) The muscle on the inside of my leg is very weak (visibly atrophied), and my IT band is irritated. She thinks it could take 6 to 8 weeks. ARRRGHH!

She gave me one new exercise (leg raise with foot rotated outward) to add to the other two (clamshells and bridges). She also did some deep tissue work on my IT band. When I left PT at 8 weeks everyone thought I was doing so well and could just strengthen my leg and core through the recreational activities that I love, biking, swimming, walking, curling, and Nordic skiing. That obviously has not worked.

The good news is, I had been worried that scar tissue or adhesions were the problem, and when I asked her about that she seemed a bit amused because my ROM has always been so good, about 134/0 since about 8 weeks post-op.

Here we go again.
 
134/0! Wow! I was told that I would not get greater than 120 but a friend who is a PT, said technically I could get back full ROM. I wonder if it has anything to do with the type of replacement - don't know how many there are - but of course, the biggest factories probably my body type, condition, and the amount of effort I put into recovery
 
@kayak59 I was lucky, I never had much swelling so my ROM progressed nicely, but I iced nearly round the clock for the first four weeks (glad it was summer). I was about 118 at five weeks. My OS told me my implant would max out at 137, so I do know implants play a role, but I think the biggest factor is swelling. I am happy with my current ROM and don't want to reach the max, at least not right now, so I don't do any ROM work anymore. Wish I could say the same about my strength!
 
Well! Now you know and you have a plan for strengthening. Soon you will be running up and down those stairs!
Ok, sooner than later! You inspired me to give going down a try. I waited until the last 4 steps ( in case I fell, it wouldn't be too far!) Holding on for dear life, I did it! See..... We are all making progress!!
 
i have just a slight pain in my knee doing the stairs going down but most of the problem for me is because I had problems going down stairs before and I also am really frightened to do it more than a few steps at a time.
 
I don't do stairs well yet. Some I can manage okay, but my basement stairs are horrible. Going down is worse than going up. My non-bionic knee is so weak and swollen that it's almost impossible to do anything.

Less than two weeks until I go full bionic. I should start counting the hours.
 
@Thesoutherncook Yay!!! Good for you for trying the steps. Did you have pain going down the steps? Every day I try three steps on my back landing just to see if the pain is improving, which it hasn't yet. And last night I dreamed I was doing my PT exercises. I think I am really ready to conquer this.

@newlybionic I had trouble too before the surgery but no pain, or really minor pain. this pain is so much worse. Guess we will all have to work on this together. Hope you enjoy your day off today. Be nice to my twin knee.
 
@Clipless I have the DuPuy Attune rotating platform. My OS calls it "the sports knee." He also says that it is likely to last the rest of my life (I am 62) and that the new spacers are also lasting longer. Anyway, that is what I am hoping for. The clicking that I was having seems to be going away and the numb part of my knee is waking up. All in all, my knee is starting to feel more normal. What implant do you have? Do you have the same type in both knees?
 
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I have what I call the "old lady knee", the Zimmer Persona. My doctor never discussed prosthetic differences and I think about that everytime I want to run (for a bus or an elevator or my grandkid or whatever). I don;t know if it was insurance or his decision based on my age and weight or his preference. He is the Chief OS and I guess he thought he'd know best for whatever the reason. The reason he gave after the fact was the wide sizing choices available.
 
I didn't even think about what 'knee' I would get but I believed my doctor would choose the best one for me and the one he had the most experience with. I plan on putting it to the test as I become more and more active. I want to get some part of my life back that I've lost over 10 years ago.
 
My OS chose for me, too. I wouldn't have had a clue at that time what to even look for in an implant. I also think it is important to let the OS do what they are good at. And my doc must feel comfortable with the implant he used. He did a great job, I think.
 
@Wanttobebiking Do you really want to only say IF? Are you getting around better overall? Is the pain better than before the surgery? So we both have some problems going down steps. I'm sure it will come with time. If not we're no worse off than we were before with the steps and better overall. Our twins are ok.i think it's the supporting people (muscles, tendons and ligaments) that have to straighten out. In a few more months we will have this behind us. Even after what I went through I am even thinking about when I could do the other one!
 
newlybionic said:
Even after what I went through I am even thinking about when I could do the other one!
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<=== I'm beginning to think that's the real barometer. Forget about ROM and sleep and crying jags and endless pain on scales that drive one crazy and numbness and itchy scars and IT bands and stairs and bicycle revolutions and baker's cysts ... would you do the other?
 
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