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TKR Over doing or not doing enough?

I traveled at post-op week 11,12, 13,14, 15 and 16.

Once you check in go to the gate and ask them for a pre-board. I told him I had knee replacement surgery and needed a bulkhead seat and every flight I got one. Having to sit for more then 15 minutes at that time just killed me, so the bulkhead seat was a godsend.

I can now sit longer with less pain and stiffness afterwords, but I have a couple more trips coming up in February so I will probably still ask for the pre-board.




TKR 08/26/15

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I can go downstairs normally, but still have pain at the end of the day across the top of my knee and at the back of my knee. I still get "pinched" at the back of the knee sometimes when bending it in bed. I know that some people have had problems with their "spacer" being too big and limiting ROM, but sometimes I wonder if the spacer in my knee is too small as I can hyper extend my leg. Also sometimes the knee feels a little loose in the joint.
 
Yay, WTBB!!!!! 4 weeks has made worlds of difference for me. I first flew with my OS permission, definitely not his blessing, at 4 weeks post surgery. I have flown several times since then, busy times. It's not been easy but was certainly an improvement over my pre-surgery trips.

Also, to add to Ironclm, I used the wheelchair service in the airport and that sped me through security and saved El Jefe for the other travel activities.
 
@Kssii Hi nice of you to drop by. I feel the same way about my spacer but I am hoping that as my knee gets stronger that feeling goes away. I also have some clunking, which my OS said could be due to the spacer, but that a bigger spacer would have limited my ROM. My ROM is 13o or so and I wouldn't want it to be much lower, so he was probably right. Months ago you told me how to get in and out of the bathtub, but I never tried it until a couple of weeks ago. Took my first hot bath, which was heavenly.
 
How did you get in and out of the tub???? I have a jacuzzi that I would love to get in but am not so sure about getting out... it might take a crane! :rotfl:
 
I used a small plastic step stool that had a handle in the middle. Put in tub and sit down, shinny off it and just pull the handle up and put it to one side until finished with bath. Then put it back behind you,use your arms to shinny back on it and stand up from there. I am to the point now that I just slide down the side of the tub to get in and when I get out, I roll over onto my good knee and my trk foot, then holding side of tub, stand up.
 
It's a good idea to try a "dry run" in the bath first, to make sure you can get in and out. It's much less embarrassing to be rescued from the bath when you're dry and dressed that if you're wet and naked. :heehee:

I'm not sure how you'd manage that with a spa, though.
 
Thesoutherncook said:
How did you get in and out of the tub???? I have a jacuzzi that I would love to get in but am not so sure about getting out... it might take a crane! :rotfl:
Click to expand...
It was one day after skiing. I was cold and I thought, what the heck. I'm skiing, I'm biking, I'm curling, but I'm too afraid to get in and out the bathtub. What gives? So I filled the tub with hot water and got in. Got out by myself too.

I really do find that worrying about doing something is worse than actually doing it. But my personality requires that I spend some time worrying about it first. :scare:
 
You will gain the confidence to ride. Your body will let you know everyone is different. I cycle a great deal and know I was back doing 20-30 miles at 4 months but took me a good year to take on hills and get my average back up. I did incorporate biking on the trainer with my PT starting at 2 weeks post went slow starting at 5 min morning and night adding minutes each week so by the time I was able to get outside I was ready. (I was strong goinging into that surgery). I had to mentally not consider the falling. I was more concerned falling with the horse than bike.
I am 8 weeks out on this knee and have worked up to 30 minutes at one time. Knee feels good in fact it helps swelling. I don't push too hard but encouraged that I will be outside by mid March.
Just saying I think you would benefit from having bike on trainer. Does great things for the mind and body getting back into the saddle.
Best of luck to you
 
@violinone I have been back on my bike now since 8 weeks post-op. I am now 6 months post-op. Like you I was also strong heading into surgery. I am not biking now, though, because it is winter in Minnesota. I do use the stationary bike at the gym a few times a week. I like that better than the trainer. When I put my bike away for the winter at 4 months post-op I was riding 25 miles and climbing highway overpasses. I miss my bike but I am skiing (cross-country) now instead. Thanks for stopping by and sharing your story. I am sure you will be back on your bike Sooners well. Check out the Cycling Club For Us Thread under the community social forums. Hope to see you there! It is nice to know there are so my cyclists with TKRs still cycling.
 
Hi, today is my 7-month anniversary of my TKR and I am so sick of this recovery. I am still having trouble going downstairs. My OS, PA, and two PTs all say it is my IT band. My knee pops and hurts with each step down, well maybe not as much as it did a couple of months ago but there is still a lot of discomfort. I just want to feel normal!

I saw my OS January 26 and he said everything looked great. He showed me the x-rays which looked fantastic. He even took an X-ray of my kneecap tracking and that looked great, too!

Arghh! He said the soft tissue issues can take a year to 18 months to resolve. He ordered kinesiology taping and Graston. I have had two treatments and I am not sure whether it is helping.

On the bright side, I can do absolutely everything else, not always as gracefully as I would like but doing it nonetheless!

I even did the whip kick in my stroke improvement class. What a fiasco but I did it!

Guess I just want to be done with this rehab.
 
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I know what you mean! I am almost 10 mths out. Yes, I can do most things--some definitely better than before surgery. However, I am still not pain free. By the end of the day, I get aching over the top front and back of the knee. I had a friend that said it took her closer to 18 mths. to quit noticing her knee than 12 mths., so we just keep soldiering forward!!:loll:
 
They tried Graston on my for the first knee and I thought it made things worse. just imho
 
@kneeper what did they use Graston on with your first knee? Was it your IT band, and how did it eventually turn out? From what my PT said they are no longer using Graston aggressively. I am not sure what to think. It doesn't hurt but I am not sure it helps either. I do think the kinesiology tape is working some.

@Kssii thanks for the post. I hate to hear you are still having pain but it is good to know that I am not alone.
 
They did Graston on my medial internal scar but only a few times. Seems he got bored.
 
They used Graston on my quad for my first knee, supposedly to break up scar tissue. It hurt like the dickens. I think it was tendonitis, not scar tissue, and the Graston made it worse. It took a long time (years) to settle down.
 
Hang in there, @Wanttobebiking ! You're on the home stretch now!!! :yes: I still have difficulty going down stairs.. holding on for dear life. And some days I have more pain than others.. but as you said, you are seeing progress, albeit slow, in that area. You have experienced lots of other progress in "absolutely everything else". I know how you feel about wanting to be "done" with the recuperation. Believe me!!! I just try to remember the big picture and how I was in SO much pain and SO limited with what I could do before surgery. I would do it ALL over again. In fact, I was thinking the other day that had I known I would feel this much better at 6 and 7 months, it would have been a good thing to know back in the VERY early days of recovery when I was wondering if I would ever be able to do anything the right way again.. Just think how we'll feel even 4 months from now. - And it will get here, probably faster than we think! :) :friends:
 
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