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TKR Phrog's Great Expectations - Downgraded a Little<

KarriB said:
expect it's what you're doing at PT that's causing your discomfort and once you're done and get on living your life the discomfort will fade
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Oh, how correct you are, KarriB.
Thank you! I finished physical therapy a little over a week ago and today, at week 13, I have noticed that although I am on my feet more, I am hurting a whole lot less! It might just be that I am at week 13 and turning a recovery corner on the pain front, but I have a feeling that removing the strength training exercises has made the difference. I've spent the last two days preparing for a month long visit from my daughter, her husband and my two year old grandson so I have been on my feet for a great deal of cleaning and organizing -- and showing my husband where to move one piece of furniture and put another! ;-) And yet, although I've been sore in the evening and stiff in the morning, I've had less severe pain and am sleeping better. Hooray - I think I have found the tunnel before the end of the tunnel.
 
If you are so inclined, there's a place for strength training, but it's not in the in the first three months of recovery. I'm happy to hear you're experiencing less pain in your daily life. Walking is great for new knees so that's why you're feeling so much better at this point. Also, 12 weeks is when my OS said I'd feel up to returning to work, so it can be a turning point for some.
 
If you're like me, you'll find that just naturally doing more daily activities as your knee feels up to it and a very gradual increase in exercise will get you where you're going in terms of strength.
 
Unless you're an exercise lover strength work probably isn't necessary. My PTs did strength with me at 4-5 months because my leg became very weak with the infection and imbolizer use for so long. So just continue with your daily activities as Kneeper said and I'm sure you'll be fine.
 
That's all I did, just the daily activities and my strength came back just fine.
 
Thanks, everyone. A little sigh here - after a few more days of being on my feet quite a bit, I am having quite a bit of burning discomfort in my shins and my thighs (maybe a 4 on pain scale) and it hurts significantly to get up out of a chair with the pain being sharp on sides of knees (even the one not operated on - though the surgeon said it will eventually need to be done so I expect pain there). Not sleeping - taking 2 650 mg tylenol and 3 ibuprofen at night and in the morning. As always my range of motion is good. The good news is my East Coast family arrived safely in California yesterday afternoon and today I've been able to sit with my feet in my grandson's wading pool or in the gravity recliner in the yard and enjoy watching him play. Had so hoped to be ready to get down on the floor with him to stack blocks at this point, but I am not letting these dang legs interfere with my fun in having my daughter and her family here!
 
Enjoy having your family with you, but look after your knee as well. Just over 3 months is still a bit early for being able to do everything, but there will be another time, for sure.
 
Getting up/out of seats was awkward and sometimes painful for a while. Remember this can be a year long recover.
 
phrog you and I are experiencing so many of the same things on this journey to recovery. My thighs are giving me fits also. I honestly thought something else was starting to go wrong.....lol. When days are good I will tell myself to go at it easy.......never do. My nights are then restless and my knee tells me I've over stepped my bounds. I'm slowly learning not to fight this recovery. An easy pace wins the race so they say and I do believe this is so true with knee surgery. Hoping you have a fabulous time with your family!! Hang in there....you've got this!
 
Enjoy your company, especially that sweet grandson of yours! Just don't overdo! It can sneak up on you really quickly!
 
Yep - I'm in heaven enjoying my little guy - and trying to do less. Slept better last night once I got to sleep. Legs were sure still burning in the evening. @ChrissyP, we are definitely experiencing some of the same ups and downs. The temptation to do too much is large after so many weeks of inactivity. Thanks for the encouragement, everyone.
 
My OS told me the burning feeling were nerves reattaching. It was certainly aggravating, to say the least, but began to disappear after about a week. Ice helped it a lot.
 
I had my 3-1/2 month check up with the surgeon last week. X-rays look great, range of motion is 132 flex and I can completely straighten my leg. My incision is still red and the physicians assistant tells me that's because it is still healing. I was asked if I am exercising at home since I finished physical therapy two weeks ago. I said I haven't been doing anything except about 10 minutes a day on the exercise bike because of pain and stiffness when I do. The surgeon told me I am responsible for my own recovery and that he wants me to join a gym and do lots of weight bearing exercises. I told the physicians assistant that I know I shouldn't be but I am impatient. It still hurts more to get out of a chair than it did before the surgery and as I've resumed my normal activities I have more heaviness and stiffness than I did before surgery. I also still have a lot of soreness at night and am not sleeping well. I am still alternating Tylenol and Ibuprofen and have started having some heart burn problems despite taking RX for it. My husband tells me that I am walking faster and farther than I was before surgery and that my stair climbing has improved. I need to focus on that improvement and shake off the impatience. I have to go back in three months - the surgeon says he wants to make sure I joined a gym and am doing the exercises. I haven't decided about the gym. I am thinking of paying for use of the gym equipment and pool at a local senior community where they give arthritis water exercise classes. It is less than a full gym membership and I think I might be more likely to put a bathing suit on in that surrounding than in a full service gym. Onward and Upward. This too shall pass.
 
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I don't understand why your OS is insisting that you join a gym. Your ROM is fantastic and you already doing better than you were before surgery. Your strength will come back as your activities increase without working out in a gym. I know the Y has some good senior programs in the pool that could help you without using the weight machines. I think they will do you more harm than good. The water is less stress on the body, but you can over work very easily. So, if you go to a pool, be very, very careful. I went at about 4 1/2 months and just walked a little bit. That night and a few days afterwards my knee was really angry. It was at least another month before I went back.
 
I don't get it either. My OS was very happy with my biking and swimming. Now I'm walking (when it isn't too hot) and my PCP is happy with that. Not one ever mentioned joining a gym. Both docs have said that biking and swimming are great for the joints. I think you should do what you're comfortable with.

Remember this recovery can take up to a year, so it's normal to have aches and pains. I also found it difficult and painful to get up from a seated position months after surgery. As a teacher I was up/down a lot, I always took a deep breath before hand. Not sure when that pain diminished, but there's no pain now at all.
 
Thank you, KarriB and sistersinhim. I've been feeling down since I saw the surgeon last week (and sore today after walking a lot yesterday) so I've been having kind of a "poor me" day. Still not sure what I'll do about the gym, but your thoughts are very much appreciated. If I join one, I definitely will not be doing fifty reps on a leg press machine!! I'm hoping for something that will motivate me to keep moving, but not to overdo. I seem to have only two speeds sometimes - too little or too much. My daughter and family are still here and I'm going to keep doing the exercise bike and grocery shopping and excursions to the local museums, etc for the two weeks until they leave and decide after that about the gym. It was 109 F here today so walking outside isn't really much of an option but we have been doing indoor walking most days. I'll definitely take your advice not to overdo in the pool and to do only what I am comfortable with. Again, thanks!!
 
Anything you can do at a gym, you can do at home. Some people just like, or need, the structure of keeping a regular gym routine or like the variety of equipment. I like that my gym has a pool, because I don't want the job of maintaining one. It also has yoga classes. But you can get the same exercise benefits at home.

The exercise bike is a great piece of equipment. My mother swears the bike is what got her to her wonderful TKR results. She used it every day. I plan to do the same. You and I sound very alike in that I, too, am a too little or too much kind of person. But from what I see, your ROM is better than most people's, so why is your OS pushing that gym? Does he envision you as an athlete?
 
General fitness is a fine thing, but you don't have to join a gym or go nuts with exercise for that. My OS did tell me that as a general rule keeping your muscles around the knee strong is helpful but (as you said) you don't have to do leg presses for that.
 
I've been thinking about the OS wanting me to join a gym and my own reticence to do so for the almost a month since the last time I've been on here. At four and a half months, I'm still quite sore with daily activities like walking, stair climbing and the 20 minutes I am doing on my exercise bike most days. It is still so hard to get out of a chair and I think I have to do something! I made my decision today and joined the senior living facility wellness program which allows non residents like me to pay a fee to use their wellness center. The attraction is the heated pool and spa, the five levels of classes, the clean facilities and the idea that everyone is over 60 and will not be looking at my thick thighs and saggy arms. :heehee: It's also five minutes from my house. I had a wonderful month with my daughter and her family visiting, but it's time to do something about my weak legs in a more organized way. The instructor who showed me around made her best guesses for which classes to do. I am starting in the lowest level arthritis water exercise class which meets three mornings a week and the second level "Tone Up" strengthening class two days a week. She says we will adjust up or down according to how I do and that we are encouraged to do only what we can with out pain. Hoping this works!!
 
Sounds great. I have a gym membership that's floundering these past few months. Once the kids start back to school, I'm excited to get back there for the pool, recumbent bike & nu step machine and the jacuzzi.
 
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