PKR PKR Success - 1 yr out.

[Celle]

It does sound as if it's a tendon. I used to have one that "caught" as I reached a certain degree of bend. Gradually, as my knee healed and the swelling went down, the tendon stopped catching and I'm not aware of it at all now.

 

[Josephine]

Maybe @Josephine can provide an explanation?

I'll do my best!

That area covers a structure called the medial femoro-patellar ligament. It often gets badly inflamed when ill-advised exercises are undertaken. Pes Anserine and MPFL pain

Remember the advice I gave you regarding exercising/PT? Did you follow it?

Sitting heel slides, 5-6 repetitions, 3-4 times a day - heel slides are an easy thing to do badly and these are badly! You should read this Heel slides and how to do them properly but more than that, leave them for a few weeks.
Long arc quad, 5-6 repetitions, 3-4 times a day - also known as straight leg raises. I'll give you a tip, once you can do them you don't need to do them any more!
Quad sets, 5-6 repetitions, 3-4 times a day - I think once a day is plenty for this
Prolonged flexion stretch, 4-5 repetitions, 3-4 times a day - here again, too many. I suggest 2-3 once a day

No PT at this time yet. That may change after Weds - well don't let them give you too much to start with and on no account allow anyone to push on your knee to get more flexion - very bad!

 

[NavyGunns]

Thanks all of you sistersinhim, Jockette, Celle, Josephine, for your thoughts and recommendations!

Josephine may have a point regarding overdoing it be it exercises or just plain ADL since I’m also transitioning back to work this week. Since this area has bothered me from the beginning and is really the only area that I have any significant pain.

I decided this morning to call my OS, another reason for doing so is that I will be on travel out of town the last three weeks of June and felt if I need to have this looked at, better get it done in the next week or so. Spoke to one of the nurses, while she thought the problem was nothing to worry about, she did agree it wouldn’t hurt to have my OS look at it before I have to travel.

Got an appointment two weeks from today. If the area improves before then, I can always cancel. Don’t really think it’s anything serious, just want reassurance for peace of mind.

NG

 

[NavyGunns]

Great PT session today (last for this week). After warm up on elliptical and some light massage and stretches , got ROM measured (0 - 120). Rest of session involved balance and strengthening exercises. Other than my little problem area previously mentioned, no pain or discomfort anywhere. Feel really good about my progress so far. If I could get rid of that little pinch / sting point, the only “pain” I’d have would be general achiness and minor stiffness. Guess I can’t complain much though for only 5 weeks out.

 

[Celle]

Do be careful with the strengthening exercises. We usually recommend not starting those until about 3 months post-op.

 

[NavyGunns]

@Celle, I definitely will. As long as the knee feels good I’m game. My PT always asks if the knee feels good and to stop or back off if I either feel pain or get excessively stiff or swollen.

 

[NavyGunns]

The last two days my knee has definitely reminded me who’s the boss! Thursday I over did things way more than usual and even with taking it easy Friday, sleep eluded me the last two nights. Didn’t feel like doing much of anything today, but my 3 yr old granddaughter kept me from spending the entire day in the recliner feeling sorry for myself. She even talked me into going for a short walk which actually felt good.

To help sleep tonight, I may either go to the store and pick up some Tylenol PM or at least see if I have some antihistamine in the cupboard (since that’s what they use as a sleep aid anyway). Haven’t tried that yet, worth a shot.

Having neighbors over for a Memorial Day cookout so need to get out of this “funk” before then. Sleep would be a big help.

Next few weeks will be a real test. Back to work full time in the office the next two and then have a business trip to California the second week of June. Wondering how that 3+ hr flight will go. My OS was not overly concerned (I’ll be 8 weeks PO by then), just warned me to get up and move around some during the flight. I’ve got an aisle seat so I can stretch out my knee if needed. Hoping my tolerance for being on my feet a lot improves by then too. Guess I’ll find out one way or another.

 

[Marguette]

Re antibiotics prior to dental work. As I understand it, the evidenced-based protocol was changed in 2016 when it was determined that prophylactic antibiotic treatment did not provide any benefits. Both my surgeon and my dentist follow this protocol and told me about it.

 

[NavyGunns]

Another long night with very little sleep and what sleep I did get was hit and miss. This time not due to my knee but due to a bad headache that wanted to become a migraine. How does one get a headache when taking pain meds (Tylenol and Motrin) every 4 hours? I am so sick of not getting a full nights restful sleep!

I can handle the pain and stiffness, but this is frustrating beyond belief. I even took a sleep aid pill last night. It definitely made me drowsy and I wanted to sleep, but, alas, no go

Headache still lingering this morning, of course the caffeine in my coffe seems to be helping to take the edge off. Can’t very well drink some at night, I’ll never get to sleep then!

On a good note, I think I’m back in good graces with my knee today. Pain is minimal and stiffness better than it has been. Need to get the yard mowed (again!). Wonder if that might be pushing my luck?

 

[Jockette]

Need to get the yard mowed (again!). Wonder if that might be pushing my luck?

Be daring, hire someone to mow your lawn for a while! You’ll be contributing to someone who needs the money. It won’t be forever. And if they don’t do it perfectly, it’s just grass. It’ll recover.

 

[SusieShoes]

Well, have you considered doing the lawn in stages? A little today. Just the front yard maybe? Find out if the knee is okay with that. Do the rest tomorrow. It's all right to negotiate with your knee. Until it's recovered fully you will be doing a lot of that.

Sorry to hear you're still having trouble with sleep. It's the single most frustrating part of recovery! Even more than that the recovery is long and sometimes boring. If sleep isn't on our side, it just feels like the world is against us. This too shall pass. It really shall.

 

[NavyGunns]

@Jockette & @SusieShoes, thanks for the encouragement. Greatly appreciated.

Got the entire yard done. Took me almost three times longer than normal, but my knee and I are in agreement it wasn’t too bad (I think). I’ll find out tonight, but for now, I’m resting out back on the deck, feet up with a cold iced tea! Ice will come in a bit when I go inside to watch some golf ️ !! At least I got it done with no pain, minor stiffness, but overall feels good.

Lack of sleep is the most frustrating part of recovery. I didn’t have that trouble following my abdominal surgery, so was surprised with the difficulties following PKR. Can’t last forever though.

 

[katchmo]

Honestly, if it wasn't for Ambien, I would probably be certifiably insane right now.

 

[kneeper]

Congrats on getting the grass done. Relaxing with is just the thing. Perhaps you will snooze while watcing golf. I hope you can take a day off your feet tomorrow or at least until your guests come.

 

[NavyGunns]

@kneeper, definitely planning to relax tomorrow (for the most part). Guests don’t arrive until after 3:30. At least don’t have anything planned that requires a lot of exertion.

Didn’t get a nap in, part of me is afraid that doing so will make sleep even more elusive. Since I’m back to work, trying to get back onto as normal a schedule as possible. Napping whenever I have the chance won’t help achieve that. If I was still on medical leave it would be different. Maybe tonight will be better. Headache is gone, so that’s a plus!

 

[kneeper]

Glad the headache is gone. I know what you mean about napping. I was a little concerned too about sleep and going back to work. Sleep is weird in this recovery. I didn't really find napping if I needed it really messed up my overnight sleeping, I just naturally napped less and less over time. I don't know that you can force yourself to get on a normal schedule. I'd say if you happen to doze off while resting, go for it.

 

[NavyGunns]

Hi everyone. Today was supposed to be my last PT session but it looks like I’m going back for two more next week. My PT says I’m doing great and he was expecting to release me today, but because of the ongoing issue I’m having with sharp pain to the medial side of my knee cap, he want to see me next week. We avoided any activity that has been activating it (mainly heel touches and any motion that stresses the quads (like going down steps). The pain has gotten quite worse the past few days and has kept me awake most nights.

My PT did have me walk down a flight of stairs while he watched. He thinks my knee cap is not tracking quite right due to residual inflammation on one side and that is irritating a tendon/ligament that runs through the area in pain. He spent a lot of time massaging that area to help reduce inflammation and he then put tape on either side. The tape stays on for next 2-3 days. He says it should help with guiding the knee into its correct tracking mode. At first I didn’t notice any improvement. However I’ve noticed that the tape feels like it has tightened up some and the pain is not as sharp when going down steps. Might be on to something. We’ll see.

I still have my appointment with my OS for next week. Hoping he’ll confirm nothing to worry about. Once I get rid of this sharp stinging pain I’ll be essentially pain free!

On a good note, my PT says my ROM is one of the best he’s seen after only 7 weeks (0-122).

Everyone have a great weekend. Mine starts tomorrow

 

[kneeper]

Glad the tape seems to be helping. You might avoid the stairs as much as you can for a while to let things settle down a bit, and then start back slowly.

 

[Smythe89]

Hey Guns- sleep eludes me too most nights. I stopped elevating and had a great night and thought that was the key. Wasn’t Anyway, my sleep pattern wasn’t great to begin with so who knows. Did your OS take post op X-rays at 6wks or so? I had my initial post op X-ray in the recovery room but I’m scheduled for another round at 6 wks post op.
Congrats on getting the lawn done. I had a ridiculous week of being on my leg since Tuesday and I paid for it yesterday. It will be nice to go grocery shopping without having to come home and take a nap

 

[NavyGunns]

@Smythe89, my only post-op so far was at 2wks. X-Rays were taken and all looked normal. My next official post-op is middle of July. I have an appointment for next Wednesday for a quick check up before I go out of town for 3 weeks.

I’ve grudgingly accepted the fact that a good full nights sleep is not in the cards for a while. I get one decent night and then struggle with the next three. I let myself get off schedule with my OTC pain meds yesterday and paid for it last night. Had deep bone pain I’ve not experienced since the first week after surgery. Don’t think it’s due to anything I did cause I did nothing yesterday. I’ll get back on track today and see how it goes.