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TKR PolarBear60's Stryker Triathalon Journey (Left)

I'll try to summarize it, KarriB. It's a standard selection of exercises from the PT Exercise Vault (I don't know what it's really called, but everyone seems to have access to the same source.)

Exercise Name, Common Name (Description)

These are done in neck deep water for about 10% of body weight or chest deep water for about 25% of body weight

Gait -1, Forward Walk
Gait -2, Backward Walk
Gait -3, Side Step
Gait -4, Grapevine Walk (Cross one leg in front, bring back leg out to side, then cross first leg behind the other and front leg out to the side)
Gait -6, March
Gait -9 Toe Walk
Gait -8, Heel Walk
Gait -16, Heel to Buttock, Knee to Chest (My heel gets nowhere near my buttock!)
Gait -15, Kick (Lift one leg, bending knee to right angle. Straighten knee. Lower leg.)

These are done in waist deep water for about 50% of body weight.

Lower Body -7, Hip Horizontal Abduction / Adduction, Knee Straight ( Lift right leg forward to comfortable height, knee straight. Move same leg out to side, then back to midline. Alternate on other leg.)
Lower Body -8, Hip Lateral Abduction / Adduction to Midline (Lift right leg out to side. Keep knee straight. Pull leg down to start. Alternate on other leg.)

Lower Body -17, Squat (The photo shows this at chest height. I do it at waist height or lower.)
Upper Extremity Pattern -3, Breaststroke (Straighten arms in front of body at chest level, thumbs down. Pull arms apart and out from midline. Bend elbows and move hands to chest, thumbs down.) My PT said I didn't need to do these, but I like the total body aspect of it, and it's a good, relaxing cool down for the lower body.

These are also on the printout, but I don't do them.

Lower Body -24, Toe/Heel Raise
Total Body Movement -2, Lunge to Side
Total Body Movement -1, Lunge Forward
Gait -- Racewalking

If you need the instructions for any of these, just ask. I included them when I thought it might not be clear, but what's clear to me may not be clear to you. Some of these I won't do on dry land, but find them helpful in the water.
 
I do quite a few of these. I cannot touch my heel to my butt or to my chest, I try, but even my natural knee won't do that. I haven't tried the race walking. That might be fun. Thanks for typing that all out for me!
:dancy:
 
I can get my knee pretty close to my chest. Not the heel though. ;) I haven't get my heel to my butt for a good 20 years, and I don't see that changing. I do use the pool steps to help me stretch it more. I used to put my foot on a table to get it to stretch like that, but that's not happening either. The pool I'm using is a small hotel pool that ranges from 3-5 feet deep. I'm not sure how I'd do racewalking in it. I walk side-to-side for the moving exercises at about the 3.5 -4 foot level. (I'm so thankful to the owners for letting me use the pool. I'm happy to pay them the $5 for the privilege. Being able to do the squats in the water has improved my sit to stand ability by leaps and bounds.)

You're welcome. I hope the exercises help you.
 
Do be aware that it is easy to overtire yourself without realising it when doing water exercises.
Start gently with just a few exercises and work up gradually. Don't try to do the entire workout your first time.
 
Absolutely. Celle's warning is accurate. Slow and deliberate will give you better results with less likelihood of overdoing. You may want to sit on the pool steps for a few minutes before trying to get out to allow your legs to recover, too.


Jean

LTKR (Stryker Triathlon): 21 April 2015
Right Knee Arthroscopy: 25 July 2006
Left Knee Arthroscopy: 10 February 2005
 
Thanks for sharing the aquatic exercises. Will add a couple a week.
 
I just saw your post about losing weight and as someone who has struggled all my life with weight issues let me tell you what has been a life saver for me the past year. I switched PCP's a couple of years ago because I wasn't happy about how my health issues were being handled and found a doctor who recognized that my weight had to be managed before anything else could be handled. Most doctors will just look at you and say "You need to lose weight" without really giving you any assistance with that. I also knew that if I got my knees fixed that would help but that would be a slow process. My doctor recommended a drug called Qsymia which is FDA approved for weight loss. Once I started taking it, without changing my diet or exercising I began to lose weight immediately. I had to stop taking it for a month prior to both of my TKR's and I didn't resume taking it for about 3 weeks after my surgeries so I didn't really take it consistently for a full year but as of this week I've lost 70 pounds. And even when I was off the drug I maintained my weight and didn't gain which I was never able to do before. Years ago I was on the "Oprah diet" and lost 75 pounds which I gained all the weight back and then some. The only downside is my insurance doesn't cover the cost and it runs about $120 a month, but I justified that by cutting the money I spent buying fast food or Starbucks. I hope to lose another 40 - 50 pounds which I hope will come off quicker once I can start exercising again in a few weeks.
 
I personally don't understand why they can't take whatever is in certain meds that suppress your appetite and just put that in a pill? I'm working my butt off (not literally) and still lost more weight in the 4 months after my TKR when I was just sitting than now when I'm swimming, working and biking. My endocrinologist said I have no metabolism.
 
Thanks, Gigi. My doctor has been gently encouraging me to lose weight. I've even managed to lose 25 pounds twice at his request, only to gain it back. He's hopeful that once I get this second knee done, I'll have more success, but I realize it's more than just being able to exercise. There are other things as well.

I'll investigate the Qsymia as a possible option to discuss with him. My VA nurse practitioner has also discussed this with me, but after 28 years of the government hassling me about my weight, I'm resistant to listening to them. It's a mental block that I have to get by for my own good.
 
In the same boat. Have lost and regained weight over the years and have found there is no foolproof way to lose it and keep it off. Takes a lot of hard work. I had gastric bypass surgery about 11 years ago, lost 105 pounds, looked great, felt great although still needed blood pressure medicine. About a year later I had 3 life events (ran into menopause, mother dying with breast cancer, teenage daughter having a baby) and the weight found me again. I haven't gained all of it back, but most of it. Eating around a gastric bypass isn't too difficult - I don't eat large quantities of food, but tend to want to eat the wrong foods.

So far at almost 4 weeks from LTKR, I'm down 18 pounds because my appetite/sense of taste are decreased. I'm happy with that, but know as I wean down on the narcotic, my appetite will increase and I will have to WORK to keep those pounds away and hopefully lose some more.
 
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Just sat in a chair at the motel and put my feet up on the coffee table. My knee look so different. My TKR knee looked like it was hanging down, maybe even in the ever-so-slightly negative extension range. My non-TKR knee looks swollen and seems like it's mostly straight but very different from my TKR knee and not in a good way. TKR knee looks so much better.

We're been set up at an auto parts swap meet this weekend. Lots of small steps since Thursday to set up the canopies, pull out the boxes of stuff and display them for sale.

I've returned to three doses of Extra Strength Tylenol per day this week to deal with aches seemingly related to the extra activity.

TKR knee is handling well. Not so much the non-TKR. I put a light compression sleeve on the non-TKR knee last night, and it seemed to help for sleeping. That knee is unhappy this morning. I expect this to be the case until I get it done next year.


Jean

LTKR (Stryker Triathlon): 21 April 2015
Right Knee Arthroscopy: 25 July 2006
Left Knee Arthroscopy: 10 February 2005
 
Hi Polar Bear,

Glad to hear your TKR knee is handling the added activity. My OS tells me I need another TKR but this is the first I have mentioned it on Bonesmart because I don't even want to think about it! And probably won't do it for at least a couple of years. Fingers crossed.

I am looking forward to getting in the pool and doing some PT like you and swimming in a week or two.

LTKR July 13, 2015
 
It's funny how we each have different reactions to needing this surgery. While I'm not wild about another long recovery, I can't wait to no longer be held back by this non-TKR knee. Since you don't want to be doing it, Wanttobebiking, I hope you don't have to deal with it for a long, long time.

For the last week or so, I've been getting random sharp prickly feelings around the new knee. I think some nerves are reconnecting.

Also, I mentioned in another thread that I sometimes feel like the inside of my skin is sliding over something on my leg. I choose to believe this is fascia moving in a manner to prevent or break up the beginning of adhesions. If so, that's a good thing.
 
It's great that your TKR knee is doing so well and I am sure that will help you recover from your second surgery. I might have had another year left in my TKR knee but I know the other knee is getting worse so I wanted to have one strong knee to help me recover if and when I have surgery on my right knee. And bone spurs were really irritating the soft tissues.

BTW, I did buy the delivery stick for curling. That was really good advice. A much safer way to get back into the game if and when I can.

Hope your non-TKR knee is settling down and feeling a bit better. I am going to talk to my PT and get a list of water exercises I can start this week or next, you and KarriB have been an inspiration.

Thank you!
 
So cool on the delivery stick. I hope it helps ease you back into the sport. Be careful not to overdo at first once you get in the water. It's easy to feel pretty good. Until you want to get out of the pool, and your legs and body say, "No way. We want to just sit here and chill."
 
Jean, we are almost at the same point in recovery and I have been getting some of the sharp prickly feelings around my new knee too. Like you, I think it's nerves reconnecting. Sometimes they're sharp enough to make me catch my breath but only for a brief second.

Roxie
 
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