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TKR Post Op all is well<

This will probably be my last post before surgery. According to what staff at the Hospital say, wifi isn't that good nor is the signal for phones. It could mean I wont be posting my updates. I shall give a full report when I return home.
Denn.
 
Sleeping is my worry as is constant pain. Our Bedroom is upstairs where I always sleep on my side, I doubt I could sleep on my back. I have a feeling that I may well get too used to my chair which is a leather Queen Anne and comfortable.
Denn
 
@denn - You might get lucky. I was able to work my knees into a fairly comfortable position and have been able to sleep on my side most of the time. And I had them both done. I use the 2 cushions I have for support. As both my incisions are towards the right side of my knees, I lay on my left side with the non-incision side of knees supported. Just be sure to set alarms so that you keep up with your meds, even in middle of night.
 
My physical therapist thinks that I am over doing my PT.
Since I walk the dog 3 times a day for 30-45 minutes at a time, she thinks this is plenty for my off days.
What do you think?
 
I agree. It is plenty. Walking for that long is great exercise. Your knee is still healing, so can really put the time you aren't exercising to good use!
 
I agree, you’re doing plenty of exercise and don’t need anything else. After my TKR my body needed a little help in getting back into my normal sleep routine. Taking Tylenol PM before helped me be back into a regular sleep pattern after months of being wacked out.
 
Hi friends,
I am not 10 weeks from my surgery.
Not too much pain. Elevation and icing usually take care of it.
Still, some stiffness when I walk.
ROM is good according to my PT.
My emphasis is to maintain a normal gait while walking. I sometimes feel that I straighten my leg too much.
Therefore, I really focus on heel to toe action. To help with this, I make sure to stretch my hamstrings and gastrocs before going out for a walk.

Still doing my PT every other day. On rest days, I still go out with my dog 3 times a day and ride the stationary bike, so down days, are only semi-down.

Also started doing exercises to strengthen my leg.

Have a great and pain-free week.
 
Schenk, you are most certainly a man with a plan. Sounds like your plan is working to perfection! Bet your dog is loving it, too. :dogwalk:
 
Be careful with strength work, it can be too much too early. Strength is usually better later in the process, but you’re actually doing the BEST thing I’ve experienced for strength...walking. My PTs waited until month 4-5 for strength work, but I still had some pain when walking or standing too long. Slowly building walking distance helped that walking/standing pain until it’s non-existent now. So by walking with your dogs you’re really doing the best thing you can. Walking is what we want our knees to do, so it just makes sense. :yes:
 
My dog would like it if I could walk faster.
 
You pace will increase as time and healing increases!
 
You’ll work up to a faster a walk. Remember you’re just 6 weeks from MAJOR surgery that affected your leg and energy level.
 
Hi Friends,

I've just finished week 11.
My activity level has been increased.
In addition to PT exercises in the pool, I've started swimming laps. My conditioning is awfull, but I'm toughing through 16 laps. I'll increase to 20 next week.
I also ride the stationary bike every day. I'm up to 12 minutes at a fairly good pace.
Because of the structure of the house, I go up and down many stairs during the day.
Morning is still the best for me, and my knee tightens up as the day progresses.
This week, I experienced pain down the middle of my knee. The pain was fairly strong.
My main area of discomfort is the hamstring of my surgical leg. It's been bothering me since the surgery.
I still go out two or three times a day with the dog. Each walk is at least a half hour.
Between activities, I still rest, elevate, ice and rest.
What I never do is work into pain.
Perhaps because I am more active, the tissue and muscles of the knee are more sensitive.
In any case, there is always something.
I've learned that the process can't be rushed or accelerated, without causing damage.
This, I'm not going to do. My knee and another part of my body that want's to chime in, rules what I do, and how much I do.
Walking correctly is not yet automatic, and I have to really focus on this.
Apparently, I've been limping for a couple of years before the surgery, so I really have to learn to walk all over again.

My ROM is getting better by the week, and it is about 80% of my healthy leg. Maybe more. The ROM is certainly more than functional.

That's about it from me. Hope you all have a pain free week and keep moving forward.
 
Hi @Schenk, always good to hear from you. :)

You are almost certainly doing a little more than your knee would like to be doing, which is why it stiffens up on you nightly. Of course you know that, and say you’re okay with it. Have you tried alternating lap swimming and bike riding? A little less activity, but still all the things you love to do. Of course you must walk your dog! One of life’s great pleasures. Is the dog happy yet with your pace?

It does take a little focus on gait to overcome years of bad habits, but you’ll get into a good gait quickly. Your body will realize it’s the better way to go!
 
@Schenk You are doing great! You have a pain free week, and keep moving. Shabbat shalom.
 
Hope your recovery is still going well. I want to ask, how did you start out in the pool? My incision is almost completely healed(8wks) and I'm itching to get in the water. Any tips? I'm just going for gentle resistance, not a full on work out, that will happen naturally
 
I agree with Susie, the knee is tightening up due to swelling from over activity. If you can back off give that a try, if not try biking later in the day with 0 resistance. It may keep the knee loose.
 
denn said:
This will probably be my last post before surgery. According to what staff at the Hospital say, wifi isn't that good nor is the signal for phones. It could mean I wont be posting my updates. I shall give a full report when I return home.
Denn.
Click to expand...
good luck. be patient, take your meds per schedule. Rest, elevate and ice.
Once you begin your PT, don't over do it. I am speaking from personal experience.
Listen to your knee.
 
Hi Friends,

Thank you for replying to my latest post.
Susie and Karri, I am taking your advice and will scale back my activity schedule.
I've analyzed what I am doing and even on down days, I was very active.
I figure just going up and down the stairs and walking the dog is enough activity for a non-PT day.
To Colleen, I started in the pool once the staples were removed.
I used the exercises in Dr. William Klapper's book called Save your Knee.
He recommends regimens to prevent surgery and what do post-surgery.
The exercises for the pool were a little aggressive but I modified, where necessary to avoid causing pain to my knee.
For what you want, I would suggest walking in the pool,
Try walking the width as the water level will stay constant.
Walk frontward, sideward and backward.
If I can offer any other help, I would be happy to do so.
 
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