RestAssured
alpha
They had a special adhesive plastic that I used over the incision, so by day 5 I was showering. No more sponge baths.
TKR Post-Op Struggles
- Thread starter Highpointer42
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jerseygirl-in-ca
member
@RestAssured I like that quote.
jerseygirl-in-ca
member
@Phil75070 @referee54 @RestAssured I had a knee bandage that you could shower with that I loved. I do think I will call Monday and confirm though.
LondonLady
member
Hi everyone,
I had my op on a Monday afternoon. On Wed I was in the hospital pool! And then again until i went home on Friday (after aquatherapy). Absolutly no problems with any infection-- had a double waterproof bandage on the incision. Boy, did it feel good-- not only with the operated leg, but also just felt good to be able to stretch and move the rest of the body.
Only bad thing-- i didn't own a suimsuit--not much of a beach person or swimmer! Hospital gowns are one fashion statement, but panic ensued when I heard "don't worry, we'll provide you with something "
.So the dear husband went on a mission, and came back with a really nice one!
I had my op on a Monday afternoon. On Wed I was in the hospital pool! And then again until i went home on Friday (after aquatherapy). Absolutly no problems with any infection-- had a double waterproof bandage on the incision. Boy, did it feel good-- not only with the operated leg, but also just felt good to be able to stretch and move the rest of the body.
Only bad thing-- i didn't own a suimsuit--not much of a beach person or swimmer! Hospital gowns are one fashion statement, but panic ensued when I heard "don't worry, we'll provide you with something "
.So the dear husband went on a mission, and came back with a really nice one!
jerseygirl-in-ca
member
@LondonLady I think I could have gone in then. It sounds like the water helped you destress and detox by moving. I don't think I would have thought of packing a suit to the hospital either. Ha! Ha!
dressagequeen
junior member
- Joined
- Jul 1, 2014
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- 62
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- Central Florida, Ocala, Morriston
- Gender
- Female
- Country
United States
I cant wait to get clearance from my OS. I live in a very rural part of Central Florida near Ocala. There is a natural spring not far for swimming. Brrrrrrr.73 degrees!
Ollie
member
@RestAssured Your progress is an inspiration!! How long have you been working on this feat? What else are you doing, diet-wise? I am beginning to plan my own 'Rest of my life' and will be using lots of water work to do it. I had one knee done June 10 and the other will be next year - but need to control my weight and get some strength built up.
Do you have your journey in a thread?
Ollie. LTKR June 10, 2014
Do you have your journey in a thread?
Ollie. LTKR June 10, 2014
RestAssured
alpha
@Ollie
Thank you very much!
No, I don't have my journey in a thread, it spans over three threads.
The part that I changed about my diet, was to quit calling it a diet and make it a lifestyle change. I eat more protein, and drink more protein shakes now. I also eat salads, and other vegetables and fruits that I once thought would kill me if I ate them!
My thoughts were the package of M&M's have all the colors of fruits and veggies
I try to drink a gallon of water a day watch my carb intake, and use fats very sparingly.
Others have different ideas, but this works for me and I am never hungry! I eat a snack such as a handful of unsalted almonds and an orange between breakfast and lunch, and within 30 minutes of working out with Abby, I eat a snack again, it seems like I am always eating, bug it is energy to the body, instead of the sludge I used to put in'
Thank you very much!
No, I don't have my journey in a thread, it spans over three threads.
The part that I changed about my diet, was to quit calling it a diet and make it a lifestyle change. I eat more protein, and drink more protein shakes now. I also eat salads, and other vegetables and fruits that I once thought would kill me if I ate them!My thoughts were the package of M&M's have all the colors of fruits and veggies
I try to drink a gallon of water a day watch my carb intake, and use fats very sparingly.Others have different ideas, but this works for me and I am never hungry! I eat a snack such as a handful of unsalted almonds and an orange between breakfast and lunch, and within 30 minutes of working out with Abby, I eat a snack again, it seems like I am always eating, bug it is energy to the body, instead of the sludge I used to put in'
bottomshollow
Former BoneSmart staff member
So, please post in this thread from now on when you want to give an update or ask a question. If you decide you'd like a different thread title at any point, you can change it using the Thread Tools button at the top right of the page or just post what you want here and we'll get it changed for you. THANKS!
If you are having a problem locating your thread, here is a link with how to do it: How can I find my threads and posts?
OP
OP
Highpointer42
junior member
What are some of the exercises your PT tells you to do? I am curious since I have no PT but do self-directed exercises from a book. Thanks, Ollie.
Ollie
member
@Highpointer42 I do a lot of simple walking. Concentrate on normal strides, heel - toe - push off. The pool is small, walking across a 8 - 10 foot width. Really - walking is the biggest movement, making sure I take big strides, not the small steps we've all developed over the painful years!!
To start every day, I sit on a submerged bench and do bicycles with my legs/feet. I try to get there early enough to do that for 5-10 minutes. THEN we move to the side of the pool and use some floats on my surgical leg/ankle and do a series of stretching/ warm up movements: leg straight out on surface of water & hold, followed by 3 straight leg pull downs, then slide floaty foot up on pool wall, knee bent to stretch & hold, then knee to surface foot down at 90 degrees 3 extensions. Total, we do 3 sets, all holding movements at 30 sec, then 45 sec, then 1 min on successive sets. Hope that makes sense.
Between every stretch/strength series, I 'walk it out' for about 8-10 trips across pool. Remember, the therapy pool is small and only 8-10 ft across. 3-4 steps do the job. These are forward/backward trips. Over and back is one trip!
I do calf stretches and toe raises 3 sets of 10 on a submerged step and I do squats in about waist deep water. For the squats, I drop down to stretch point, then roll to my toes, and stand. 10 reps
I use short, stubby flippers/fins to walk also, exaggerating the knee lift and stride. This one feels great but is the one that takes the most energy (besides walking against the current!!)
I walk against a current, forward and backwards, and sideways. 10 reps each direction. (Down & back is one)
I stand in the current, balancing on my surgical leg, turning 90 degrees every 20-15 seconds. Try not to touch down!!
I do a "Dance step" : standing on surgical leg, shift weight slightly forward, reaching out other foot to touch in front of me, come back to center (both feet together) then shift and reach /step to side, return to center, then same to back, then return to center. Don't completely step, but shift enough weight to have to pull balance back to center. 10 reps.
Hope thus helps!!
To start every day, I sit on a submerged bench and do bicycles with my legs/feet. I try to get there early enough to do that for 5-10 minutes. THEN we move to the side of the pool and use some floats on my surgical leg/ankle and do a series of stretching/ warm up movements: leg straight out on surface of water & hold, followed by 3 straight leg pull downs, then slide floaty foot up on pool wall, knee bent to stretch & hold, then knee to surface foot down at 90 degrees 3 extensions. Total, we do 3 sets, all holding movements at 30 sec, then 45 sec, then 1 min on successive sets. Hope that makes sense.
Between every stretch/strength series, I 'walk it out' for about 8-10 trips across pool. Remember, the therapy pool is small and only 8-10 ft across. 3-4 steps do the job. These are forward/backward trips. Over and back is one trip!
I do calf stretches and toe raises 3 sets of 10 on a submerged step and I do squats in about waist deep water. For the squats, I drop down to stretch point, then roll to my toes, and stand. 10 reps
I use short, stubby flippers/fins to walk also, exaggerating the knee lift and stride. This one feels great but is the one that takes the most energy (besides walking against the current!!)
I walk against a current, forward and backwards, and sideways. 10 reps each direction. (Down & back is one)
I stand in the current, balancing on my surgical leg, turning 90 degrees every 20-15 seconds. Try not to touch down!!
I do a "Dance step" : standing on surgical leg, shift weight slightly forward, reaching out other foot to touch in front of me, come back to center (both feet together) then shift and reach /step to side, return to center, then same to back, then return to center. Don't completely step, but shift enough weight to have to pull balance back to center. 10 reps.
Hope thus helps!!
OP
OP
Highpointer42
junior member
@Ollie:
Thanks, Ollie. This is going to be helpful. I am going to study the movements you have noted above, of which some I already do, and jot others down. I take a 5 x 8 card with me on which is listed the exercises from the book I have (written by a PT doctor.) I will add the new ones from your list to my card. I am going to do that this evening, since aqua therapy is at 9:30 a.m. tomorrow. I go M-W-F. Our pool is about 8-10 feet wide and 15-20 feet long. The water temp. is 97 degrees and the water depth is 4 feet. The facility manager has OK'd my wife to join me in the pool. She is a 7-year cancer survivor. We are the only people in the room for the entire session. I assume that's the same way for you. Oh, the guy stops back a couple of times just to check on us. Thanks again !!!
Thanks, Ollie. This is going to be helpful. I am going to study the movements you have noted above, of which some I already do, and jot others down. I take a 5 x 8 card with me on which is listed the exercises from the book I have (written by a PT doctor.) I will add the new ones from your list to my card. I am going to do that this evening, since aqua therapy is at 9:30 a.m. tomorrow. I go M-W-F. Our pool is about 8-10 feet wide and 15-20 feet long. The water temp. is 97 degrees and the water depth is 4 feet. The facility manager has OK'd my wife to join me in the pool. She is a 7-year cancer survivor. We are the only people in the room for the entire session. I assume that's the same way for you. Oh, the guy stops back a couple of times just to check on us. Thanks again !!!
Ollie
member
@Highpointer42
Your pool sound like it is the same size as mine - but it is a busy place!! It is in a rehab center and three PTs can work patients in it at the same time. They have a great, organized system.
I am rehabbing twice a week now - will start going to the YMCA a day or two a week pool starting after the first of the month. Aug. 5 will be 8 weeks since surgery! I am planning on pool work pretty much permanently as long as my schedule and the pool schedule work!! I can go to the rehab pool on my own during 'open' pool times, too. I like that idea, too.
Good luck - keep me posted and I'll let you know if my PT adds any other torture moves!!
Your pool sound like it is the same size as mine - but it is a busy place!! It is in a rehab center and three PTs can work patients in it at the same time. They have a great, organized system.
I am rehabbing twice a week now - will start going to the YMCA a day or two a week pool starting after the first of the month. Aug. 5 will be 8 weeks since surgery! I am planning on pool work pretty much permanently as long as my schedule and the pool schedule work!! I can go to the rehab pool on my own during 'open' pool times, too. I like that idea, too.
Good luck - keep me posted and I'll let you know if my PT adds any other torture moves!!
OP
OP
Highpointer42
junior member
@jerseygirl-in-ca
Sorry I have not responded earlier. In response to your questions, No, the treadmill is easy because the speed is adjustable, even to a crawl. I do no treading of water. I am not a swimmer in the first place and I found no exercises referring to treading of water. I do a lot of other things: standing on TKR leg and swining other; just plain walking - forward and backward and sideways; heel and toe lifts; standing on TKR leg and balancing and turning 90 degrees without touching the other foot down; massaging the knee wound and knee muscles, etc. Foot issue healed quickly. At 12 weeks post surgery, I am coming along quickly.........HPer42.
OP
OP
Highpointer42
junior member
Hi All:
Highpointer42 here. Twelve weeks post op and starting to climb quickly. I am down to 2-3 Vicodins per day. Starting to sleep a little better at night, thanks to an Ambien and melatonin in combination. I am walking without a cane, climbing and descending stairs naturally, going 3 days a week to aqua therapy, riding a bike 10-12 minutes on off days, and, most importantly, I am far less dependent on my caregiver - my wonderful wife about whom I could not say enough good things. I am looking forward to hiking on Keystone trails in the Fall, traveling, and I have applied for my Pennsylvania doe hunting license. I think this RTKR is going to work and work well. There's a bright light at the end of the tunnel. Thank you for all of your support. Your messages, in part, have
Highpointer42 here. Twelve weeks post op and starting to climb quickly. I am down to 2-3 Vicodins per day. Starting to sleep a little better at night, thanks to an Ambien and melatonin in combination. I am walking without a cane, climbing and descending stairs naturally, going 3 days a week to aqua therapy, riding a bike 10-12 minutes on off days, and, most importantly, I am far less dependent on my caregiver - my wonderful wife about whom I could not say enough good things. I am looking forward to hiking on Keystone trails in the Fall, traveling, and I have applied for my Pennsylvania doe hunting license. I think this RTKR is going to work and work well. There's a bright light at the end of the tunnel. Thank you for all of your support. Your messages, in part, have
enabled me to write this paragraph. However, you've got to "do the work," borrowing three words from my Cleveland Clinic OS who said to me, "I took you as a patient because I know you will do the work."
jerseygirl-in-ca
member
@Highpointer42 Thanks for getting back to me. Going to pool first time today to do my exercises in the pool. I added massage and a percussive massager to my leg. Seems to help. Thanks for getting back to me.
OP
OP
Highpointer42
junior member
Hello Everyone. Highpointer42 here. I am 15 weeks post-op and doing much better. Oh, I still take 2-3 Vicodin per day and I don't sleep worth a darn despite Ambien plus Melatonin, but I consider myself lucky. I quit pool therapy (not enough help from the attending PT assistant), so now I am working late afternoon once a week with a PT. I do not like the late afternoon hours, but I am doing it. The rest I am doing on my own: walking, hiking short distances, stationary bike-riding and about 10-12 leg and knee exercises. I am hardly limited at all on yard work activities, and I am looking forward to Fall. With no prompting, my Cleveland Clinic surgeon admonished me this week "Stop using a pillow under your knee." I had a grin on my face that pronounced "Guilty as charged!" I am at -10 and he wants me to work harder to get my knee straight. ROM is at 116. He'd like to see me at 120 and beyond. So I still have some work to do, but I am enjoying it. I wish you all well. It's hard work. But hopefully it will pay off.
OP
OP
Highpointer42
junior member
Hi All:
Eight months on the other side and doing well. Great decision: having my right knee replaced. This winter I have used a chain saw to gather firewood, hunted deer in the rugged hills of the Allegheny National Forest and cross-country skied in the same ANF without any difficulty. I contend that riding on a stationary bike, an activity I do presently at the YMCA twice a week, is the key to my rehab success. I hope you all have as much happiness afterward that I have experienced. I'm praying for you.
Eight months on the other side and doing well. Great decision: having my right knee replaced. This winter I have used a chain saw to gather firewood, hunted deer in the rugged hills of the Allegheny National Forest and cross-country skied in the same ANF without any difficulty. I contend that riding on a stationary bike, an activity I do presently at the YMCA twice a week, is the key to my rehab success. I hope you all have as much happiness afterward that I have experienced. I'm praying for you.
It's great to hear you are doing so well! Thank you for coming back to tell us.
I'll ask the moderators to re-open your recovery thread, so your update can be added to it.
I'll ask the moderators to re-open your recovery thread, so your update can be added to it.
@Highpointer42 ... I have reopened your recovery thread and moved your update here. Please continue to post in this thread and let us know how you're doing! Of course, you may feel free to post in other threads to comment on someone else's knee or hip as you like. Nice to have you back on board.
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