PKR QdogPa recovery

Qdogpa

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Just joined the site, had a partial right knee replacement 1/21... started on home PT on 1/22, a quick 15 minute overview of exercises..pain is mild when sitting with leg up...pain is very sharp on any bending of knee...used oxy only first two days..haven’t used since last Thursday...the leg lifter is a godsend...hoping for a speedy recovery for myself and all others !
 
Hello @Qdogpa - and :welome: to recovery.

Go gently on the exercises. Any pain while you're doing them shows that your knee isn't ready for that exercise yet.

Recovery won't be quick, I'm afraid, because complete recovery takes a full year - but you'll be able to do most things long before that.

Here is the post-op reading we give to everyone - lots of useful and informative articles:
Knee Recovery: The Guidelines
1. Don’t worry: Your body will heal all by itself. Relax, let it, don't try and hurry it, don’t worry about any symptoms now, they are almost certainly temporary
2. Control discomfort:
rest
ice
take your pain meds by prescription schedule (not when pain starts!)​

3. Do what you want to do BUT
a. If it hurts, don't do it and don't allow anyone - especially a physical therapist - to do it to you​
b. If your leg swells more or gets stiffer in the 24 hours after doing it, don't do it again.​

4. PT or exercise can be useful BUT take note of these

5. You should follow this

6. Access to these pages on the website

The Recovery articles:
The importance of managing pain after a TKR and the pain chart
Swollen and stiff knee: what causes it?
Energy drain for TKRs
Elevation is the key
Ice to control pain and swelling
Heel slides and how to do them properly
Chart representation of TKR recovery
Healing: how long does it take?
Post op blues is a reality - be prepared for it
Sleep deprivation is pretty much inevitable - but what causes it?

There are also some cautionary articles here
Myth busting: no pain, no gain
Myth busting: the "window of opportunity" in TKR
Myth busting: on getting addicted to pain meds

We try to keep the forum a positive and safe place for our members to talk about their questions or concerns and to report successes with their joint replacement surgery.

While members may create as many threads as they like in the majority of BoneSmart’s forums, we ask that each member have only One Recovery Thread. This policy makes it easier to go back and review the member’s history before providing advice, so please post any updates or questions you have right here in this thread.
 
Hi and Welcome!

Celle is right, recovery is not quick, and my partial took way longer than a year to recover. Not what I was expecting when I found information about partials. That “ more natural feel” didn’t happen for me, either.

My partial is a Patellofemoral, the kneecap area. Which partial did you get?
 
I had a posterior horn medial meniscus root tear,which resulted in right medial unicompartamental arthoplasty.
 
One week from surgery , Quick in home PT visit today, given a few new exercises. ROM sitting is 92, extension is 0 or 180...i think I am happy with progress thus far, knowing lots more to go...had to take an OXY last night, which got me 4 hours of sleep, then awaken to some annoying knee pain..taking it a bit easier today...best wishes to all in the recovery period
 
Quick in home PT visit today, given a few new exercises
Don’t do too many specific exercises, some PTs are fond of giving us more than our knees can handle. Take things slow and easy, and if you have more pain and swelling after an exercise, then that means your knee is not ready to do it.


Regaining our ROM is more about Time than repetitions of a list of exercises.

Time to recover.
Time for pain and swelling to settle.
Time to heal.

Our range of motion is right there all
along just waiting for that to happen so it can show itself.

In the general run of things, it doesn't need to be fought for, worked hard for or worried about. It will happen. Normal activity is the key to success.
 
Well, things were going smoothly...sleeping past few days has been a disaster, and today, day 9 after surgery, pain has developed on a more prominent note and more persistent. thinking the few ROM exercises has caused this, will back off. best wishes to everyone recovering....
 
We get a false sense of security when things go well, so we try to do a bit more, and our knee tells us in no uncertain terms that it doesn’t like the increased activity.

You are wise to back off, the knee is in charge and it’s best not to argue with it!:heehee:
 
Is it normal for the pain to be in an area where pre surgery, there was none? This pain is sharp at times, at inner edge of kneecap..
 
In these early days, pain moves all over the place.

During the surgery, your kneecap was pulled to one side and then turned over, to allow access to the rest of your knee joint. It was later turned back the right way again but, after being handled like that, it sounds reasonable for it to be tender.
 
2 weeks post op tomorrow. Having the aquacel dressing removed later this afternoon. hoping it frees up the knee a bit. Sleeping is a disaster. Even sitting is a chore, never comfortable for any periods of time. Still taking the Tylenol 500 , 2 pills, every 8 hours.. Not sure if this is doing anything, I guess will discuss with surgeon later. I take an Oxy at night to lessen the knee ache, and get a bit of sleep. best wishes to all in recovery mode

just some further info, I am also taking Eliquis,as a preventative for blood clots..I had should surgery 5 years ago, and developed DVT , which went to PE...also taking Celecoxib.. and lansoprazole, and finished gabapentin a week ago...not to mention the obligatory stool softeners etc... need a notebook to keep track of all this ...
 
Is it normal for the pain to be in an area where pre surgery, there was none? This pain is sharp at times, at inner edge of kneecap..
I have this same pain. I don’t know if it is normal but by 2 1/2 weeks out it has lessened to almost nothing and other little pains and zaps have popped up and dissipated, so I suspect it is par for the course.
 
I am 8 weeks out today from patellofemoral replacement. I have excellent ROM, over 140, however I am still getting tightness in my knee which is very frustrating. I am also getting pain on the inside of my knee where I've never had it before and sometimes it's very sharp. I'm hoping that will eventually subside. Two weeks ago I was released from my doctor and don't need to go back under December at my one year anniversary. Lastly, on Saturday I started back at the gym in the pool so I'll be doing aquatic therapy to help the knee.

Has anyone with the same procedure been able to kneel? I'm wondering if I will ever be able to kneel on it again.
 
I am still getting tightness in my knee
You're less than 2 months out of your surgery and still have swelling. You might not see it outside, but it's inside and that causes tightness. Try icing and elevating more. That should help to get the swelling down. Also, doing too much will cause even more swelling, so you might want to cut back on it.
 
Post op appt was yesterday, Dr removed the aquacel , knee was very stiff on way home and achy... elevated, iced, took an Oxy at bedtime, and took another at 2 am when I awoke, got a surprisingly good sleep.Home Nurse came today, BP up a bit, but otherwise all good...actually knee feels good as well...last in home PT today, will tread lightly...2 weeks out from surgery, and feeling pretty good..Journey far from done, but ”Get busy living or get busy dying” to quote from a great movie...
 
I have had 2 PKRs. For the 1st, I did aggressive PT. For the second, I did minor PT with daily activity. Since no 2 surgeries are the same, I can’t reach conclusions and the second surgery was worse from the beginning, but I made more progress with aggressive PT on knee 1
 
Sleep, finally got some, courtesy of an ambien...Not a great sleep, but much better then I have had since surgery. knee is slowly progressing , but still can’t drive yet. Was able to climb the stairs normally, though with some hesitation. Tried an exercise bike at PT Friday , couldn’t get 1 revolution..maybe it was 70%...able to stand solely on the leg for 30 seconds with no support ..so think I am making progress... the heel slide knee extension exercises cause some pain , so I have backed off those... best wishes to all in recovery mode!
 
Sounds like you are doing great. I was the 'queen of insomnia' my first three-four weeks... :tiredwheel: ...

I justified laying in the bed alot those first two weeks as at least I was resting if, not sleeping. LOL! Partly my lack of sleep was discomfort but mainly my mind just would not allow sleep. I just stopped fighting it as that only made sleep harder. It got better over time.

Sound like you are progressing well. I did not jump both feet (smile) into heavy PT the first two weeks. I was too rest broken from lack of sleep! No problem. When my body and knee were ready everything went as though I'd missed little.

I only have problems with extension degree but too not much. And I know with time it will improve.

The bike peddling takes time. Don't beat yourself! I remember my first revolution(s). Hurt! But once I got those first few revolutions it was never as bad again! I was happy as pre TKR stationary peddling was my core form of exercise as I am not an athlete.

Be good to yourself and your new knee. We are hear for yah!
 
Oh, wonderful sleep! I took the Walmart brand sleeping pills to help me, but they barely did. Get your sleep when and where you can.
 

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