TKR Question About Using Heat

[sistersinhim]

No, you're not weird! I, too, am a clean freak, so you're not alone. But, your #1 job is to heal your knee, not clean your house. That will come as you start to feel better. I would do one little thing, then rest at least four times as long as I worked, but did get things done. It just took a while!

 

[Pheebs52]

Well....if you can't get anyone else to do the cleaning, you'll just have to put blinders on for a bit. They make some lovely sleep masks these days, lol! Turn your dust into a contest, for instance, how long would it take for the dust to pile up 1/2 inch on top of the bureau? You and hubby can place cash bets, winner takes all! I happen to know the answer, but I'll nevah tell, hahahaha!

Here's some more wisdom from my surgeon, given at my pre-op exam: First, you're going to say "I hate Dr. Jones for doing this to me." Next you'll say, "I wish I'd never done this." Then, you'll fall into the "I'm never going to feel normal again." The last one is the one to avoid if at all possible. It's gloomy, soul-draining, and completely false. It doesn't have a shred of merit. If you must, spend a day or two there, but don't hang out there for too long, ok?

Try to think of this as a unique vacation from....EVERYTHING! It is, rather like a sabbatical. Accept all help offered and ask for help when needed; very important, and something most of us hate to do. We TKR's seem to be very stubborn, independent mules, who'd rather eat dirt than request assistance with something. So, request, this is YOUR time, eh?

 

[kmak81230]

So sorry to hear you have been subjected to such pain. My surgeon is also a no pain no gain guy but I think he does good work and I will need the other one done, so I ask questions, and don't follow his edicts and he has not tried to bend my leg. I am very fortunate to have had PTs like Gary Glitter and they don't follow the OS orders either. Try not to stress about the appt on the 7th (easier said than done I know and I am usually a basket case on those weeks) -- try to keep your swelling down and you will have a better chance of improved ROM for the appt. my motto during the first two months was "messy house = happy knee." Hope tomorrow is a better day.

 

[SusieShoes]

I too like a clean house, but... really, it's not going anywhere. I found around 5 to 6 weeks was where I could stand long enough to do some nice dusting. Maybe a little sweeping. Tidy up the clutter a little bit here, a little bit there. Now at 3 months I can wet mop the floor. Push around a vacuum cleaner without any problem at all, move chairs, that kind of thing. It's getting back to normal.

It was more important early on to let my knees heal as best they could. Unhappy, complaining knees are worse than a little dust on the highboy.

 

[imjustme62]

No, you're not weird! I, too, am a clean freak, so you're not alone. But, your #1 job is to heal your knee, not clean your house. That will come as you start to feel better. I would do one little thing, then rest at least four times as long as I worked, but did get things done. It just took a while!

You are so right sistersinhim, I have great help so it's fine to just let the house go and focus on the knee.

Well....if you can't get anyone else to do the cleaning, you'll just have to put blinders on for a bit. They make some lovely sleep masks these days, lol! Turn your dust into a contest, for instance, how long would it take for the dust to pile up 1/2 inch on top of the bureau? You and hubby can place cash bets, winner takes all! I happen to know the answer, but I'll nevah tell, hahahaha!

Pheebs, you crack me up! My mom says if I clean too much the dust bunnies will be homeless! My hubby and son have been awesome to help me and I'm so blessed to have such a great team on my side.
I do little things around the house like loading and unloading the dishwasher, the laundry - which I sit to fold, cleaning up the bathrooms with the Lysol wipes, and just picking things up to make me feel a bit better.

Now at 3 months I can wet mop the floor. Push around a vacuum cleaner without any problem at all, move chairs, that kind of thing. It's getting back to normal.

WOOHOO SusieShoes! That's awesome!

try to keep your swelling down and you will have a better chance of improved ROM for the appt. my motto during the first two months was "messy house = happy knee." Hope tomorrow is a better day.

Thanks Kmak, today was an awesome day! I hit 105 on bending my knee and hung my knee on the bolster for 6 minutes, 2:30 of those minutes were with a weight, so I'm pretty happy!

I hope everyone is having an awesome day today! :cool:

 

[imjustme62]

So, this chick is doing the happy dance right now! I turned a corner yesterday and could (almost) straighten my knee completely! I’m so thankful right now and I can’t wait to show my therapist what happened over the weekend! Still not doing as well as I want with bending the knee, but this is a huge step in the right direction.

 

[jaschembra]

Yeah on the straightening!! That bend will come along as well. I can still remember, when I would start to get up, I put my foot down, and a bit behind, and I would literally feel the movement inside my knee... I could tell it was moving further and more without pressure of trying to make it do that.

 

[SusieShoes]

Hooray for corners turned! One corner leads to another, you know. Watch out for that bend that's a'coming.

 

[Celle]

Pheebs, you crack me up! My mom says if I clean too much the dust bunnies will be homeless! My hubby and son have been awesome to help me and I'm so blessed to have such a great team on my side.
I do little things around the house like loading and unloading the dishwasher, the laundry - which I sit to fold, cleaning up the bathrooms with the Lysol wipes, and just picking things up to make me feel a bit better.

I'm with your mother!

Dust bunnies are your friends. They show you have been resting properly.

 

[Celle]

So, this chick is doing the happy dance right now! I turned a corner yesterday and could (almost) straighten my knee completely! I’m so thankful right now and I can’t wait to show my therapist what happened over the weekend! Still not doing as well as I want with bending the knee, but this is a huge step in the right direction.

It's great to hear that your extension has improved. Be patient with the flexion. It's still not much more than a months since you had this major surgery. There's no need to rush to get ROM, because it can continue to improve for a year, or even longer, after a TKR.
Myth busting: the "window of opportunity" in TKR

 

[sistersinhim]

Many find extension much harder to achieve, but here you are already getting it! Go girl!

 

[imjustme62]

Yesterday at PT I did the wall slide, same as the heel slide, but on the wall I can do better for some reason. So I got to 109! YIPPEE! I'm walking so much better now and to be honest feeling so much better!

 

[kmak81230]

That is awesome! So glad they allow you to do the movement that results in your best performance. I have a feeling that wall slides are going to be the new fad on here really soon!

 

[sistersinhim]

109 is fantastic!

 

[imjustme62]

So, all you TKR people out there, I have a strange question to ask and I hope you can understand what I'm talking about as it's a little hard to describe. So my knee feels different, not like the 'band' you might of felt soon after you began PT, but like something is about to happen. It almost feels as if there is a big pop coming and it will free up my knee better. Has anyone felt something like that????

 

[Red's Mom]

throughout my recoveries I experienced all sorts of weird sensations. Some painful, some just weird. Pressure, snapping, sliding into place, feeling like it was going to give out etc. occasionally I still have weird pops and cracks. All normal is what I'm told! Thankfully they do seem to decrease in intensity and frequency as time marches on. Tincture of time almost always the best medicine.

 

[imjustme62]

I’ve been really working hard on bending and straightening my knee. It’s doing so much better now. I’ve learned the hard way it takes time and patients!

 

[imjustme62]

Ok, so I'm doing such a happy dance right now! I got my bend on the wall (heel slides) to 113 and extension to 7 1/2

 

[kmak81230]

Kneerah!!!

 

[SusieShoes]

Excellent! It's amazing how accomplished we feel when we gain that bit of movement. It makes such a difference!