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TKR Questions 8 months from surgery

Maybe if you stop going to PT you won’t need that pain specialist.

Be careful with a massage therapist. I suggest you ask for one who is experienced with lymphatic massage. You don’t need tight muscles “worked on” because a lot of your Stiffness/Tightness is a normal occurrence after this kind of major surgery. Your surgeon did major carpentry work and disturbed every millimeter of soft tissue in this area, and your current PT is continually disturbing this already disturbed soft tissue. You aren't tight because your muscle is underused and needs to be stretched and rehabbed. You're tight because your tissue has been disturbed and is healing...and full healing takes a full year or more.
 
Oh I didn’t think of that. The PT did some message on my thigh yesterday and seemed to help, I have reached out to my surgeon to see what he thinks…….
 
I had some therapeutic massage at about the same point you are in recovery and it felt like it eased the muscles for a while. One thing I realized was that when I was in pain, I unconsciously was tightening my muscles.

The massage didn't magically give me more ROM, but it felt good afterward. So long as they don't go too hard it could help relax some of those muscles--at least temporarily--and it might give you some temporary pain relief and feeling of easier movement. For me, it wasn't just the knee but the soft tissues that needed to get used to bending more.

What you *don't* want is a PT forcing your knee. And personally, I wouldn't let them use any "tools" to massage or "break up scar tissue" --I let them do that to me with the first knee and I think all it did was give me needless pain.
 
My knee is still screaming from Monday PT bend, ugh…..my friend who has tkr 3 years ago stopped by and she was all about no pain no gain, and if you don’t they put you on a machine to bend it for you…..why do people like to freak others out? I need to stop the therapy, first any exercise we do I have at home minus the forceful bend. I can’t believe Medicare is paying for all these sessions…….
 
I own a spa and have a team of massage therapists working for me who are already falling all over themselves to help after my surgery. While they won’t be able to do much for the knee for a while, they will be able to help other areas such as the hips where things are tightening up because they’re compensating for the knee. Even now, pre-surgery, I carry a lot of my pain in my hip. There’s nothing wrong with my hip - it’s been x-rayed and MRI’d so much that it practically glows in the dark by now, but everything north of the knee tightened up to protect the knee, and it all comes to a head at the hip. For about 4 years my doctors kept trying to figure out what was wrong with my hip because that’s what hurt, when it was the knee all along. So yes, massage therapy definitely has a lot of value when used properly. Lymphatic drainage is a specialty massage that not all therapists can do, and not all spas will have a therapist who is trained in that modality. Out of my 14 massage therapists, two of them are competent in lymphatic drainage, so definitely call around for that.
 
Stiff and achy in the morning, leg on fire at night, can anyone relate? I have to admit, I was feeling ok yesterday but I know because of that I over did it! It’s funny how you start to feel like you can get back to normal then wham, you end up hurting……
 
Yes, it is hard to find the right balance between doing enough and doing too much, @Mickimouse, especially when your knee doesn't tell you until the day after you do too much!

We all end up on the ODIC (OverDid It Club) bench at some point in our recovery. Pay attention to activity and/or how much pushes you over the edge into pain the next day. After a few days of monitoring, you'll be able time to figure out how much is just right -- your knee will let you know.
 
I just came from a gathering that a lady had 2 tkr within 6 months of each other and she looked surprised that I am in my 10th week and still not good, she said both her knees were good by six weeks…ugh what is wrong with my recovery?
 
Mickimouse said:
I just came from a gathering that a lady had 2 tkr within 6 months of each other and she looked surprised that I am in my 10th week and still not good, she said both her knees were good by six weeks…ugh what is wrong with my recovery?
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There is nothing wrong with your recovery! We are all different with different journeys. Please don’t compare yourself with others. You’re recovering at your own pace.

Marie
 
It really made me really sad, she made me feel something is wrong with my recovery…..
 
I heard the same thing in my recovery and it really made me doubt myself. Five years later, and after reading thousands of posts here on Bonesmart, I know, like Marie, that we all recover at our own rate. There is nothing wrong with your recovery. There is something wrong with someone who would make you feel that there is. We really have to develop a tough skin while we go through this recovery because people can be so thoughtless with their comments, and I heard a lot of comments!
 
Thank you for putting me at ease…..I still have the pain when I move a certain way that travels up behind my thigh into butt cheek…..and still tight knee/ quads. I pray this is not unusual and will go away!
 
Mickimouse said:
It really made me really sad, she made me feel something is wrong with my recovery
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I am not sure why people make these type of comparisons especially when they're putting you at a disadvantage.
It seems ignorant and inconsiderate of your feelings. I would be less inclined to care what this person had to offer simply due to their thoughtlessness. Sensations of discomfort / pain should abate with time. You're only a little over two months post op into a recovery than can last a full year, even longer for some noticing improvement into their second and third years post op. Hang in there, chin up, things will improve with more time. We don't all heal at the same rate for a variety of reasons.
Happy Monday! :)
 
Mickimouse said:
Thank God for this site and the people on it! I don’t think I could have gone through this without you all!
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I feel like that too. I was so excited to finally get my new knee, not knowing what lay ahead of me. I feel I am doing really well, but the knee bend just isnt there and it’s so painful to force it, so I dont. I’m on a new exercise from PT I have to sit down and stand up with buttocks clenched and feet firmly on the ground. I must sit firmly on both buttocks. This also is painful, normally I like to put my operated leg forward before sitting. I am having my other knee done when the surgeon deems me fit enough.!!! BoneSmart is invaluable and they don’t tire from saying the same messages over and over again for the first timers who are in pain and anxious about their recovery. It’s not a race and I can say reading the posts throughout this journey has helped a lot, especially in the middle of the night. Everyone’s journey is different, but we will get there I’m sure.
 
@Runningfree
You're so right in your comment above about reading others posts on the forum. I found that sense of camaraderie comforting also. There is something reassuring about connecting with people going through the healing process at the same time as you, or in the recent past. Also, I think it saves doctors offices a lot of phone calls from worried patients about the common but "minor" things routinely questioned on the forum.
 
Have anyone heard that if you don’t force your leg to bend you will have scar tissue? The PT said that to me today when I told her not to be so forceful…….she did listen to me…she also is a bit aggravated that I have that pain in butt because that is one reason I don’t want knee forced it aggravates it…..
 
hey mickimouse... Sept 19th will be my 11 month anniversary for TKR- left knee. I had a few glitches that made me miserable for the first 4-5 MONTHS.. it sucks for sure. I slept on a lounger chair for 11 weeks because I could not get comfortable in a bed.. I was up every 90 minutes or so because it took months for my issue with urinating bc of anathesia to resolve, I had a constant clicking when I did walk. You willl get there eventually. The Tylenol sounds like a good idea and take it before your pain gets to the point where it's hurting a lot... my therapists did plenty of bending of my knee and there were days I cried when I was doing the exercising. The swelling takes time, the stiffness is still there but I now sleep like a baby, my scar looks almost invisible and I play golf, work out now with a trainer twice a week and do an hour of pilates once a week. It still feels uncomfortable after walking more than a 1/4 mile but I push through it. Stay in touch with your surgeon as you progress and make sure what you are feeling is okay...the trick is to not get tied to the printed literature too much with the healing timeline.. as may have said on this forum, everyone heals at their own pace. Icing works wonders for the swelling and diminshes the pain.. keep doing it was much as possible and elevate your leg.. love your heart.. I did that successfully by laying on a couch and putting my leg up on the back of the couch.. 20 minutes 4-6 times a day.
Keep the faith. Time is your best ally.
 
Some PTs have a misconception of scar tissue. In reality, it is not the big bad thing they make it out to be. Yes, there are some people who develop an excessive amount, but they are few.

When we have a wound, necessary scar tissue develops as our body goes into overdrive in order to heal the would. As time and healing progress, that scar tissue diminishes back to normal tissue.

I don’t believe you will get scar tissue if you don’t force your leg to bend. We have members who didn’t go to formal PT, didn’t force their knee to bend, and came out with a wonderful knee when it was healed.

Your PT group is causing you a lot of stress, physically, mentally, and emotionally. This is not good for your healing. If it was me I would end my association with them and continue my healing at home, on my own. You can do gentle movements on your own that will help your knee.

As one of our staff members likes to say, this recovery is a long journey but if you stick with the BoneSmart approach the journey will be less painful and you will still reach the same final destination. Ultimately you get to choose the path, the tough rocky road through painful PT, or the BoneSmart path through the meadow with the pretty wild flowers. :flwrysmile:
 
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