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TKR Recovery, Here I Come!

@katdog, my flexion and extension is worse than yours, yet I feel fairly functional now; it's puzzling to say the least. I'm doing all the right stuff with a good PT and following the Bonesmart guidelines as much as possible at home, but....I'm just not *bendy.* The visible swelling has gone down, but I know there's much unseen. PT suggested yesterday that instead of doing 10 heel slides with a 5 second hold, do 5 with a 15 second hold, so that's what I'm doing today. I also just throw them in at random while cruising around the house, but could never be accused over overdoing anything.

My husband works from home and his job is very demanding with lots of conference calls that can't be interrupted, but so far, he's managed to squeeze in my PT visits. It really helps that my PT is only a 1/2 mile up the street, so it's not a big time drain for him. Everyone has different circumstances and different incentives (or lack of such) when it comes to driving. I haven't tried yet, but I may just get in my car today and see if I can back it down the driveway comfortably. If it's too uncomfortable, I'll wait another week or two. If it's not bad, I'll just practice that for a week or so and go from there. Like Susie, I want my OS to approve my driving before I actually get on the road and I know he won't do that as long as I need Rx pain meds. It's very difficult to determine just how long I'll need them for, but I need them now, especially when I get up, before bed, and usually, after PT. I seem to coast for about 8 hours fairly comfortably after the morning dose.

Things are looking up for all of us!:thumb:
 
Reading your posts and nodding in agreement. Am in a similar situation at the moment. Extension is great. But I seem to linger from 70 to 80 w flexion. I can get to 90 but it's mighty uncomfortable for more than a count of 5. I try it a few times mostly after ice packs have been on the knee. I think the pulled or strained muscle has something to do with it being so stiff. ..and that tight band feeling is ' always there to remind me.'
(Oops, just triggered memory of another song)
 
If you're struggling with heel slides try bending into your knee on a stair, I got good ROM doing that. Put your foot on first stair up, hold onto rail and bend knee gently in, hold for 5-10 seconds and release, try a set of 10. I used to do these once a day and heel slides twice a day .
 
Lilli215 said:
I got good ROM doing that. Put your foot on first stair up, hold onto rail and bend knee gently in,
Click to expand...
Be careful with doing that. Make sure you hold on tight to the rail and use it to control your movement. Don't push beyond mild discomfort.
 
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Well Smarties, I did get in my car and go up and down my driveway!:yahoo: The hardest part was getting in the car, lol. It was parked too close next to the other car so I couldn't swing the door open wide enough without doing some interesting maneuvers to get situated; pffft! But, bear in mind, the car is automatic transmission and it's my left knee, not my right. Surprisingly, the left knee was quite comfy in the driver's seat; didn't think it would be. However, I'm going to wait at least another week before I take it out on the road, due to the Rx meds and also :yahoo: because I can wait. Regardless, it's a good feeling to know I can drive if need be!
 
Independence and freedom! Before you drive by yourself, make sure you have a handicapped permit and then park in a spot where you won't have a car too close. When you get out your car and have room, the next car that parks next to you might be too close to get back into your car if you're in the regular spot.
 
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It sounds like you're doing well for your time in the recovery process @katdog. Sleeping on your side is a definite milestone. I slept so much better myself once I could do that.

And you seem to be hitting the exercise about right. Lots of us take at least 6 weeks to get to 90 so try not to fret. I know I had a long plateau where my bend didn't seem to change, but it took more swelling to come down to see the next increment.
 
Two steps forward, one step back. I was doing well, was feeling better and felt that the knee was beginning to loosen up. Then, things got interesting. The dog got up at about 3 AM and wanted out. We are surrounded by pastures and "going out" for him means going potty and then getting distracted by all the smells. This usually takes 10 minutes, so we just let him out, set the timer so we don't fall asleep and let him in. Well, the timer was set and, just as I sat down, I heard him barking his "coyote" bark. This dog, the one in my picture, thinks he can take on any coyote, so I rushed to the door, all the while hearing not so good sounds - yelps especially. We put these lighted LED collars on the dogs in the night so we can see them so I looked for the collar. He was in the back of the pasture and came to me way more quickly than usual. As soon as he got in, I knew he was in pain. I chose not to put off the inevitable and called the emergency vet and took him in. He was limping and I assumed he had torn something chasing coyotes. Mind you, this dog is 13 years old and walks slower than me. When we got to the vet, we saw blood in the shape of tooth marks on his hind leg. Apparently one of the coyotes, there are two that hang out in this area together, had chomped onto his hind leg and he had multiple bites on the inside and the outside of the meaty part of his leg. We are thankful that was all that happened. Fergs is an old dog with major spinal issues and a serious injury would be a death sentence for him at this time. I do think the leg got twisted and that he is sore from that as well, but no ACL or bone breaks. We are thankful.

Sitting in that vet office did a number on the knee. We were there for a total of three hours and I could just feel the knee getting stiffer and more swollen as time went on. To top it off, I had PT at 10 AM.When I went in, they had a different therapist for me. I told him it had been a bad night and the knee and I were vulnerable. I was exhausted and not on my game. He did a lot more than we had done in the past and I knew we were pushing it, but just let it happen. Nothing really hurt - it was beyond what I had done in the past, though. In the end, we had no time to ice because he had been running late and my husband had an appointment he needed to get to. He took me home and I iced. The knee was just very stiff. As the day wore on, the knee just was not feeling better. I stayed down as much as possible, but feeding the dog and cat finally did me in. I could have asked my husband, but I really would like to do what I can and not depend on him too much. He works hard, long hours and is already taking on a lot of extras because I am not 100%. I finally got to the couch and elevated and iced, but the knee was doing that lightening thing and the pain was moving up and down the leg. Things began calming down once I took two tylenol and another oxy. I don't know if I forgot a pain med dose or what. I do not think I did, but it had been a busy, stressful day and anything is possible.

One question. My calf is driving me nuts and has been for a while. It just aches. It keeps me awake at night. The PT gave me some stretches for it, but I just wonder if other people have this issue and what you have done for it.
 
It sounds like everything--the swelling, pain, and calf pain--stem from your rough night and, then, the PT session. This has happened to me, also, where the knee just won't settle down however much I rest and ice. Usually a good restful night of elevation will do the trick.

What likely happened with your calf is a combination of being used more than usual (for the last few weeks) and, possibly, PT. You don't say what you did in PT, but there's an exercise they have me do that stresses my calves. In particular, my right calf was sore one day. That pain was gone the next day. I didn't do anything special for it. You could consider some gentle heat application just to the calf (not the knee!) to relax the muscle, and see if that helps.

So glad Ferg, poor old boy, is okay!
 
Good grief, really sorry to hear all of this @katdog!

I get a stiff calf when I've stood too long or just done too much. I just massage by hand and do calf stretches as shown by PT. Seems to work. I believe he said it comes from an unbalanced gait ( what doesn't?) so we're working on that. He wants me to "walk the line, " as one would do for a dui. It does make me place more weight on the new knee leg and feels good at the same time!


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oh your poor dog and poor you. i hope the old boy is okay and you too.:puppysmooze:
 
Coincidently I was complaining about my calf hurting and the physiotherapist showed me where to place the 4 TENS pads to help build up the calf muscle (which is still bruised 3 weeks post op) and relieve the pain. I had it on low... that is I barely feel the current but that's how it should be, she said. I used it for 1 hour and it does feel a tiny bit better. Am supposed to do this 1 to 2 times a day.
Physiotherapist also examined my gait and said "no wonder"
Am now putting icepacks on the calf area.

Hope you're feeling better and doggy heals quickly.
 
I'm sorry you had such a bad night and day, @katdog . I hope your dog's leg heals OK.

Probably it would have been a good idea to skip PT after all that you did during the night. In fact, it sounds as if your knee is getting plenty of exercise with looking after yourself and your animals.
It's still less than a month since you had this major surgery and you still need to be spending most of your time resting, icing and elevating and taking those pain medications on schedule.

My surgeon doesn't allow any PT at all for the first month after a knee replacement and then only one session every two weeks. His patients all do well, as I did, and he hasn't had to do a manipulation to help with ROM for the past 4 years.
You see, it's not exercising that gets you your ROM - it's time. Time to recover, time for swelling and pain to settle, and time to heal. Your ROM is there right from the start, just waiting for all that to happen, so it can show itself.

Have you had your calf checked, to make sure you don't have a deep vein thrombosis. If it's not that, then the pain will settle, over time. You can use heat on your calf, but not on your knee.

Another thing: I know your husband works hard, but don't try to do to much, just yo take some of the load off him. Your knee has to come first at this stage. If the situation were reversed, you would be glad to do as much as you could for him, I'm sure. Well, now it's his turn to do that for you. That's not an imposition on him. It's just taking fair turns. This article says it better than I have:
https://bonesmart.org/forum/threads/nurturing-mother-how-to-let-go-and-accept-help.2694/
 
[Bonesmart.org] Recovery, Here I Come!

I purchased one of these from Amazon. I lay it on the floor by my counter and put my foot up on it and do a slow stretch forward. It's great to stretch out the calves and hamstrings. I do it a couple times day and it really helps.
 
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Carol, until katdog has had her calf checked to make sure she doesn't have a DVT, I think it's best if she avoids using the roller.
When my calf was sore, my OS told me to avoid all exercises until I had an ultrasound scan, just in case exercising dislodged the clot - if I should have one.

Of course, if she's cleared of a DVT, the roller should help with stretching.
 
Hi All: I am glad to hear several of you say that 90 is pretty average for 6 weeks - as that is where I'm at (I love being average :snork:). KatDog -- be patient! It is working for me once I cut back on overworking. My PT has only measured twice in 6 weeks - once on my first visit and once at 4 weeks (and he told me to put away my goniometer). He is very gentle - today I was sore so we spent most of the visit massaging, which helped alleviate some tightness. I am very tight - he does not think I have scar tissue or adhesions-- so is encouraging me to stretch for longer periods of time - not to pain of course - but to feel the stretch, so I hold my heel slides for a minute or more. Keep up the good work, be patient and be good to your new knee -- I have definitely learned that from this site
 
KatDog - my calves were tight in weeks three and four as I started to become more mobile, moving from walker to cane and getting around more. They are fine now at week six. I would also be careful of using the half foam roller too soon- making sure you have progressed quite a bit with balance -I just started using it for a few exercises and stretches (with some spotting by my PT) in the past week -- after lots of other balance and stability exercises. Hope you have a good rest after the wild night - sounds like you need it!
 
@katdog - I am sorry you had such a rough time! I hope your pup is doing ok. They are such a huge part of our family, and it hurts when they hurt! I hope you've gotten some rest for you, your pup, and your knee!


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