TKR Rehab Starts now !

[Chillimac]

Had the clips out this morning. Looking very clean and neat.

 

[sistersinhim]

Nice looking scar there! I do see some swelling there. Be sure and ice and elevate and get that swelling down!

 

[SusieShoes]

You’re a good healer, that incision tells me.

 

[Chillimac]

I'd just got back from having the clips removed when that pic was taken so I'd done quite a bit of walking and it was still a bit swollen. I'd expect that at two weeks post op though as my other knee swelling didn't really reduce significantly until around the 8 week mark. Funny you should mention me being a good healer............. speaking to the surgeon before I was discharged after the surgery he said he remembered me from last time and I did the same then. I wonder why that is that some people seem to heal more quickly than others?
Next step tomorrow morning early I see my physio. Hopefully get good news, there's no reason not too, get rid of the compression socks and start to move forward. On the agenda next, exercising in moderation, plenty of rest, plenty of ice and elevation. I'm virtually off the pain meds now but will see how I am after my physio session before I revise that! I may well need them again.

 

[Jajakio]

I'm a big believer in moderate exercise both pre and post op. I was in a lot of pain preop but managed a 20 minute exercise routine in the hot tub twice a day in the months before I had surgery. My physical therapist helped me design it based on what i could do;biking, various stretches, leg lifts, etc.

I had my surgery on a Friday afternoon, went home Saturday before noon and had my first outpatient physical therapy first thing Monday morning. It was fine. I wasn't pushed excessively. I enjoyed my sessions and felt looser afterwards. I did PT 3 times a week for a month, then continued exercising on my own. I was pedaling an exercise bike 10 days post surgery. I attribute that to all the presurgery biking in the hot tub. You have to know when to quit and how to listen to your body but I believe PT moved me along a bit faster. I'm nearly 9 months out and pretty much totally recovered and capable of walking all day without pain.

I am sure some people are going to need a slower pace than others due to prior damage to knee, lack of muscle from long disability, and more than one health issue. Having fibro, a bad hip, or excessive back pain can complicate recovery. Simply being determined to recover does not always equate with a quick recovery. That being said, go for it. Do as much as you reasonably can. Push to the point of discomfort, keep doing it every day until it gets easy, then do more. Stop if it swells or causes a lot of pain, either at the time or later so you cant sleep.

 

[Chillimac]

Just home from my first physio session with a very nice young lady therapist. We spent half an hour discussing everything from my symptoms /pain before surgery, through surgery, the start of my rehab, my expectations and hopes going forward, do's and don't and everything in between before she assessed me. She was very happy with my ROM, she measured it at 108 which I'm very happy with too. She gave me the all clear to return to the gym too which I was hoping for but she also gave me a stern warning not to overdo things (I've had a tendency in the past to get a bit ahead of myself and set myself back as a result) so I'll definitely be taking her advice on board. She advised me to wait a couple of weeks before I head to the local pool to swim to be 100% sure the wound is fully healed which makes sense to me too.
All in all I'm very happy with my progress thus far. As many of you have already told me, slowly, slowly is the key so I'm not going to get too giddy

 

[SusieShoes]

I like your therapist, based on her advice, particularly about the pool. It is sensible to wait as a precaution against infection getting into the wound. And I think she was preaching to the choir (being you) about not pushing your recovery too hard. Patience pays off when it comes to healing the knee. Quality healing is a wonderful thing!

Your ROM is excellent for this early in recovery. No need to push an ROM like that. Your knee is coming along like a champ.

 

[Chillimac]

Susieshoes those were exactly her words about infection. There's a reason she's a medical professional and I'm not!

 

[Chillimac]

Three weeks to the day and I tried my first gym session at my local gym! Up bright and early and in the gym by 07:00 good to see the early morning lifters, most of them surprised to see me back in so soon, the rest hoping I'd packed it in!!!!!!!
Started with a gentle warm up and although I'm still limping slightly I had no trouble when I started on the weights machines getting on and off them. I made sure of my positioning before I attempted to use them. There were a couple of machines I gave a miss today, they're too low down to safely use without putting excess strain on the new joint but all in all everything went well. I even managed to move some moderate weights.
Then I moved onto the stationary bike. I chose the recumbent one, easier to get on and off. Set the seat so that my leg was almost fully extended (around 90%) and slowly started, on the lowest possible setting, to pedal. After a minute or so, with no pain or discomfort I moved the seat in slightly, bending the knee a little more at the top of each rotation. The first couple of rotations I was wary, I didn't know what to expect but again, no problems I moved the seat in one more time for the last minute or so of my 6 minute cycle with no problems and was very happy when I'd finished.
It felt very good to be back in there again. Home, iced and elevated for half an hour, rested completely for 2 hours and the knee seems to be fine. I'll be back in the gym on Thursday to give it another go, providing there are no adverse effects to today's session and hopefully gradually move on from there.

 

[sistersinhim]

You are rehabbing your knee so smartly. You are setting a wonderful example for others with your sensibility!

 

[SusieShoes]

It feels wonderful to get back to the activities, friends, and places we love. After all, one reason we have this major surgery is so we can continue doing or get back to doing our favorite forms of exercise. It’s great to see you taking such a thoughtful and smart approach to the gym!

Let us know how your gym master plan progresses.

 

[Chillimac]

Sistersinhim I made a mistake my first go around with my left knee. We have to learn our lessons and not repeat those same mistakes. Plus, my wife would kill me if I did!!

 

[Chillimac]

I'll keep posting regular updates Susieshoes.

 

[sistersinhim]

We have to learn our lessons and not repeat those same mistakes. Plus, my wife would kill me if I did!!

Good for her. She a great advocate!

 

[Chillimac]

I'm not daft enough to even think for a second that I'm the boss in my house Sistersinhim! With age comes perspective lol.

 

[sistersinhim]

As we age, we grow in wisdom. You're a smart man, Chillimac!

Have a low pain and happy day!

 

[Chillimac]

Sistersinhim, my wife could inflict far more pain than any surgeon ever could !

 

[sistersinhim]

Oh my. You mustn't over work and your knee and make her angry!

 

[Chillimac]

I had a conversation with a friend last night who had a TKR 29th December 2017 and despite all the advice given from the surgeon, Physios and the information I gave him that I'd learned from my previous surgery as well as pointing him in the direction of this fantastic site, he chose to ignore the majority of it and is now having to go back in to have manipulation surgery. His ROM is very low, he says he can hardly bend the knee (I suspect he has just sat around in the weeks after his surgery rather than actively trying to use the new knee) and still has a lot of pain. He's had xrays and everything is where it should be so it sounds like the surgery was fine, now he's starting to worry about the new surgery.
Personally, I'm an advocate of helping yourself, if you put the work in, within reason, you'll get the rewards further down the road and I believe there can be a lot of pain, from accounts I've read after manipulation surgery elsewhere . Has anyone on here had manipulation surgery? If so, how did it go, how was the pain after and to what degree was ROM improved?
I'll endeavour to get him to read the replies and posts on here this time around.

 

[SusieShoes]

Has anyone on here had manipulation surgery? If so, how did it go, how was the pain after and to what degree was ROM improved?

If you look at the list of threads here in the Recovery Area, you will note each has a prefix: TKR, BTKR, etc.. Find one that has the MUA prefix and click on the prefix. That will bring up a list with all the MUA threads.