Become an Insider

TKR Rehab Starts now !

Very Encouraging Physiotherapy Session :
My second PT session this morning, 4 weeks after surgery and both myself and my physio are very pleased with progress so far. We sat and discussed how things were going, what I could and couldn't do, what I'd been doing in the gym on my own (I suspect she was checking I hadn't overdone things, I'd told her on my first visit I was an impatient patient lol) before she gave my knee the once over.
She was very happy with the wound and how well it had healed. I mentioned the stitch scenario from yesterday, she said it's surprisingly common and to follow the same advice I'd been given on here, antiseptic, keep an eye on it. She then measured my ROM. Flexion :125degrees, extension:5degrees. I'm very happy with that. She also noted that there was good strength in the quads, I'd been doing squats with an aerobic ball behind my back against the wall in the gym as well as riding an exercise bike.
They have a specialist "knee class" at my local hospital, a rehab class for TKR patients which she tells me they usually refer patients to after 6 weeks but recommended I don't attend as I'm already far enough advanced that it wouldn't be beneficial. Her instructions as we finished the session were to step up my own exercise regime, slowly build up on the exercise bike to 10 min sessions and add resistance gradually. Try slow and stop movements when doing the squatting exercise, stop halfway down and hold for 5 secs and repeat on the way back up. One more exercise she gave me to do, stand and balance on the leg which had the TKR for as long as I can. Once I can do that for more than a minute, try to get to the same level but with my eyes closed. I could already manage around 40 secs with my eyes open but it's a different kettle of fish with them closed! The muscle response is slightly slower, perseverance is the key she tells me!
I have a visit with my surgeon in 2 weeks time, my Physio would like to see me just before I go to see him and says so long as I don't overdo things, she'll be happy to sign me off from that date.
Fingers crossed that's the case and I continue to progress as well as I have been doing.
 
KT Tape.

For some reason, since my physio session last Thursday I developed an irritating clicking on the inside of my new knee. Every time I took a step I could feel it, there was a little bit of pain there too. I couldn't work out what had caused it, I'd not done anything I hadn't normally been doing since my surgery. Just out of interest, before I headed to the gym this morning I applied some KT tape down the inside of my knee, curving it around the kneecap.
Hey presto, problem solved! From the first step after applying the tape I could feel the difference. The niggling clicking and the pain had disappeared. Has anyone else used the tape during recovery?
 
I’ve seen lots of people on here who swear by this kinetic tape. It really helps some people. I’m sure a few will stop in to share their thoughts. Never used it myself, but I’d try it if I had a reason.
 
Quick Update:
I found out what had caused the clicking and pain on the medial side of my knee. Squats. Even though I’d been doing them without any problems for a couple of weeks I decided to miss them out of my gym sessions this week. The symptoms have completely cleared up.
I’d read on other threads on here that many people had either completely left squats out of their recovery or had set backs because of doing them. Luckily , by looking around here, I’ve caught it early without doing any real damage and suffering a set back.
 
It’s great when we find a cause to an issue! Too often we don’t and we spend way too much time trying to figure it out!

You are doing really well following a very sensible rehab plan. I wish it would go like that for everyone.
 
Hurray, you listened to your knee and have succeeded in eliminating another mystery! Squats are very bad on new knees, and you stopped them before causing they caused long term problems!
 
Knees tell the tale. Good for you! Listening to yours will make for a better recovery in the long term.

You'll be able to get back to squats again later on. My OS said to avoid leg presses, weights, and squats for at least six months. After that, it was up to me. It's always up to us, of course. In general, it's best to let the knee heal and build up muscles at first with gentle exercises like walking. Then later on the more demanding exercises will be less likely to cause problems.
 
Thanks for the replies guys. My physio had suggested I try squats but it was entirely up to me if I felt OK doing them. As I said, for a couple of weeks I was fine, however, in my second week of doing them, with increased flexibility in my knee I was bending that little bit further while doing the exercise than I had done previously. Thinking back on it, that little bit extra seems to have been what put too much load on it.
I've been to the gym twice this week, done 7mins on the recumbent exercise bike at the beginning of my session then 7mins on the regular exercise bike at the end, both moved up to level 2 and had no problems whatsoever. I see my physio again next week and I'll be sure I inform her of what's happened.
 
6 Week Surgeons Visit.
Not the best news.
I'd been experiencing a bit of pain over the last week to ten days around the kneecap and fibia but put it down to my increased load bearing as I'd been able to get around/walk more. I'd been very careful not to overdo things (if you've seen my earlier posts, everything had been going really well. Physio, my own exercise regime etc) but as I was seeing the physio immediately before the surgeon I thought it best to let her know. She told me something I wasn't aware of, no one had bothered to mention to me that apparently there had been some problems with my kneecap. I pressed her for more information but she said to ask the surgeon when I saw him later, so that's what I did.
It was the first thing I asked my surgeon. He went on to tell me that my kneecap wasn't running as he'd hoped it would over the new implants. There was a lot of wear on the under side and now that the majority of the swelling had gone down, that was apparently holding the kneecap in place, there was more room available in the joint and it wasn't following the path he'd hoped it would.
That was a real blow to me. I asked where do I go from here? He just said it will settle down, it might just take more time than it usually would, I asked him for a time frame, he couldn't give me one. As of this week, I'm back at physio twice per week (I thought I was done with that) and he'll see me again in a fortnight for an xray and to reassess.
I'm not normally one to get depressed but this has really deflated me.
 
I'm sorry to hear this. Don't despair, though. Your surgeon is aware and he's keeping an eye on it. There's still a chance that this will resolve.

Go to physio, but try to ease back on all of the knee exercises, to give your knee a chance to heal a bit more.
 
Do you mean the patella is mal tracking?
 
years ago I had mal tracking on my patella after an athroscopy. the muscles were not correctly aligned. physio taped my knee and changed my excerises and massage. took 9 months to rectify.
 
I'm sorry for your setback. Hope things settle quickly for you.

I'm a recent addition to the list and have just read the questions you asked when you started your thread a few weeks ago. Here are my answers.

1. Age: I'm an active 61 year-old, but I'm not sure age as such has anything to do with recovery. I know people much older than me who have had excellent results, and younger people who have struggled. IMHO the other factors you mentioned are probably a lot more important.

2. Pre-op mobility: This, I think, is probably more important than age. I had severe arthritis in my knee (stage 4) for several years before the operation, but remained as active as humanly possible. In fact, the day before my surgery, I ran my dog in a 3-day agility trial, five runs per day. All movement had become very painful and I'd had to stop certain things: hiking (obviously), long walks, and so on. But I kept fit doing the things that were possible. Dog agility involves short bursts of activity - two or three minutes - so it was doable despite the pain. I also did PT before the operation, to strengthen the muscles that would be needed for healing. I thing this had a big impact. I also did exercises to practise daily living - for example, putting on socks and shoes! The fact that I was able to do this for myself, without help, immediately after the operation, was a big boost to my morale (I'm a very independent person).

3. Returning to work: I'm self-employed, meaning no sick pay, so returning to work was an important factor. I spoke to two surgeons, and both told me that, since I have a computer-based job, I'd be able to work a week after the operation, which turned out not to be true. I planned for a 10-day leave, but in the end had to take nearly 3 weeks. I started work part-time at that point, and went back full-time at around 7 weeks. I had a lot of trouble with the pain medication in the early days - Tramadol made me sick and Oxycontin turned me into a snivelling zombie and took away my will to live. So I had to manage with Tylenol and ice after the first few days home. Pain control took a lot of energy. I really couldn't concentrate enough to produce good work in those early weeks. But the financial need to work was certainly a motivation to find solutions.

4. The drive to obtain good results: I'm a very driven person, and that has been both a good thing and a bad thing in my recovery. I installed an exercise bike in the living room, in front of the TV, and was able to use it within a couple of weeks of the operation. I've been walking with no aids and no limp for several weeks. But the tendency to overdo things is ever-present: I can walk 3 km easily, but last week I tried for 4 km and triggered a bout of swelling. The other day, I went to buy a bag of food for my dog and refused the technician's offer to carry it out to the car for me. Result: I tripped over the weighing scales with a 25-lb bag of food in my arms, and had to deal with an uncomfortable back muscle for a few days. But overall, the fact of having very specific goals (I want to compete with my dog in the Canadian national agility championships this August) has been a positive motivator, especially during the early days when pain management was such a problem.

5. Getting the expected results: I'm not yet far enough into the recovery process (9 weeks) to comment on this. So far, so good, I'd say. Range is currently 0 to 120. I can do some things now that I couldn't do before the operation (e.g. walk 3 kilometers), but there are still things I can't do (e.g. run). My pain level now is much, much less than before the operation (1 or 2 now, compared to 8 or 9 before). I can see that if things continue to progress as they are, I'll get most of my life back. The results are positive enough already for me to regret not having the operation sooner: I was very nervous about it and put it off for at least a couple of years. I wish I'd been braver beforehand.

I agree with what others have said about the skill of the surgeon being a major factor. The surgeon who operated on me did an excellent job. I was able to do the operation as outpatient surgery - was admitted to hospital early in the morning, and went home in late afternoon. I was very mobile from day 1. And the surgeon has been supportive of my goals, giving me advice and suggestions for recovery. I would also say that having a good PT is important. Mine is working with me to achieve results, but also keeps me in check, stops me from doing too much and explains why I should/should not be doing certain things. I was lucky to find her.
 
Yes that's it Jockette. I had a similar problem with my left knee when I had my half knee replacement some years ago but that was corrected during the surgery. For some reason they didn't do the same thing this time. It's quite obvious they knew about after the physios comments.
 
I certainly hope it doesn't take that long to correct VonnieN as I'm due back at work mid/late June and there's no way I'll be able to stand for 10 hrs per day if its not settled by then.
 
I’m sorry you have this issue. I question whether or not my patella is tracking properly. At my one year check up last month my surgeon would not address it.

I have had a lot of discomfort for months when I lean forward to do things like make the bed, load or unload the dishwasher, etc. ( this is beginning to improve now)

I told my surgeon this and he was “baffled” and offered no thoughts about it. I have very little outward swelling these days but the day of my appointment I actually was a bit swollen which he did acknowledge.

I rarely have to do any stairs so I’ve had a hard time relearning that. Now that the weather is warmer I’ve gone outside and began practicing on the few steps from my deck to the ground. I can go up foot over foot but it’s quite painful to go down foot over foot. I’m not sure if that would be a further indication of a mal tracking.

I have been advised by the other advisors here to get a second opinion. Obviously my surgeon is not going to be of any further help.

But I just can’t face the possibility or reality of another surgery to fix whatever my problem is. As I mentioned in the very beginning of your thread when you joined, it’s been what I consider a difficult recovery for me.

At this point I am willing to not go down steps foot over foot, and not do things that hurt, if I can work around it. But I am retired and can afford “that luxury “ of putting up with the discomfort for the moment.
 
I remember reading your earlier reply Jockette. Having a long or difficult recovery is draining mentally as well as physically. I do know that it can sometimes take 12/18months to fully settle down, my other surgery took 11 months, I remember distinctly as I was seeing my surgeon for my 12 month check when it suddenly started behaving properly and has been fine ever since 3 weeks before that appointment.
I've been to the gym this morning, concentrated on my gait (it's easier to do as I can use the mirrors in there to ensure I'm using the correct form when walking) then followed the new exercise advice my physio had given me. By the time I got home I could feel my knee was swollen so had an hour of icing and elevation and it calmed down. I also found that I could walk with the correct form a little better, a definite lessening of pain while going up and down stairs. I decided to do nothing else but rest it today. Elevated, ice every couple of hours and plenty of reading is my plan to pass the day!
 
I did try taping my knee and the first time I did the tape helped a lot. However the second time I taped it my skin went crazy and reacted badly to it and it took 2 weeks for the rash to settle down. (my body has not been happy since surgery, I’ve had all sorts of negative things since surgery that never happened before) So I bought some tape for sensitive skin but it didn’t help and didn’t even stay on well so I haven’t taped it again.

The leaning forward issue seems to be better in the last month, most of the time, but I was surprised at how much pain I had going down a couple of steps. Not a good sign.

My ROM is good and improving. My flex is not as good as my unoperated knee but I’m happy enough with it. I can do what I need to, other than go down stairs.

My replacement is a Patellofemoral and I’ve since learned from Bonesmart that it doesn’t have a good track record, (figuratively and literally :loll:)
A mal tracking patella is one of the main reasons for failure in my surgery if the ligaments are not balanced well during surgery. At my one year check up I tried to find out how many Patellofemorals my surgeon does and the office would not give me a straight answer. This tells me they don’t want me to know. I’m sure there must be a record kept.

I’m trying to make the best of things, but it’s very frustrating at times.
 
I’ve also tried taping, it worked to a degree. However the idea of having to tape my knee after I’ve had surgery to correct the severe arthritis doesn’t make sense to me so I’ve given up on that ! Lol.
I’ve got really good flex and extension and my Physio was generally very pleased with my progress. She actually said I was way ahead of her expectations at 6 weeks but this kneecap (patella) problem is obviously a concern for me even if the Physio and surgeon don’t seem too overly worried about it. Hence the concentration on my gait I would suspect. I’m back again at Physio tomorrow and hopefully she’ll see some improvement in my gait which should in turn correct the patella problem. Fingers crossed
 
Chillimac said:
however the idea of having to tape my knee after I’ve had surgery to correct the severe arthritis doesn’t make sense to me
Click to expand...
I totally agree. We had surgery to fix the knee, not to trade a different problem.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Active Antimicrobial Hydrogel
Corganics CBD

Staff online

Members online

Total: 904 (members: 4, guests: 900)

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom