TKR Right TKR November 7, 2016

[ferddword]

Appreciate it! My wife has been great. I share other folks experiences and show her different posts. I was just looking for a caregivers 1st person perspective.

 

[Josephine]

Was wondering if there were another site that our support group can go to

I can promise you that BoneSmart is unique as it tends to dwell on the positive where the few other sites tend to be rather negative.

But actually that's not a bad idea. Carers are more than welcome here. There's no place better for them to learn.

 

[ferddword]

Happy Holidays everyone! I'm now at 6 weeks and everything seems to be going well. ROM is at 115/0. However, my knee has started to click, at times fairly loudly - almost as if gears were moving in there. It doesn't hurt, but a bit worrisome.

 

[ferddword]

Mainly happens when I let my knee hang and bend and flex it. When walking a little less but still there. I've read this is normal, but it just showed up this week. Any cause for concern?

 

[KarriB]

Some knees click and others don't, some stop after a while and others don't. One of our staff here has one TKR that clicks and one that's quiet.

 

[Josephine]

After 7 years I can still make my right knee clunk on demand but not the left one! I think it's just because the nice soft cartilage has been replaced with hard plastic and metal.

 

[Celle]

Here is the article that talks about knees clicking and clunking.
Clicking/clunking knee joint after surgery
As long as it doesn't hurt, there's no need to worry about it.

 

[newlybionic]

Happy holiday to you too. My knee has clicked on and off since my surgery. I have no pain with it but it reminds me of how lucky I am to live in a time when I can have surgery to fix the knee that had been causing new so much pain and limiting my ability to enjoy life.

 

[ferddword]

Thanks all! That was the article I read. Just seems to be much more frequent and louder this week. I'll continue to monitor it.

 

[Red's Mom]

My L knee has clicked and clunked from day one. OS said this is perfectly normal and might go away as muscles heal and get stronger.

 

[Celle]

My right knee, which is 5 years old now, still clicks and clunks from time to time. My left knee, only 2 years old, has never done it. I don't know why. Since it doesn't hurt, I just ignore it.

 

[Arttie]

Both of my pre-op knees pop so loud my wife can hear them . I'll have to see if it continues after my surgery, some time next year.

 

[ferddword]

I didn't have any noise until recently and now seems more frequent and louder. Anyone else have the clicking show up later?

 

[Celle]

Yes, that can happen.

 

[ferddword]

Hey folks! Went to PT today for only the 2nd time since my TKR 8 weeks ago (the only other time was at 3 weeks). Because of this site and the great advice, my only PT has been daily living. When I mentioned this to the therapist and before he even evaluated my progress, he looked at me with a bit of disdain and started telling me that ROM was important and he doesn't want me to go through manipulations, etc.

Anyway fast forward, did the bike for about 10 mins and he measured me at 120/0. We did the exercises on the pic I've attached and he stretched and pushed on my knee a bit. At the end of the session, he said he was impressed with my progress.

I wanted to share since what got me this progress wasn't pushing and punishing my knee early on, it was because of following many of the tips I learned here! So thank you all! Now, I've gained some strength and most of swelling is down, I can start doing a bit more strengthening. Still feels a bit of pain inside knee so will take it slow.

 

[sistersinhim]

These are awfully rough on a knee that is just 2 months old. If you found yourself really sore afterwards, then you'll know it's too early. Please be gentle with yourself.

 

[Celle]

You're doing so well, @ferddword .
With a ROM of 120 already, you don't need to do any of those exercises, particularly not the wall quarter squat or the supine knee flexion at wall. They are too much for your knee at this stage.
In any case, you only need to do one sort of exercise for flexion, no more, and your flexion is great.

It's really a bit too early for strengthening exercises. Normal, everyday use will help to increase your muscle strength and you can add a few exercises to increase strength after you reach 3-4 months:
Exercises - for gentle strengthening

 

[Jamie]

I have to agree. You're still in the healing phase of recovery. You could get by just fine with just the activities of daily living for now. I especially wonder the wisdom of that bridge. That's really not even a knee exercise and it seems way, way too early for bridges of any type. But, as long as you pay attention to how you feel both during the sessions and afterwards......sometimes we all have to experiment to see where we are. Just be very, very careful!

 

[RMasano]

Looks like you are doing great. My surgery is Monday. On my information sheets from OS, it says not to overdo it or it will actually cause more harm.

 

[KarriB]

If you go back, don't let the PT push your knee, there's absolutely no reason with your with your ROM numbers. If you do anything ride the bike with zero resistance. Don't worry about the exercises, just dance with the girl you brought.