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TKR Sandydee's New Knee Highs and Lows

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Agree with @Spencieca 100%. No sets just gentle toe points,lift leg , heel slides no more....fire your PT...I tried to train like and Olympic athlete before the surgery which helped my recovery immensely....easy does now with rest and lots of ice for swelling ..

Vinny
 
That window of oipportunity seems to be something that is told to a lot of people - push - push - push otherwise you will lose that window - well - what I have learned from reading on this forum and my own experience - that is just bunk - Interesting that from what I understand people in the UK do no PT and just let their body heal with doing everyday activities - and on my part - I did 4 sessions with home PT that did not push me in any way the first 2 weeks and 1 session in outpatient PT - that is all - I started with a ROM of 4/95 right out of the hospital and by doing just that minimal PT and heel slides and my ankle pumps and very minimal leg lifts - my ROM continued to get better and better - I had very little pain, was walking very comfortably, doing stairs like a normal person within 3 weeks - everyone is different though - listen to your knee and don't let anyone scare you into doing more than you can - there is no window of opportunity - your ROM will continue to get better as your swelling goes down - and it won't go down if you are pushing past into pain....there are a lot of people on here that have more experience than me and I am sure they will be along shortly. Hang in there -

Now I just have to remember all of this in a few days as I head into my left knee replacement...HAHA
 
@spihaven I agree neighbor. Will be thinking of you and praying for your upcoming surgery. I am so confused, my OS, who I trusted to do my surgery said I need to get good ROM in the first two months, and two PTs have told me that I need to work harder. But after resting more yesterday I feel much better with less swelling. I don't want to be a wimp, but I'm not stupid either. I would love to read some clinical research on this subject. Can anyone point me toward any such articles? PT coming to do a home visit today, icing, resting and taking pain meds in prep. Thank you everyone for your support. Happy April fools day.
 
i was told you can't bend a hose full of water - and when the small compartment in our knee is swelling you won't get good ROM - and pushing and working harder only makes the tissues swell up more - you see the results yourself of resting - you feel better and you will have better ROM - Like I mentioned earlier - the UK does not even do PT and they have great results - certainly Josephine is a prime example of that - just do what you feel comfortable in doing - don't push no matter who tells you to do it - you will get good ROM as the swelling goes down and pushing harder will just make more swelling and pain - you are not a wimp!!!! I iced, elevated and rested a lot and did very little in the way of formal PT and my right knee at 4 months is great - that is going to be my plan for my second knee - of course each knee is different - but I learned the hard way not to push myself and I have seen the results - Hope your PT today goes well....
 
Hi! I'm coming into this late but am so glad your surgery/anesthesia went well. My OS had to do some extra soft tissue surgery so didn't want me to have any vigorous PT till I was 6 weeks out. I'm now at 91 degrees flexion and 0 extension and just started my "real" PT today. I really spent my first weeks just doing stretches and walking--and of course, icing, elevating and taking my pain meds. Referee just wrote a great post on how we beat ourselves up mentally (and physically) when in all actuality the knee is in charge of its recovery. You may need to have a talk with your PT or even change to a different one if s/he keeps pushing you too hard. Good luck and keep posting.
 
Had my first official PT visit with my assigned PT, Emy. And I love her, we are on the same page. She cut everything back to comfortable and no pain. My flexion today was 87 degrees, and extension 2 degrees and she was thrilled with my ROM. She would rather that I walk a short distance twice per day. She believes in rest,ice and elevation, plus pain meds. She changed my exercises to more gentle stretching and no Olympic training. Basically an OK day, had a bit of job related stress today, not what a healing person needs, but I will have to focus on my knee right now. Tomorrow will be a brighter day. Thank you all for your words of wisdom.
 
That is awesome news - so glad you have a great PT - I loved mine the last time as she also suggested just stretching, heel slides and walking twice a day for 4 minutes and when that was comfortable with no ill effects to add more time in 1 minute increments - In fact she was so great I am requesting her for this upcoming surgery. So glad today went well for you -
 
Good report Sandydee, you just have to remember to trust your body! Take it easy as Bonesmart like to remind us, it's not a race. Hoping today is another good day for you.


Brenda aka Bionic B
 
It's great that you got a good PT--I love mine as she encourages me but doesn't go past it when I say enough. Keep up the good work!
 
I haven't posted in a while. But have been lurking around reading about everyone else's progress. I am 12 days post op and for the most part my recovery seems much like everyone else. My PT is still making home visits twice per week. My extension is 2 and my flexion is 88. Does that seem normal for this phase of recovery? My biggest concern is that it is very painful to sit up in a chair for more than a few minutes. If I put my leg up on a chair it's fine, but if I put it on the floor and bend it I can only stand 3-4 minutes max. Does this seem normal, it has me a little worried? I have a tip for sleeping. I was having a lot of pain at night. I take Norco 10mg every 4 hours round the clock. At night my doctor told me it was Ok to add one Xanax .25 mg, which lasts 8 hours. I wake up once at the 4 hour mark for my next Norco. Since starting this med plan I have slept like a baby.
 
Hi Sandydee,
Sounds like you are right where you need to be at 12 days post op with your ROM. Your soft tissue is still swollen and angry, and will hurt if you put it down while sitting. I had the same experience, one day after a few weeks, it was gone. As the swelling goes down, your ROM will improve, and you will be able to put your knee down.
Glad to hear you found something that works for sleeping, it can be elusive this early in your recovery.
Take it slow and let your knee heal.
 
@pumpkin thanks for the encouragement. I was getting worried that I wouldn't sit in a chair again. Do you know who I should tell, I can't change the name of my thread. I don't have the tabs except for the watch thread tab. Thanks for your help.
 
Sandydee,
Post your new thread title here and a moderator will change it for you since you do not have thread tools.
 
New thread title: first would like the little square that says TKR. Sandydee's new knee highs and lows.
Thank you for changing it for me.
 
Sandydee---nice name'!!! I changed your title for you and added the prefix! I think that you have to remember that you are barely two weeks out on a long recovery. I really did not feel like myself until 12 weeks---so you have a long road ahead of you.

The most important thing right now is to allow your soft tissues to heal. It was months before I really wanted to sit for more than a few minutes---in fact, I was excused from Jury duty at 12 weeks because I could not sit for hours on end.

Trust yourself--if it hurts, don't do it. If you need to rest, well get in that bed, prop up those knees and rest!! My doc told me two hours down for every one hour up.

Elevating your leg to control swelling and pain
Using ice
 
Sandydee, I also agree that you are just fine and very much in the "normal" range for recovery.

The reason you are uncomfortable when sitting for very long is that you still have swelling, even if you cannot see it. That knee compartment is so compact that just the smallest amount of fluid can cause discomfort.

I suggest you up the icing and elevating for a while. It can really help with pain and swelling. It's okay to ice even through the night when you're sleeping. I did that for months with both my knees.

Also be sure you are taking adequate pain meds on a set schedule. Those meds will also help control the discomfort you're having as you ease back into more normal activities like sitting up in a chair. Until the discomfort disappears there is nothing at all wrong with putting your foot up.
 
spihaven said:
from what I understand people in the UK do no PT and just let their body heal with doing everyday activities
Click to expand...
Actually, whilst I didn't do any physio, it's not true that UK patients do none. What they don't have is formal PT like you guys do. They are given a sheet of exercises to take home and expected to get on with it themselves which most do.

Sandydee said:
I would love to read some clinical research on this subject. Can anyone point me toward any such articles?
Click to expand...
Sadly not. An omission I am hopeful to address.
Sandydee said:
At night my doctor told me it was Ok to add one Xanax .25 mg, which lasts 8 hours
Click to expand...
@Sandydee Xanax is not a painkiller, it's an anti-depressant. Anti-depressants work by calming the electrical activity in the brain and nervous system which thereby also calms the pain. It also has some sedative properties which enhances the quality of your sleep patterns.
 
Had a visit with my home PT. My extension is stuck at 2, my flexion is now 90. Yeah. My PT took out my 52 staples, very little discomfort. Resting most of the days with my surgical leg elevated and running my Breg Kodiak ice machine almost 24/7. Not sure what I would do without the ice machine. The icing really helps. I learned a new use for my leg lifter today. My PT recommended using it to pull my toes back to help with my extension. The best news of all is that I get to shower in 24 hours. I can't wait. I never realized how wonderful a shower could be. Thank you everyone for your advice and support. You are all a very vital part of my recovery. Blessings.
 
Haven't posted in a while. I thought everything was going well until a few days age. I started having really painful arthralgias. Pain in every joint of my body. Not sure what was causing it? Thinking and reading that it might be the Norco that I've been taking every day since surgery, I stopped the Norco. I was taking six tablets per day, then dropped to two or three per day, because my pain was getting better. Does anyone else have experience with full body arthralgias? Also having some concern about my inability since surgery to sit for more than five or six minutes. When I sit for a while I get a dull pain from the middle of my butt down my leg to my foot. If I stand up the pain goes away. I think it's sciatica like pain. My PT is going well, flexion 110, extension 2-3. Still walking with a limp, have had this limp for ten years, now trying hard to walk normal. Limp is not because of pain, but I think it's just a bad habit and bad muscle memory. My knee is mostly pain free, just pain with sitting and the arthralgias. Thanks for feedback.
 
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