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TKR Schpooko's Recovery

Hi, you are doing great! We all have something or another that is more difficult or tasking for us. This knee replacement stuff is not easy! I wouldn’t fret about any of the things you mentioned, they will come with time.

I had my right TKR one day after you and today I’m exactly 7 weeks. I went back to work full-time at 6 weeks last Wednesday, so that is when I started driving regularly again. I had done a couple of small drives before and didn’t have a problem. My drive is about 40 minutes each way. Driving really hasn’t been a problem. Getting in and out of the car still hurts me though. I think it’s the sideways movement. I always cringe each time I do it and sometimes assist my leg using my hand.

I also just started taking the stairs foot over foot. I find I really need to think about it and concentrate as my natural instinct is to do one step at a time as I’ve been doing it for so long. When I do foot over foot, it really doesn’t hurt, but it feels tight when I get to a certain point and I want to naturally guard and protect it, so I stop and revert to one step at a time. I really just need to convince my brain that it’s ok, because it honestly doesn’t hurt, but just feels tight.

Just yesterday at PT my flexion was 126. My extension was 1 with me working hard at it. I definitely am having more difficulty with straightening my leg fully than bending it. It is still painful if I put a towel under my ankle or let my leg hang off the end of the bed. It doesn’t seem like this will ever get better for me.
 
Hi, Everyone... I am entering Post-Op week 8... I cannot believe 8 weeks have passed since surgery. How are things going? Well, I still have not drove yet. I was going to drive I chickened out. I just want to feel more confident. I am going to try (again) tomorrow in the a.m. when I go food shopping with my son. And speak of food shopping, tomorrow what I am going to do is try to walk the whole store. I figured my son is with me so if I get tired or feel I cannot get back to the front of the store I can have him get one of those scooter thingies. I do like them though. But this is a good way to get some walking in and build strength.

I do the recumbent bike every other day. I have missed a few days because of the stupid hamstring. It was bothering me the other day but instead of applying ice, I applied heat. Wow! did that feel great. At PT the last time I was there they used moist heat and it felt wonderful.

I have the OS sometime in the next two weeks and I wonder what he is going to say that I only went to 2 PT sessions. The first time I was at PT they wanted to know why I was there. I have good ROM, swelling is slight, and I have a bike at home. I went another time had a different PT person and she wanted to know the same thing. She showed me some exercises to do at home :censored: (with that blasted rolled towel) :no-fin: and I did not do them. She said the next time she will let me do the treadmill but I don't have to spend $40 for her to show me the treadmill, I have one of those at home too. So I am going to tell the OS that I did not go and I did the Bonesmart Way and I got these wonderful results. I am so grateful that I found this site before surgery...

The only issue I have is first thing in the a.m. when you just get out of bed. Sometimes the knee is so stiff and sometimes it hurts a bit. But that too is subsiding. I do have days when I do wake up and the knee had a good nights rest and it feels ready to go. Also, I do still wake around 3-4 each night. Sometimes I go on Bonesmart and see who else is on and other days I turn right back over and go back to sleep. Sleep is getting better but not fully there yet where I sleep thru the night for 7-8 hours.

Well I hope this post find all you Bonesmarties coming along well in your recoveries. Schpooko
 
Sounds like you are doing great! Congratulations :happydance: - what a great testimonial for the BS way of recovery.
 
@schpooko , yes i know that feeling when waking. I am about 2 weeks in front of you....it gets better. I am now back at work but set alarm 30mins early to give me time to slowly stretch and move leg to assess. I have more rested knee nights now so your not far off
 
Great report, Schpooko!
I just went to the calendar and double checked. I think you've just finished week 8 and are entering week 9. Only because I'm 9 days after you and I start week 8 on Thursday. Triple check for me please. LOL!

I need to go good shopping, too. I'm on a specialized diet and hubs just can't read labels. I definitely can't walk through the store yet. I may try tomorrow and use the motorized cart. Good idea that your son is going with you.

That's so awesome about little to no pt! Can't wait to hear what your OS says.

My knee is pretty stiff in the morning, too. It loosens up after walking around for a few minutes. And I'm going to try the heat pad on my thigh today since you mentioned it. I keep forgetting about it.
Keep up the good work, you're doing great!
 
You’re doing great, @schpooko! It’s quite wonderful when your knee starts feeling ready to go in the morning. It took months before my knees were completely stiffness-free in the morning, but like you said, they just kept getting better and better until finally they got there.

Sleep will get better and better, too. Your knee won’t get stiff during the night or have any other reason to wake you up.
 
@beachy
I have been keeping up with your thread and you, my dear, are doing quite well yourself. I have now been doing the bike at night for 10 minutes at a time (5 minutes forward and 5 minutes backward so each knee gets the same amount of action) and for the past 3 days I have had days that I don't even notice my knee. What I mean is that it feels like I have a normal regular knee. I hope things stay this way. But we are early in this roller coaster recovery so I don't want to jinx it. I hope things are going well for you and thanks for the motorized cart thread it was a lot fun to read the answers of others. :giggle:

@SusieShoes
Since your recovery was the first I did read when I joined Bonesmart I can feel where you were coming from when things got better for your knees. As I said to Beachy over the past several days I actually don't really feel mechanical when I walk or sit. (Stairs are another story) I actually feel normal. Still working on the quads so doing the bike religiously. I am glad I read your recovery first it really made a difference in my decisions I have made during my recovery.

@kmak81230 Thanks for posting. I hope you are doing well yourself. I am so grateful to have found Bonesmart, it was a Godsend and a blessing.

@Kiwigirl62 Thanks for encouragement! :curtsey: What a great idea to get up 30 minutes ahead of time to give your knees wake up time too! I will do that from now on when I have days that the knees say to me "Stretch me".
I hope all is going well with you too.. :dancy:
 
@SueWStrong Sorry It took awhile to get back to you. You are doing great yourself... Those are all big victories in the TKR world. Driving for 40 minutes is a fete I have not done yet. And the foot over foot stair is masterful in itself. I am too scared to even try. I have to make an attempt soon. Well, keep up the good work and speedy recovery... Schpooko
 
SueWStrong said:
Just yesterday at PT my flexion was 126. My extension was 1 with me working hard at it. I definitely am having more difficulty with straightening my leg fully than bending it. It is still painful if I put a towel under my ankle or let my leg hang off the end of the bed. It doesn’t seem like this will ever get better for me.
Click to expand...
Try not to worry about your extension and don't do any exercises that hurt.
It's quite common for extension to take longer to achieve than flexion.

That's because you have large muscles and tendons at the back of your leg that have to be stretched slowly and gently. That can take a while, but you'll get there in the end.

There's no need to rush to get ROM (either flexion or extension) because it can continue to improve for a year, or even much longer, after a knee replacement. There isn't any deadline you have to meet:
Myth busting: the "window of opportunity" in TKR

Here's an article about extension, together with a few suggestions that may help:
Extension: how to estimate it and ways to improve it
 
It takes a little longer for the new knee to feel "non-mechanical" on stairs, or when doing new activities, like for me when I first got back on a regular bicycle. The knee didn't hurt at all, but it did feel like something different was going on in there. That feeling eventually vanished too.

Some of it is our brain re-learning what a "normal" knee feels like. It's not the original issue normal knee, which the brain learned intimately from so many years, so it must work to identify the implant and healed tissues as the now normal knee. :idea:

Brain... meet knee.

Brain: Well, that's different.

Knee: I don't need a brain. :rotfl:
 
You have inspired me to start the bike at the gym. I was able to walk there today. I had the furball out for a walk and we kept walking and it felt ok. Now I know I can get there by foot.
 
@schpooko - I think much of it is just like SusieShoes said, our brain relearning what our new knee feels like. It’s very different than our old knee. I’ve been working my brain hard, telling myself the way it feels when going up and down stairs is ok. Yesterday at work I had to go to a second floor conference room twice for meetings and I took the stairs up and down instead of the elevator and I was very proud of myself. I haven’t been just naturally taking them without thinking about it and saying to myself “remember, it doesn’t really hurt”, but I’m doing that less each day. Driving has really been a non-issue for me and just yesterday my surgery leg did great when I had to slam hard on the brakes to avoid hitting a deer!
 
@beachy Great! Do the bike. My is a recumbent bike and I tell you it feels great on the knee. I started last week at 5 minutes and now have increased to 10. Each week I will add a little more time very slowly.
 
@SueWStrong Wow! close call. How is your knee today after having to do that hard braking? We live in country too and the deer are an issue here too!

I am just going to wait a little while longer before I do the foot over foot stairs. My quad is bit too weak and I don't want to strain my quad and set myself back in anyway. I don't do PT (which I think my OS is going to have a heart attack over) so when I feel I could start trying I will. MY OS is a jock. He was a OS, for a while, for the Cleveland Browns and now he is the OS for the Lehigh Valley football team. When I saw him last, he said 1) wean off the pain meds, 2) use ice, and 3) go at with PT. I did not follow his advice and I went to PT only twice. He must be wondering why he has not heard from any PT people in regards to me. Oh! Well!! All that should matter to him is 1) I am not in pain from the replacement 2) I have great ROM and 3) everything so far is moving along wonderfully.

Take care, Schpooko
 
@schpooko No problem with the leg after braking hard. I agree that PT is not necessary. I love my PT guy though as he never pushes me to the point of pain, but does encourage me. I like going because I want to know which exercises are going to build muscle and strength the best. And like you said, who cares what your surgeon says. He should be happy you are doing so well! Take care too.
 
schpooko said:
and 3) go at with PT. I did not follow his advice and I went to PT only twice. He must be wondering why he has not heard from any PT people in regards to me. Oh! Well!! All that should matter to him is 1) I am not in pain from the replacement 2) I have great ROM and 3) everything so far is moving along wonderfully.
Click to expand...
I wouldn't mention PT to your surgeon unless he brings it up.
The results you have without going to PT should show that, for you, it wasn't necessary.
It's your knee anyway, and you had the right to choose.
 
I never went to PT and my OS never questioned me about it. All he cared about was what I could do with my new knee! Function should be on everyone's #1 list.
 
@grandma chris Thanks for encouragement. I do tell anyone that I have spoken with regarding my TKR surgery that I followed the BS way and I did no PT the first month after surgery. Healing was the first thing I wanted to do because I felt its the most important. The soft tissue along with everything else goes through such a trauma during surgery. Good luck with your recovery!

@sistersinhim I think my OS will say something to me but it's a little to late now. What is done is done. And I might have to cancel my appt. with him this week anyway because of car trouble so we will see how this all plays out. When he sees me and what I can do I think he'll be fine.

@Celle I think he will ask me because he did at my last appt. He wanted to know if I had started outpatient PT which I did not at that time. When he looks at my chart he will not see any PT summaries. Oh! well. All I know is I did what was best for me and I am happy with the results I have achieved so far.

Thanks and take care...
 
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