Second one done :) whew!!!

[tiredwife]

@knees from the photo it doesn't look fully healed. There shouldn't be any scabs or open spots before rubbing stuff in it. If it still looks like the photo I would say it was too soon. Beside it is fine though.

 

[kneeper]

I agree. It looks too soon to me. I'll tag Josephine for a professional opinion.

 

[kneeper]

Thanks for your comments everybody I really just don't know how to tell if my incision is totally closed. I would think the pt would know but still worried about her massaging it at only 2 weeks. Here is a pic of my incision 2 weeks post op. @tiredwife do you remember how many weeks post op you started massaging the scar? Was it early on? Thanks tiredwife

@Josephine Are tiredwife and I correct that this looks to early to be putting lotion on?

 

[tiredwife]

@knees I am trying to remember, I think it was week 3 - no scabs and was completely healed closed. Really gentle with the vitamin e . She told me to rub gently on either side parallel the scar and then rub gently across it with the oil (don't want friction). She also showed me how to move his knee cap gently up and down, his kneecap moves really good now so I guess it helped.

 

[knees]

Gosh that's what I thought too :( I would think she would know that. Upsets me. I hope it's ok. I won't let her do it again.

 

[tiredwife]

@knees It probably did no harm, but touching a scar that hasn't healed is never a good thing. Hopefully her hands were clean. What did she rub in it?

 

[knees]

She put gloves on first then she took some cream from a jar. She did the massage then wiped my incision with alcohol. I'm mad at myself because I knew better and I should have said no. I told her it worried me but when she said its fine I went along with it. :(

 

[tiredwife]

@knees at least she took precautions!

 

[Gingiebot]

@knees don't worry about it now; it is already past. If you get an infection, then you can worry! And next time just say 'no'.

 

[Josephine]

Movement (toe wiggles, heel slides, getting up and walking a little every hour or so is great for preventing clots.

You're correct on all that except the heel slides - they do not contribute to the clot prevention.

The massage should be gentle and it helps keep it from adhering.

That's a myth.

I would think the pt would know but still worried about her massaging it at only 2 weeks.

From the looks of your photo, your wound is far too early to be massaged at all, never mind with something. So stop her doing it. Just goes to prove that you should trust all the PTs all of the time! Massage post THR

She put gloves on first then she took some cream from a jar.

Out of a JAR? That's dreadful and very counter to good wound care practice. NEVER use anything out of a jar as it's likely to be a cauldron of bugs! You never know who's dipped their grubby paws into it and if they had had washed their hand properly or used gloves before they did. Actually gloves are not good either because an open box of gloves can also get contaminated.

 

[knees]

I just saw the last part of Josephine's reply. I'm so scared.
Would I know if this caused a problem right away? I'm so scared. Ok I am praying over my incision and I am trusting God to protect me. I can't handle this without God. I'm just a crying mess

 

[Josephine]

Oh dear, I'm so sorry I scared you. It's not that it WILL infect you, just that it's a very unwise thing to do at any time. No need to panic, truly.

Neither did I mean to infer that your wound is open. It is closed but still very new so that's why it's unwise to massage it yet. And using a communal pot of cream is never a wise thing to do, even in your house. If you really have to, use a tube and make sure you don't touch the top and keep the cap on always.

 

[knees]

Thank you Josephine you have calmed me down. Thank you.

 

[Jozilla]

Hi @knees I think when you go back to PT you should explain to them how harmful this could be. Just to educate them though you think this would be common sense. Hopefully your PT will then learn from this after you talk to her. I am glad though that Jo stopped by to comment as she is a great medical expert! I hope you have an uneventful recovery!

 

[knees]

Yes I'm thankful for Josephine and this forum! Just makes me sad that a professional could do something so dangerous. I will never trust them again. I don't even want to go back. This is same pt I had with my first tkr. They have always been aggressive and I've always felt I had to obey. Not going to anymore. She put 2 pound weights on my ankle the same day and had me do 40 leg lifts. It hurt. Now that I have no trust in her at all I think I just want to cancel. Josephine says they don't do pt in U.K I have a lot to think about.

 

[tiredwife]

@knees You can always request a different therapist or talk to your insurance, maybe they can send you to a different place.

 

[knees]

Hi all! I have a question. My ltkr was done 9 months ago and it is still painful if I'm standing. I can walk and I'm fine otherwise. I'm hoping it's because my leg muscles are weak since I can work on that. Does it bother anyone else to stand for more than 5 minutes? Thanks

 

[kneeper]

Painful how?

 

[knees]

It's not a sharp pain more like a deep aching and as soon as I sit it goes away

 

[ponyannie]

Hi everyone, so nice to find you! I had my left TKR March 11 and had GREAT results! I was so excited to have the right one done on July 8, but this time had a small complication. I could not bend it beyond 60 degrees without a great deal of pain. There was also a deep dimple next to it. After a few weeks, and forcing myself to still do the CPM in increments to make sure my ROM will still be normal, one day the pain suddenly stopped. I saw the ortho, and he admitted he had put in a stitch too tight, and it was impinging on a nerve! I was too relieved to be upset with him, as my imagination was filling in worries like debris floating around in there. Everything is back on track and doing great. As the for CPM, they put me on it for six hours at a time in the hospital. At home, they wanted me to still do six hours, but break them up into two or three hour increments. Personally, I think it helped tremendously in getting my ROM up to 110 degrees, as it gently forces you to, as opposed to making yourself push to that angle.