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Shelly's Recovery

Thanks so much girls! The support means the world to me. I know all my BoneSmart reading tells me this, but it is just such a frustrating feeling.
 
mechellac ~ you deserve a good long rest after all the excitement and activity in your life. good luck at your surgeon appointment. you did well to get through all the recent travelling and no wonder your knee is complaining. i'm sure it's temporary.
 
Definitely get the wheelchair assist! It was free and super convenient. I'm using it again when I fly to ME next month. I'll be at around the same recovery point I was for chicago - able to walk, but not very far.

And rest. Your poor knee needs it!

I'm coming off my daytime meds and added some activity this week and I'm noticing a bit more complaining from my left knee (your knees birthday buddy). It's a good reminder to me that it's still healing too.
 
I think I agree with the wheelchair assist. When we had to walk over 50 some gates in Denver I kept eyeing the people in wheelchairs thinking they had the right idea!


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Heck, even natural joints can swell under those conditions, so no wonder yours did! I'm sure it's a very temporary setback and I seriously doubt your surgeon will be trying to push you into an MUA. But, even if he tries, you have the "power of no.":friends: If you don't feel up to that statement or the actual visit, just reschedule. :SUNsmile:
 
Oh yes, @mechellec, your knee needs a lot of rest now. You have really stressed it and it is angry at you. Do as little as you can for the next few weeks and you'll see much improvement!
 
Wow, you have been so busy! You know your knee can bend that much, I agree with everyone, it's the swelling. It will come back. I'm sitting on an exam table in the OS office myself this morning. You have better flexion than I do and I hope he doesn't mention MUA to me either.

Here's hoping some rest and down time gets you back with even more flexion! You really deserve some good rest now.
 
Went to orthopedic massage today and it was great. He did something to "activate my muscles". Within 30 minutes I was back to the 111 bend I had two weeks ago. Went from there to see my OS who wants me to come back in four weeks with a ROM exceeding 120 or he wants me to do an MUA. If I get to 120 in four weeks I'm just going to cancel the next visit with the OS. I'm going to continue doing the orthopaedic massage for the next four weeks as well. Nothing like a little pressure!


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i'm sure your r.o.m. will increase to 120 within 4 weeks. can you describe what orthopaedic massage is and is it done on just your operated leg/knee? haha i misread your last sentence and thought it said "nothing like a little pleasure" lol, instead of "pressure".
 
Hahahaha @liam2015! Nothing like a little pleasure is a little different than a little pressure. That is funny!

I'm not sure I even know what orthopedic massage is. I just looked all over internet in Reno and found that this guy does that and works with athletes and people with injuries and I focused in on the part that says he used muscle activation technique to help increase range of motion. I emailed him and asked and he replied he has helped others post tkr. Nothing hurt that he did and I was much looser when I left. The tightness around my knee was so much better. I'm going to try it four more times, once a week for four weeks and see if it helps.


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Have you tried looking for someone who does lymphatic massage? It helps to reduce swelling.
 
Yes @KarriB, that's how I started looking for massages in my area. I did find a couple of therapists that do lymphatic massage and that's who I was going to contact but when I saw this guy and at the top of his list was improving range of motion I called him first. Also, my OD put me on a Mederol pack for six days to try and reduce the inflammation.
 
With my OS wanting me to do an MUA by end of August if I can't get to 120 ROM it has put stress on both me and my physical therapist. Thursday when my PT measured me at 110 he looked so disappointed - which he never had prior to that deadline. He always thought I was doing fine. It makes me feel like I'm doing something wrong when I truly think the only thing wrong with me is too much swelling. I ride the stationary bike often and with no problems and I record between 9 and 10 thousand steps daily. I walk upstairs fine and am a little awkward walking downstairs. My surgeon has a reputation of being one of the best in town. I just wish he shared the BoneSmart way of thinking. It bugs me that he doesn't. I like the idea that I will get my ROM back eventually according to so many people on this site, but it frightens me that my OS is concerned that I'm not further along right now and has this sense of urgency. I am flexible and ridiculously enough I can still do the splits if I want to. I just can't bend my knee further.

I am swollen now due to trying so hard to bend and then walking far in Tahoe last night taking my daughter to a concert. I have my life back, just not my bend and the swelling gets old. I would do the MUA in a heartbeat if I thought I would instantly be at 120 with no swelling but I've read too many stories about people continuing with the swelling and not being any further along but having extra pain. I'm leaning toward just letting my ROM come naturally, albeit slowly, but I just don't want to regret my decision years from now.

Sorry for the rant. I hate that I talk about my knee issues so much with my family - I'm sure it's a topic getting rather old. I know that people here understand focusing on knee issues.

On a happy note, we got a new puppy last week. He is a darling labradoodle named Danno and he is bringing us lots of joy.


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I was released from PT at 105 and gained ROM well after a year post op. It's your decision. Have you considered taking a break from "working" on ROM? It quite possible that the working is causing swelling. However, 110 is just fine and to be honest I can't believe a surgeon wants to do an MUA on a knee that's at 110.

Are there things you want to do but can't because you're at 110?
 
Hi @mechellec, I know we are traveling the same road but I have never got past 100. This does affect my gait no matter how hard I try to walk normal. I too am really scared when I have the MUA that I will just end up swollen and no more bend. I'm so ready not to have my world seem like it's all knees! When we all recover won't things be so amazing???


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Ha! I can't get beyond 120 on my non-operated leg (fat thighs) now and I don't expect upgraded knee to get there, now at 110 or so- and aside from not being able to go down steps properly - I could live fine with this degree of bend.... (and when I was skinnier way back when, 3 decades ago, I could never sit on my heels but I could squat down like kids do balancing on my lower legs...but even, then it wouldn't have been more than 140.)
What's up with these docs? Or is he just looking to earn more money with a new treatment?
Sheesh.
 
Shelly: I really think it will eventually come, particularly if you quit working so hard on it for awhile. I think 110 is great for where you are in recovery - maybe you should just wow him with the splits at your next visit :heehee:. I have my three month checkup with the OS next week and I think I am somewhere between 106 & 110 on a good day. I am a little concerned that he will bring up MUA -- he did at the 6 week mark when I was at 90. For me, my gait is less bothered by 105 flexion than it is by my poor extension which is generally between 5 & 10. However, when my leg is swollen, like it is this morning, my gait is affected. I think I will just continue with the slow route - but I know everyone has different needs and timelines which affect these decisions. I also so appreciate this site where I can obsess about my knee at all hours of the day and night. Hang in there!
 
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@mechellec ~ first of all, congrats on the new puppy ~ years and years of joy with Danno. we had our surgeries just a day apart and i still have swelling. it doesn't seem to matter if i exercise, walk or do nothing ~ i still have the swelling. wish there was something to minimize it, other than meds which have their own side effects and, of course, proper elevating and icing. did you find that the "medrol pack" helped with the inflammation? i was on Celebrex but haven't renewed my prescription as i don't know if it helps or not as i didn't notice any change; not sure what to do. my r.o.m. is much lower than yours but i'm going to carry on and hope i will get what i need. i just could not go through with an m.u.a. due to being put under and then the narcotic drugs which in me triggered the nausea and constipation. i don't want to mess with my bowels as i've already had ovarian cancer, not that the narcotics are connected but it's not good to get constipated (and then with the anti-constipation meds got diarrhea). apparently there is a connection between breast, ovarian and bowel cancers as my genetic counsellor told me.

sorry that you and @becticu have the added stress of considering an m.u.a. it's a hard decision, but whatever is right for the patient is what matters. some people have been very pleased with the outcome. best wishes for both of you with your decisions.:hi:
 
I don't understand why you would be considering a MUA when you can do all you are doing! You are carrying on a normal life now, which lots of activity. Many would love to be in your shoes at your short time out! Enjoy that 110 and even more to come. And it will come on it's own when all the swelling is gone!
 
I was released from PT at 9 weeks and my ROM was 113. It was very slow increments to get to that 113 and I felt like I was just aggravating things by going to PT.

No more formal PT for me since then. Just walking and riding my stationary bike at home. I don't have any visible swelling but still feel a lot of tightness and stiffness especially as the day wears on and especially at night. I still ice and elevate at the end of each day.

Thursday for my 4 month check up with my doctor I was at 130. She was very happy and she said I was just a "slow starter" and I will get even more as time goes on. She expects 140 or more after its all completed.

She said now it's just a matter of getting my overall strength back and the rest will work its way out. She said to expect lots of different aches and pains in different places for the next year or so and it's totally normal. I felt much better after that visit.
 
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