TKR Sleeping

[Pumpkin]

There is no window of time to gain ROM, you are not quite a month out from surgery. Your knee needs time to heal, time for the swelling and inflammation to go down. With healing your ROM which has been there from the start will reveal itself. 83 degrees is great!

I gained ROM almost 2 years out from my Revision, I know you can gain ROM over time.

Here is what Bertschb had to say about his ROM and recovery.

"I'm 12 months out from my surgery and have some advice based on my experience:
1. Stop going to PT - all it will do is make your knee swell and reduce ROM
2. Don't worry about your ROM
3. Be patient - VERY patient!!!

Here is my ROM history (more or less):
1 month - 60 degrees
2 months - 80 degrees
3 months - 85 degrees
4 months - 90 degrees
5 months - 90 degrees
6 months - 110 degrees
7 months - 120 degrees
8 months - 125 degrees
9 months - 130 degrees
10 months - 135 degrees
11 months - 140 degrees
12 months - 140 degrees

I spent waaaaay too much time worrying about ROM. I thought I'd be riding my bike a couple months after surgery but it took SIX months!

Looking back on my surgery, if I knew then what I know now, I wouldn't have wasted my time with PT and I wouldn't have worried about ROM."

 

[Pumpkin]

Go back and read the article Jockette left you in post #6, you will benefit each time you read them as your knee heals.
Here are two gentle activities you can do for ROM.
Heel slides and how to do them and Extension: how to estimate it and ways to improve it .

 

[Breadman]

Hey @Mackiepafl. Do yourself a favour take it easy on the physio. I am almost 9 weeks BTKR and consider myself lucky. No bruising, no pain, very little swelling. I am taking it slow. No rush. There are a lot of great people here sharing their experiences and knowledge. Ask any question and you'll get a great answer. Don't rush to do too much and listen to your knee.

 

[Larryhg3]

@Mackiepafl it is not uncommon to get the blues during this process. For me this is usually triggered by unrealistic expectations. I have a tendency to “should” on myself. My ROM should be better. My pain should be less. I should be able to do more. Then I grab my mental baseball bat and hit myself in the head with it for a few days.
The reality is that this process is different for everyone and even for every knee. Our knees heal at the pace that they heal and nothing can change that. We can make it worse however by not paying attention to the messages it sends us. Please give yourself permission to heal at the rate your body lets you. I find it much better to focus on functional gains over a ROM number. When I start focusing on that stupid number is when I end up in a bad place mentally. Good luck and please continue to share your journey you never know who you are helping.

 

[Jockette]

. Five rehab sessions and they just say you’re gonna be in trouble if you don’t start bending through the pain. I

They are wrong. You should never force a bend and/or push through pain.

You have several options:

1. Refuse to let the PTs manipulate/bend your knee. Not all therapists do that, so it can’t be essential to recovery. Instead, ask for lymphatic massage. If they insist on forcing your knee, walk out.

2. Take some time off from going to PT so you can rest the knee and address the swelling, which is why you can’t bend your knee.

3. Do your own gentle rehab at home, at your COMFORTABLE pace.

Seriously, these particular PTs are not helping you, physically or emotionally. You don’t have to stay with this group. There are many others.

If you feel it’s important to go to PT, call around to other places and ask about their approach to find one that’s gentle.

I will not be going to PT next time, been there, done that, and I won’t allow it again. I will recover just fine on my own, at home, as many others have.

This is a difficult enough recovery without adding PTs who have the wrong approach.

 

[sistersinhim]

Many of us never took formal PT or did exercises. I am one of them. I had 11 knee surgeries, 2 of them kneecap removals and 1 tkr. Even after those I never took PT. But, I didn't just sit around and do nothing. I took care of myself, my house and yard as my knee allowed me to do. As I healed, I did more. But, my knee was always in control! This was enough therapy for me and would be for any tkr patient. All the awful pain of PT is so unnecessary.

All you have to do is use it in your daily living! Your knee knows how to rehab itself and doesn't need anyone telling it how. Just use it and it will come back like new! You have to be patient, though, it doesn't happen quickly! ADL,(activities of daily living), going to the bathroom, brushing your teeth and bathing, fixing a light meal, getting something to drink and or a snack, those kinds of things will be all the exercise your knee needs. If you just use it daily in your living, you can have a less painful recovery. We know what works, we've been there!

 

[Mackiepafl]

Almost 5 weeks post op TKR, yesterday rehab pushed me to 105 flexion, I screamed. Today of course I can hardly move from stiffness and swelling and pain. What the heck ? I want to quit but everyone around says you have to do this or you’ll never get normal. Argh !

 

[Celle]

@Mackiepafl - Please don't allow your PT therapists to push on your knee. As you've found out, doing that is harmful. It will make your knee swell more and it could also slow down your recovery.

Even though the therapists seem to be the experts, this is your body, your knee, and your recovery. You are in charge, not them. They work for you and have to please you, not the other way round.

Tell them "No. I won't allow that." No means no, and they have to respect your wishes. If they won't, leave the facility. There are other PT facilities that will respect your wishes.

In case you think you have to follow orders, read these articles:
Saying no to therapy - am I allowed to?
CONSENT: what it means and how it can be used

 

[Larryhg3]

If your PT is pushing you until you scream and then you suffer the next day it is time to leave. That is NOT what PT is for plain and simple. There are many PT who don’t use that method of treatment. If you don’t want to quit PT, some of us don’t, start making phone calls you will find one who uses a more gentle approach. There are many success stories here of people who don’t use PT at all. This process is hard enough without having someone cause you pain in the name of helping you.

 

[sistersinhim]

I want to quit but everyone around says you have to do this or you’ll never get normal. Argh !

Wrong! I've never taken PT and I am normal, well as normal as I can be without kneecaps! But, please read your articles again. Following them will give you a less painful recovery. Your knee with thank you!

 

[grandma chris]

@Mackiepafl I understand how hard it is to go against what your physiotherapist wants. I felt very unsure - what if I don't do as they say and I end up not being able to bend my leg? And you're right, almost everyone you talk to says the same thing - gotta do the physio. I join the others who've commented, try to find a physio who will be more gentle. It's heartbreaking to think of anyone screaming or crying in pain because of this.

 

[Mackiepafl]

I’m going to discontinue PT for now and see if this darn swelling can go away so I can do my own PT.

 

[Celle]

I'm glad you've made that decision. Don't expect quick results after stopping PT. It will take a couple of weeks for your knee to settle down.

You can get all the exercise your knee needs at this early stage of recovery by using your knee in your activities of daily living. As you improve, start taking longer walks. Walking is the best exercise of all for a new knee.

 

[sistersinhim]

Walking is the best exercise of all for a new knee.

After all, that's what it was created to do!

 

[Mackiepafl]

My phone tells me I walk close to a mile a day in steps. I love to walk. I do bends and heels and ice and elevate. Not sweating it anymore. Thanks for assuring me it’ll take a bit to have my knee settle down. I love this forum; its a lifesaver.

 

[Mackiepafl]

Hi all. Week 5 post op TKR. Getting around great but I just wish the swelling would go down !!!!! Am I just too darn impatient?

 

[grandma chris]

Yep, a little impatient. The literature my doctor gave me says some can expect to be swollen from three to six months. Remember, not a sprint but a marathon.

 

[Mackiepafl]

Walking almost a mile a day. Am I walking too much and not concentrating on bending it because right now I cannot bend it at all.

 

[sistersinhim]

All that walking could be causing that extra swelling. But, walking is the best exercise for your knee, just ice and elevate frequently to get that swelling down.

 

[bunchgrass]

IME - walking is more stressful on the knee than riding a stationary bike. I had swelling each time I walked any distance and it really doesn't require much in the way of knee bending either. Sort of the lowest bar we set.

Also, I didn't do rehab after a previous knee surgery and walked fine but anything beyond that in my ROM was limited. Just my experience.