TKR Slow and Steady Recovery

[hempsteadjb]

Thank you Celle! I'm just worried because I don't seem to be able to get past 45 degrees. I'm trying, but i'm just not going to let PT hurt me. They keep telling me if I don't break through the pain I will need a MUA...

 

[sistersinhim]

Your knee is an infant and needs to be treated as such.

Many of us never took 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. This was enough therapy 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! ADL,(activities of daily living), will be all the exercise your knee needs. If you stop all that exercising, and just use it daily in your living, you will have a quicker and less painful recovery.

 

[Iloved3]

With my LTKR I was off meds and able to drive after 3 weeks since my right leg was fine and I could drag my left one into the car. I could only drive short distances due to aching in my left knee.

I am just over three weeks with my RTKR and there is no way I could drive now. Not expecting that to happen until many weeks from now.

Seems to me, how early you can drive is highly dependent upon which knee it is.

Don't put unrealistic exp expectations on your self. It is very demoralizing. Be good to yourself! You need it and you deserve it! It will pay off in the end!!!!!!!!

 

[sistersinhim]

My OS OK'd me to drive when I saw him at six weeks, but I wasn't quite ready and waited until I was seven weeks out. I took a friend with me the first time in case I needed her to take over for me. What freedom it was when I could do it alone!

 

[Iloved3]

I have found that the freedom to do what I want, and therefore being able to drive, is a very basic part of who I am. I look forward to that freedom again, but I have to be truly easy and able!

 

[hempsteadjb]

Than you Celle! I'm just worried because I don't seem to be able to get past 45 degrees. I'm trying, but i'm just not going to let PT hurt me. They keep telling me if I don't break through the pain I will need a MUA...

 

[hempsteadjb]

I'm driving but only if absolutely necessary. I drove myself to PT. It will be 4 weeks on Wednesday since my surgery. I still use the walker when walking outside but am walking on my own in the house. Today my knee seems so much better. I'm walking better but still not bending, still at about 45 degrees. Hopefully, it will happen! Keeping my fingers crossed.

 

[Celle]

still at about 45 degrees

I'm going to ask @Josephine to advise you. She will probably ask you a lot of questions. Please try to answer them as fully as possible, so she has all the information she needs, to advise you appropriately.

 

[Red's Mom]

Just caught up on your thread. You seem very active for a knee who is only one month old. At that point in time I was still iced, elevated and resting 23.5 hours per day. This recovery can't be pushed and requires extraordinary patience. It is worth it in the end. Good luck as you proceed down recovery lane!

 

[hempsteadjb]

@Josephine
I have searched the library for a few exercises to do at home to help with my ROM. Can you suggest any? I don't think I'm going back to PT...I went through all the excersises yesterday and when she got to the part where she was supposed to stretch ad gently try to bend she got perturbed because she kept telling me to relax my leg, I tried but my knee just would not cooperate and she said "I'm done" and walked away. I said me too! Picked u my keys and left

 

[Jockette]

Well that’s good she didn’t keep trying! But her words and attitude were rather rude and unprofessional! You don’t need that!

Good for you to not go back!

If I ever have to do this again I will not go to PT at all.

 

[hempsteadjb]

@Celle
Can you change my heading to "Slow and steady Recovery"

 

[Celle]

Sure! 'Tis done.

 

[Josephine]

I have searched the library for a few exercises to do at home to help with my ROM. Can you suggest any?

The reason we don't have any suggested exercises in the Library is because on the whole, we tend to recommend NO exercises at all! This is because I've seen so many members whose exercise regime has resulted in them having seriously inflamed and painful knees and poor ROM as a result. Once we got them to stop the exercising, the pain and swelling reduced and their ROM improved.

You can read more about this here
BoneSmart philosophy for sensible post op therapy
Knee recoveries UK style Parts I & II (Josephine)
Knee recovery - Lose the Work Ethic!!

 

[hempsteadjb]

Great! Thanks Josephine!!!

 

[Jockette]

I like your new thread title!

 

[hempsteadjb]

@Jockette
Thank you! That's how I feel its going.

 

[sistersinhim]

Just ADL, lots of rest, icing and elevating i the best way to increase ROM!

 

[hempsteadjb]

Has anyone tried the X10 Therapy Machine? It doesn't appear to be available in my state.
https://x10therapy.com/jeanie-skips-manipulation-anesthesia/

 

[Jockette]

I personally do not believe that a machine can make my soft tissues heal faster than my body will allow, nor that this machine will reduce my surgically induced swelling, which is what it takes for my ROM to improve.

Also in my opinion, advertisers tell you what you want to hear so you buy their product.

I believed all the hype about partial replacements only to find out too late most was not true.

The most important aspect of healing from a knee replacement and returning function is time. Just time. A machine cannot make time literally go faster.