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TKR Smarttoys recovery

It's so easy to overdo things and join the ODIC (Over Did It Club). We've all done it.
Finding out how much activity is too much is often a case of trial and error.
 
I had quite the "snoozy quad" (Bonesmart terminology) after LTKR last year. In my case it was atrophy combined with an old VMO tear plus muscle inhibition. I had pain and difficulty when attempting the SLR or simply tightening the muscle. I couldn't manage a SLR at all for three weeks, and then I'd shake all over from the effort. My quad finally woke up, but it took a long time. Also, flexion returned slowly with that knee, unlike the relatively pleasant recovery I am experiencing with my recent RTKR. Hang in there- you're doing great for just a couple weeks out!
 
It's strange about the straight leg raises. I could do them fine for the first couple days out of surgery but once the pain killers that were injected with the surgery wore off I have excruciating shooting pain on the left side of my knee cap when attempting them. So it's not that I don't have the strength to do them but the pain makes me stop. I'm a little afraid to even try them again but I know I should. I will just give it a little more time.

Otherwise I can move my leg around and lift and lower it just fine as long as I have a very slight bend in the knee. I suppose I'm mostly using my hip muscles then.
 
smarttoys said:
but once the pain killers that were injected with the surgery wore off I have excruciating shooting pain on the left side of my knee cap when attempting them. So it's not that I don't have the strength to do them but the pain makes me stop.
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Well, I think your leg is telling you not to do those straight leg raises right now, so stop doing them. Remember this?
- if it hurts, don't do it and don't allow anyone - especially a physiotherapist (PT) - to do it to you
- if your leg swells more or gets stiffer in the 24 hours after doing it, don't do it again
 
I had my two week followup appointment today. Apparently everything looked great on the x-rays and my incision looks good. I still have quit a bit of glue stuck to about 1/2 of my incision but the middle part looks good where the glue has come off. They refill my prescription for hydromorphone so I should be good there for awhile.

I still have a good amount of swelling that is basically just in the knee capsule area. Of course that swelling is really affecting my ability to bend by knee. I did tell the PA from past experience with my multiple knee injuries and sprains that my knee has done a great job at immobilizing itself. Sometimes it would take two to three weeks or more to get 90 degrees flexion just from a sprain. Now imagine what my body thinks of this surgery. I hope some of the swelling goes away soon. I ice and elevate a lot, most of the day and most of the night.

I did make my knee a bit angry today with the trip to the clinic and back which was a little over an hour each way. I brought some gel ice packs for the ride but they didn't last very long. I'm icing and elevating as much as possible for by PT appointment later today.
 
Sounds like you got a good report! I bet you enjoyed getting out of the house, even though it was tiring.
 
I KNOW your wife enjoyed that! My husband has been learning some very basic cooking techniques and appreciates what is involved in meal preparation now.
 
Two weeks out from surgery and I had PT again this evening. I had mentioned to the PA at my followup appointment today that I didn't see much point in working on my extension at therapy if I measure 0 to start with. I'll just keep working on my extension at home. The PA thought that would probably be good idea. I mentioned that to my PT and he thought that would be ok but he wants to keep checking me and if I start losing ground then we would have to start working on it again.

Well we started the session at 0 extension so we moved on to flexion which measured 95 degrees while laying on my back and 104 degrees in a sitting position. It's strange how body position affects the measurement. There is definitely tightness and stretching felt in different areas of my knee and leg depending on what position I am in when I'm bending my leg. Similar to rocking back and forth on an exercise bike. I feel quite a difference in stretch between rocking back and rocking forward. Hopefully things will balance out when I'm further along. My swelling is still an issue in general.

On another note. I can now do SLR (straight leg raises) with no pain. I tested it out a couple times at home yesterday and was surprised to find that it didn't cause me pain in the knee cap area anymore. I did some of them this evening at therapy as one of my exercises.
 
Both your flexion and your extension are great for 2 weeks after surgery! There's no reason why you should lose any ground - unless your swelling increases - so don't worry about it.

Now you can do straight leg raises, you really don't need to keep doing them. Just chalk them up as a milestone passed.

Remember that you don't have to do lots of exercise to rehab your knee. Just let healing take place and your knee will recover OK.
 
Celle said:
Remember that you don't have to do lots of exercise to rehab your knee. Just let healing take place and your knee will recover OK.
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Some of what I enjoy about PT is getting out and getting exercise in general. Not all of it concentrates on exercises for the knee which I am trying to be careful about to not overdoing. I'm used to staying active. I haven't gained any weight since my surgery but I do feel like I'm getting soft and out of shape. My energy level has been returning so it's getting harder mentally for me to stay inactive. Don't get me wrong I still spend 90% or more of my day resting, icing, and elevating because I know it's good for my recovery.

On a different subject, I volunteer at the local Humane Society and they are located just a block or two away from where I do my PT. I stopped in last evening after my appointment to say hello to the people and the animals. Some of them work late on Mondays. It was another one of those times where it makes me feel a bit more normal again. That is something I miss doing and I look forward to returning to that and hopefully many other things when I am fully healed.

John
 
John, it is nice to get out and be among the living! God bless you for your work at the Humane Society. I have started doing some simple upper body exercises simply because I am sooooo bored!
 
Yes, I know what you mean. Doing some extra exercises, like the upper body and getting the heart pumping more does feel good.

Sent from my SM-G800R4 using Tapatalk
 
I had one small victory today. I was able to do full rotations on my regular recumbent exercise bike today:yes!:. I started out doing some pedaling on my portable pedal exerciser and then I was just planning on doing some stretches on the recumbent bike today by rocking back and forth. I had the seat back far enough so that my legs are fully extended. I rocked back and forth a few times to stretch and the next thing I know I did a full revolution. I did some more rocking back and forth and some more full revolutions, forward and backward, and finish up with about three minutes of full pedaling. I did cheat a little with my hip but it was still an accomplishment for me. Luckily this bike has a fairly small crank. If I were to guess I would say I was around 95 degrees flexion for a full revolution. I would probably need 105 or more to do full revolutions on the PT exercise bikes.

I had purchase the exercise bike a few weeks before my surgery for recovery purposes for $50 dollars off craigslist. For awhile I wasn't sure if it was a good idea since the portable pedal exerciser was so cheap and easy to move wherever I wanted. Now I'm glad I have both.

That's what I like about this site. People can share their struggles and their little victories. I figure if I can't share here with people that understand where can I?

John
 
Great job!! I ordered a portable pedal exerciser from Amazon after reading about how you used yours. It should arrive today!! Yes, people on here "get it" when we are able to accomplish things others take for granted.:ok:
 
I had a nice evening out at my daughter's school winter music program. My knee is paying the price right now but it was worth it.

It probably didn't help that I played fetch with one of my dogs before I went.:bignono:
 
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Enjoy those times - the daughters will be grown before you know it! I know the dog enjoyed having some time also!
 
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