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TKR Smarttoys recovery

I had PT again this evening. I'm now sure why but my knee was feeling extra tight today. I've been resting, elevating, and icing quite a bit. I probably overdid it yesterday. Flexion is at 100 and extension is still at 0. I made two full revolutions backwards on the PT exercise bike but otherwise I just rocked back and forth and held it there for a light stretch for my warm up. I told my therapist that I was feeling a bit tight and sore today so we kept the exercises nice and easy. Mostly hip and balance exercises. He also did a little massage on a quad muscle that he felt was causing me some of the pain I was describing. The pain was a little better during and after the massage.

I guess this was one of my step backwards days.
 
After a full days activity it always seemed like I paid for it for a day or so. I'm sure you will start to have more and more forward days in the near future!
 
Three week update.

I had PT again this evening and my therapist seems to be doing a better job every time I see him. I asked him if he had done many TKR rehabs. He said not too many and I am the youngest. I have a feeling that he has been doing more research since I started working with him. I asked him if he knew when I could expect more normal range of motion. He said that everyone is different and knee replacement is unlike any other type of knee surgery. It's much more traumatic. Hmm... Makes me wonder if he's been visiting the BoneSmart forum.:chinstroke:

Things went well this evening and I'm happy enough with my ROM, Flexion 104 and extension -1 (slight hyperextension). Of course I would be happier with a little more flexion when my tightness and swelling gets better and I'm better healed. I asked if there was more exercises or stretches he wanted me to do at home and he said no. He feels that I should take things slow and outside of PT I should just do stretching type exercises for range of motion and no strengthening exercises. Sounds good to me.

I still have a bit of a clunk/catch type feel in my knee every time I bend it and it occasionally causes pain. I found that if I concentrate on tightening my leg muscles with every step that the clunk/catch feeling is much reduced or not there at all. I hope that once my swelling and tightness get better and my muscles get stronger that the feeling will go away. The swelling is worse on the outside of my knee and things may get pulled a little out of alignment when I bend my knee.

I haven't been using my crutches since the first week. I found that I didn't need to rely on them the first week so I just stopped using them.

John
 
I like the sound of your PT. Sensible chap!

For less than a month since your surgery, your ROM is very good.

Managing without the crutches is OK, but do be aware that your knee is still a beginner and it could get tired towards the end of the day. It might be a good idea to take a stick with you, "just in case". For several weeks after I didn't need it, I would still use a stick outdoors, especially if I was going to be amongst lots of people. The stick served as a warning, to remind people to keep their distance, and it was also useful for warding off rushing children and dogs. :doggie: :dogwalk:
 
Celle said:
Managing without the crutches is OK, but do be aware that your knee is still a beginner and it could get tired towards the end of the day. It might be a good idea to take a stick with you, "just in case". for several weeks after I didn't need it, I would still use a stick outdoors, especially if I was going to be amongst lots of people. The stick served as a warning, to remind people to keep their distance, and it was also useful for warding off rushing children and dogs.
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My wife did convince me to purchase a cane for just that reason. She wants people to know enough to give me a little room when I'm out and about. I just received it a couple days ago and haven't used it much except to walk around the house to get used to it
 
Ask your PT to check that your stick is the right height for you and to show you the correct way to use it.
 
I am so happy for you! You are doing great. AND you have a wise wife! That cane will come in handy if you encounter uneven ground or like Celle said, your knee gets tired. We went to a construction site to look at a new house and I was thankful for that cane walking around the ruts and debris. Your PT sounds like a very caring person. It is always encouraging when a professional does research and/or continues their education. I also have a clicking or clunking and PT told me as my quads got stronger, this would lessen. It sure is interesting this whole business of having a prosthesis. When my father got his leg, it was fascinating the mechanics of the leg and its function with the prosthetic. I hope you have a good day.
 
Wow great ROM! You sound like you're really doing well. A cane is great to have handy for a while after surgery especially when on never ground. I'm glad your therapist is doing such a good job too.
 
I found a good website that showed how to properly adjust a cane and how to use it properly. It looks similar to using one crutch.

It's hard to not overdo things after getting a bit more mobile. Two days ago our refrigerator quit cooling. I probably would not have known it as quickly but I noticed that my water bottles for my ice machine weren't freezing anymore. I ended up having to pull a large side by side refrigerator out from the wall by myself to check it over. I didn't think about my knee much at the time but I was still trying to be careful. After quite a few trips to the garage and back and laying on the floor and getting back up a few times by knee started to complain. Plus all the hassle of trying to get food into coolers and into our basement freezer before it went bad. At least I was able to fix the frig.

Today I needed to cut down a part of a tree that was too close to my roof. I heard some scratching noises in my attic last night and think that an unwanted guest was able to get up the tree and into the attic. Maybe a mouse, it's hard to say. I thought I heard it leave early in the morning so I figure I should cut down part of the tree before it became a permanent resident. Then I hauled some branches to the fire pit. The bigger logs and branches I just left in a pile by the tree and I'll take care of it in the spring.

Luckily the only other inconvenience I had recently was no internet for half the day today.

I hope the rest of my recovery is uneventful.
 
I am glad you got the refrigerator fixed! What a pain all that was. No internet???? :yikes::yikes: How did you survive?? :loll: I hope your active day today doesn't bite you tomorrow. Have a good night and get some rest! Who knows what grand adventure awaits you tomorrow?
 
I'm pretty sure you overdid it with all those jobs! I guess they were forced on you, but you'll need to spend several days resting, icing and elevating, to get over them.
 
I'm also impressed you were able to get on and off the floor at this stage. Definitely give the knee a rest now.
 
kneeper said:
I'm also impressed you were able to get on and off the floor at this stage. Definitely give the knee a rest now.
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I wasn't exactly sure about getting down on the floor and thought about it quite a bit before trying. But after the first time lying down and getting back up it was pretty easy. I just needed to find the right technique. I just kept my surgical leg straight out behind me as I bent forward and put my hands on the floor while I bent down onto my good knee. I got up from the floor doing the same thing in reverse. Luckily I have one decent knee to help me out.
 
Thanks for that tutorial on getting on the floor! It totally saved me yesterday when I was troubleshooting my mom's computer and had to check something on the floor. Your technique worked like a charm!


Sent from my iPhone using BoneSmart Forum
 
nerdgrrl said:
Thanks for that tutorial on getting on the floor! It totally saved me yesterday when I was troubleshooting my mom's computer and had to check something on the floor. Your technique worked like a charm!
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@nerdgrrl I'm glad I could help and glad you got on the floor on purpose and not by accident. Hopefully there won't be too much more of a need to lay or kneel on the floor until we are farther along in the healing process.

I took one of my big dogs for a short walk this evening. Just down the street and back. Unfortunately she bumped into my new knee when leaving the house. It hurt right away but I don't think she did any damage. I still went on the walk. I guess I will see how things feel tomorrow. It's definitely going to be a long time before I can take all three dogs for a walk at once again.
 
I am glad you are doing so well. Big dogs are not the only ones that can knock you. We have a 14 pound wild cat that ran right into my leg today. Boy! Did that jolt hurt! She is the most rambunctious cat I have ever seen.
 
My three little dogs just love to run between my legs when I least expect it so walking even 1 big dog is a feat in itself without any others!:doggie::doggie::doggie:
 
4 week update. I feel a little guilty posting anything with all the problems some of the other members are going through but here goes.

I'm four weeks out today and had PT again this evening. The PT people have been really good so far. They are all about gentle stretches for flexion, balance exercises, and hip and glute strengthening. My therapist's words to me were "avoid strengthening exercises for the knee and try to avoid any exercises that will irritate the knee and cause additional swelling. There is plenty of time to strengthen after my swelling is down, flexion has improved, and more healing has taken place." I'll miss going to therapy. I'm done at the end of the month.

Unfortunately life gets in the way of taking things too easy. It seems like something always comes up and I end up overdoing things and I'm always playing catch up with the stiffness and swelling. I was feeling stiff and sore the last couple days but I still managed 107/0 measurements this evening and could pedal forward and backwards on the PT exercise bike.

I still have some clunking in the knee when walking which really annoys me. If I really concentrate on flexing my leg muscles with every step the clunking goes away. It is usually worse when my leg is tired so I am hopeful that it will go away or lessen when I am further along and my leg gets stronger.

John
 
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