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TKR so glad that is over !

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one more question to all you experts on here...before the op I was riding an old exercise bike for 20 mins each day ..do you think I should try to ride it again to help my knee bend? If so advice please...do I put the seat right up high? make it really easy to pedal? I will wait for your advice.
 
Here is what worked for me---I put my seat at my normal height and I could pedal easily----if I had had problems, I would have raised the seat.

Then, I often pedal, fairly fast, at a low level of resistance. Sometimes, I do that first, then raise it a little and see how that feels. If it hurts or I feel stiff, I go back to the low resistance. Let your own knee be your guide. Pedal for 15 min at low resistance---are you stiff? did you get stiff later? If yes, dial back the resistance if no, then raise it a bit and see how you feel the next day. Take it slowly, just the act of pedaling even at a low speed, seems to help my knee.
 
thanks for that skigirl ..can I ask at what stage you started riding your bike? I am at nearly 5 weeks....
 
Good Morning Mrs. Cricklewood,
I hope you are doing well :) Do you have an at home P.T ? If so, they are great at giving information on
When to start different exercises. I started a bike at o.p therapy at about 7 weeks. I continue today (4 months)
& can do 2 miles in 20 min. :tantrum: not my best time...but, I do go slowly.
Remember...slow & steady wins this race :ok:
Have a wonderful day,
Diana :flwrysmile:
 
Hi Diana.... thanks for that..I go to see a physio every week at a nearby hospital and I am actually seeing him tomorrow so I will see what he thinks. Yesterday I went to do one of my exercises where I put my knee on a rolled up towel while lying on the bed and then try to lift from my knee down off the bed without taking my knee off the towel..But instead of the rolled up towels I thought I would use a nearby blanket but it was too big and I got a really shooting pain in my knee.....I was so angry at myself. :gaah: ..today I didn't do anything and I am lying on the bed now with my leg elevated and an ice pack on ! So I don't think I will be trying the bike in the near future until it feels alot better .. It will be 5 weeks since my knee replacement in 4 days ( Monday ) and I have to see my surgeon for the first time in 8 days ( next Friday )...I am scared because all I hear is how bad my knee bend is from my physio..he doesn't push me though which I am so glad of ! He already told me my surgeon will want me to have a MUA but I do not want one after reading all the posts on here ! I need to be assertive and say no but I am pathetic when it comes to things like this.especially because they always make you feel like they know best ..but do they ??!!!

bye for now Mrs Cricklewood :)
 
Dear Mrs. Cricklewood,
I believe most of the folks on this forum would say it is much to early for M.U.A. Swelling is keeping you from
Bending your knee. Keep icing & elevating. Even if you don't have much outer swelling, inside has just had things
Cut & pulled & sawed ( sorry for being so graphic ) :yikes:
As far as what your O.S says, you will have to just wait. I find most things I worry about never happen anyway :)
Do your gentle exercises, ice, elevate, pain meds. On time :ok:
There's plenty of time to get on the :bicycle1:
Have a wonderful day :SUNsmile:
Diana :flwrysmile:
 
Sorry for confusing you...i saw your picture of you in the hospital bed and it looked like they put an immobilizer on your knee to keep it straight. I was wondering how long you had to wear it?

I haven't gone through the surgery yet so i really can't offer any advise but from what i've read from people who have gone through TKRs, you can't push the knee or it will swell and won't bend. I know many doctors out there tell their patients they have to move the knee otherwise it won't heal correctly but everything i've read here says otherwise. i wonder how many of those doctors have actually had a TKR?

I hope you are feeling better and stronger soon.

Hugs,
Denise
 
I started easy riding at 2 weeks---just five minutes. Then, progressed after two weeks to 10 min and then to 15. At about 4 weeks, I began to ride a little more. By six weeks, I could easily ride my bike for about 30 mine.

But, if your knee is swollen---that is your most important role, to get the swelling down. Rest, elevation, ice and compression work. I wore support stockings with no feet. If your doc says you need an MUA, ask him to wait four weeks so that you can work on the swelling, it will not influence the final outcome and will give you some time to deal with the swelling in your knee.
 
thankyou everyone for your messages..I really appreciate it... I saw my physio today and he did some more gentle stretching and bending exercises..he is lovely and my hubby came in with me and he liked him too. I am so glad he is not like some of the physios on here that have given their patient a hard time and hurt them... He said he doesn't want me trying to get on a bike yet but he is happy for me to go to the local heated pool and start doing some walking and other things in the warm water..I see him again on Wednesday and then see my surgeon on the Friday... My physio is really pushing me to ice my knee and we spent some time doing the exercise where your leg just hangs to try to get more of a bend...I am so glad he doesn't push me beyond what I can bear ( which isn't much !! ) Hope you all have a great day ( or night as the case may be ! ) XXX
 
Mrs.Cricklewood,
You have found a pot of gold with your therapist :) he will led you in the right direction for a smooth &
Pain free recovery :happydance: you are so lucky !!!!! Some of the stories on aggressive therapists will
Make you cry :yikes:
Have a wonderful weekend,
Diana :flwrysmile:
 
yes new knee in June, reading some of the posts have had me cringing the way they have treated some of the people on here...I would have been off and running out the door never to return...

Also denpucc I forgot to say that the leg immobilser I only wore until the next day after my operation...


Thanks everyone X :flwrysmile:
 
GGRR !! I am so mad at myself..today it is 5 weeks since I had my op and I thought I would do some vacuuming..what was I thinking !! I dragged the vacuum down the hallway and vacuumed the lounge and bedroom...I thought I was doing great guns as I felt ok while doing it. Well when I went to unplug it I felt a twinge in my knee so I thought I will get my hubby to put it away..in the meanwhile I will do my exercise where I hang my leg off the bed as I hadn't done any 'proper' exercises today..the pain was unbelievable...I lasted about 2 seconds ! If that... :hairpulling: I hobbled out to get my ice packs and came back to lie on the bed and just lifting my leg up well it felt like my knee was about to explode open... My hubby came in not long after and I immediately burst into tears ...the pain was unbearable...my knee felt like someone whacked it with a baseball bat...I popped some more pain killers and had another blubber....This sure is one hell of a journey...........:headbang: I have physio the day after tomorrow ( Wed ) ...hope my knee has recovered by then. I see my surgeon on Friday for the first time after my op...the way I feel now he better now start on my lack of knee bend....I will NOT be responsible for my actions !! :yikes:
 
Dear Mrs. Cricklewood,
It sounds like your knee doesn't like to vacuum :) it sounds like you are in the O.D.I.C club. Rest, ice, elevate &
Meds on time. For the day. Hopefully you will feel better, mention it to your therapist.
Take Care,
Diana :flwrysmile:
 
Yep, you learned the hard way that vacuuming is one of the toughest tasks you can do early on.
 
well I had another physio session today..I walked in there ( okay hobbled on my crutches ! haha ) and my physio said how are things going and I just burst into tears ! then I blubbered through my rantings and ravings about how it is one step forward..2 steps back and that I really hurt my knee vacuuming and I was fed up etc etc..he must have thought I was a looney ! He decided just to use the tens machine on my knee so I just lay there for a while with that on my knee..hey I wasn't complaining ! he gave me a couple of sheets of exercises I can do in the water so afterwards I went to the heated pool and did a few of them for about half an hour or so..walking in the water..marching...sitting on the ledge on the side and lifting my leg up and down etc... It felt great in the water but wow when I finished and was walking up the ramp to come out I felt like I weighed about 10 ton ! It is amazing how you feel in the water as compared to out the water. My physio told me not to worry about the surgeon that I have to see this Friday ( the day after tomorrow * gulp * ) even thought he won't be happy with my lack of bend but as he said I am doing my exercises...taking my painkillers...now I am doing some water exercises...there is no much else I could be doing, and he said if he suggests a MUA just say I want to give it another 6 weeks or so and see how I am then...which is exactly what I was going to say anyway ! I am so glad I got him for a physio ..he really seems to understand.I am still freaking out though about seeing my surgeon but I am determined to stand my ground !
 
oops that last sentence should say freaking out not very out..I can't seem to edit it ! X
 
OK I had my first visit to the surgeon after my op today ( 5 and a half weeks ) ...he made me straighten my leg out and then bend it..he said hhmm is that the best you can bend it ? of course I was frantically trying to bend it back more..but couldn't ! He said he wanted me to have more bend than that and said I will give you 4 weeks and if you can't get it to about 100 I want you to have a MUA and he started getting all the paperwork out and filling it in for the hospital !! He said if I feel like I am getting better with my bend I can cancel it a few days before...so I am determined that I won't be going back into hospital ...I have been abit slack with my exercises lately so that is my incentive to make sure I don't skimp on them from now on..but I certainly will not be going over board.
 
Hi mrs cricklewood
Don't let your OS bully you and work hard to take it slow and easy. I found when I did too much and caused swelling to increase I could lose several degrees of motion. When I took it easy and only did gentle slides once or twice a day with lots of ice and elevation I did much better. What is your ROM any way if I may ask. I had both knees done and didn't get on my bike until close to 7 or 8 weeks. I'm 10 weeks now and the most I ride is @ 15 minutes with no resistance.
Take care,
Stacie
 
Dear Mrs. cricklewood,
:goodpost: Ice & elevate, pain meds. On time. Gentle stretching, you'll get results.
It's so easy to over do & set off more swelling, we even have a club for it ( O.D.I.C.)
Over did it club....we have all been members at one time or another, it's a hard club to leave
Once you are there :scare: No vacuuming either :heehee:
Have a wonderful weekend,
Diana :flwrysmile:
 
hi thanks for your replies.. to be honest I do not know what my ROM is now .....I might ask my physio to measure it when I go next on Wednesday...But to think they would not let me out the hospital till I got to 90 on the cpm machine......but when I asked my physio last, he thought I was at about 50 ! oops! I am not going to go crazy but today I just did more bending eg starting to squat till I can just feel the pressure on my knees and then hold for a few seconds..I thought if I do things like that it might help with my bend...rest assured I will NOT be doing any vacuuming that's for sure...I want to do this the best way possible and not like a bull in a china shop. My surgeon said he has had people come back to him in a year and say they still can't bend their knee much..and he did not want me to be one of them . I am walking around the house without my crutches or frame...that won't hurt me will it ? Thanks for your concern and I love reading all the answers! :thankyou: Mrs C. X
 
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