TKR So much harder than I expected

[Kansas Teacher]

I think your schedule is similar to mine and I will be 6 weeks this coming Friday. The only thing I do more of probably is walking. I take three 1/3 mile walks a day, broken up throughout the day. But, our rain has finally stopped and that makes it easier for me.

It sounds to me like your activity level is pretty much right on but I'm sure someone else with more expertise will weigh in soon.

Roxie

 

[MidwestTKR]

Wow Roxie! I can't imagine taking 3 walks a day!!! I honestly, don't think I could do it! I wonder if I should be forcing myself to walk outside every day.

 

[tigz]

I am six weeks post op yesterday. Your days sound very similar to mine. I do try to get in a minimum of one very small walk outside a day, if not two. I've scheduled my PT in the afternoon and tend to do a lot of icing and minimal exercise at home those days.

I'm a Medical Technologist and am very leery if I'll be ready to go back to work in six weeks.

 

[PolarBear60]

We're in about the same spot. I wake up, stretch and bend my knee (it feels tight in the morning) using what is essentially my homework PT exercises. I get up and take care of upstairs chores -- litter boxes, trash gathering on Monday and Thursday, and laundry gathering on Tuesday and Saturday. I load my empty water bottle, kindle, iPad, and any other small items that need to go downstairs into my backpack and put it on. Downstairs, I scoop litter boxes and take trash out on Mondays and Thursday's. I deal with the laundry as I feel like it. I empty the dishwasher when it's clean. I load my husband's breakfast dishes if it isn't. Same with mine after I eat. I'll usually ice and elevate. I'll run errands or drive the 40 miles to PT on Tuesday and Thursday.

I try to tackle a piece of yard work once or twice during the week. I don't want to get too far behind. I spend time on the computer or the iPad. I think I should be back to writing by now, but I'm happy that I've been able to return to my blogging schedule this month after ignoring it for a few weeks (I had posts scheduled for the first couple weeks after surgery, but there was a gap). I'll usually ice and elevate in the afternoon.

Either my husband or I will make dinner, and I clean up. We might work on a puzzle in the evening. I ice and elevate before going up to bed.

My doc says walking is good, so I try to get some of that in, but with a lot of the stuff I wind up doing, I think I'm getting walking in, so I balance that. Thankfully, I'm retired, so I only have to worry about resuming my schedule.


Jean

LTKR (Stryker Triathlon): 21 April 2015
Right Knee Arthroscopy: 25 July 2006
Left Knee Arthroscopy: 10 February 2005

 

[Gigi32]

What you are describing is pretty much the same thing I was doing at 7 weeks. It does tend to get monotonous if your the type of person that likes to be busy, but enjoy the "downtime" for now, because you'll be back in the rat race once you return to work. The only thing I might recommend is that as you start to feel stronger, you might want to find a place to walk, like an indoor mall where you can walk and gradually increase your distance. It will give you something to look forward to and a change of scenery. There also are usually benches where you can sit down if you start to get tired. Just be careful not to get distracted and actually shop!

 

[Josephine]

I am taking Tramadol as needed. Usually it is 1 or 2 times a day, sometimes less. A great deal of the time, icing is sufficient to help alleviate pain.

Remember I said that at 7 weeks you are slap bang in the middle of the 'angry tissue' stage? Icing should be used as a supplement to pain meds, not instead of.

Am I doing enough? It feels like most of my days are very monotonous - I am doing my exercises and icing and elevating.

I can imagine! Let me discuss your activities a little

my first set of PT exercises, do my exercises again after lunch, 3rd set of exercises in the evening - three times a day is too much. Your life is taken over by exercising. Once a day is plenty.

heel slides, knee bends/extensions - these are find provided you don't do too many . Read this Heel slides and how to do them.
stand-up exercises - if you are doing things like marching, high stepping, clamshells, side steps and especially if you are doing 20 or 30 at a time, this is also too much. All of them. Fine if youdo them at PT but no need to do them at home. Your ROM comes by gentle activity and letting nature take its course.
I meet a friend or my son for lunch or dinner a few times a week - you shouldn't be doing this at just 7 weeks. A this stage, you should only be starting to go out. You said you'd read the articles - did you miss the one on activity progression?
I do some grocery shopping about 1 times a week, but frankly, that exhausts me - of course it will. Go back and read the article on the Energy Drain and note how long it lasts. You really shouldn't drain your 'tank' to that extent as it will just take you longer to recoup.

And that also applies to all you other ladies. Be so much more gentle with yourselves, don't push yourselves so much. It's not necessary and it gains you nothing in terms of your progress. Quite the opposite.

I recommend you all read my recovery threads to see how little exercising I did!
First knee. Knee recovery - UK style
Second knee. Josephine's knee story and progress where I did even less!

However, if you are doing all this with NO aches, pains or stiffness, then forget I spoke!

 

[referee54]

@MidwestTKR do please remember that you are still only 7 weeks out which is slap bang in the middle of the 'angry tissue' phase. Are you still taking your pain meds regularly and not just now and again?

Seven weeks seems like a long enough time, but you are still in the "pre-game warm-up" phase. Like I said before, I had a slight limp for around five months---one of my knees, after my BTKR, would stiffen up more than the other one would. It took five months to go away.

 

[Kansas Teacher]

Good reminder for me at least, @Josephine and @referee54 . It's easy to overdo because the pain is better and I am feeling stronger. I need to remember that I'm really still in the early stages of recovery.

Roxie

 

[referee54]

Am I doing enough? It feels like most of my days are very monotonous - I am doing my exercises and icing and elevating.

What more can you do? Doing more will not speed up your recovery---doing more will make your knee stiffer, and, in turn, cause you to become more frustrated---and you will do even more---thus, you commence the "vicious cycle,."

Every time you get the idea to do more---do the opposite.

There is nothing you can do---nothing---to speed things up. You will arrive at your destination of being fully recovered, but it will be on your knee's schedule, not yours.

Again, as has been stated---at seven weeks, you feel like you should be pretty much fully recovered, but you are still pretty early in the grand scheme of recovery.

Do not work harder. Work smarter, and understand that "less is more."

 

[referee54]

Wow Roxie! I can't imagine taking 3 walks a day!!! I honestly, don't think I could do it! I wonder if I should be forcing myself to walk outside every day.

You just answered your own question---and remember---please understand---that we all recover at our own pace. My recovery was very slow, too.

If you are not ready to do all of that, why try? Listen to your knee. Forcing yourself to do that will only cause more frustration and stiffness.

 

[PolarBear60]

The only thing we should be forcing ourselves to do is rest, ice, and elevate. Anything else, should pretty much feel like you want to do it, and forcing doesn't come into play.

(Posted as much to remind myself as anything.)

Jean

LTKR (Stryker Triathlon): 21 April 2015
Right Knee Arthroscopy: 25 July 2006
Left Knee Arthroscopy: 10 February 2005

 

[skigirl]

I agree with Jo that doing exercises three times a day is too much. Why not substitute one set of exercises for a short walk outside. I found that that lifted my spirits more than anything else.

 

[Kansas Teacher]

That's what I like about getting outside and walking too -- the way the sunshine and fresh air boost my attitude. Of course, it would be even better if it wasn't quite 95 degrees.

Roxie

 

[Jamie]

Boy, I agree. This Kansas heat wave has hit with a vengeance! We got to 98 degrees today and being out just sucked the life out of you.

 

[MidwestTKR]

Hi Everyone,

It was so wonderful to log on just now and see everyone's replies. It makes my day!!! I had a good PT session today for 2 reasons. First, my PT informed me that I measured 130 flexion and negative 1 extension. Although I feel that the Dr's and PT's focus too much on the measurements, it gave me the permission to myself, to follow more of the bonesmart forum's instructions, rather than trying to make sure I get I get in all the PT exercises I was assigned to each day. Since I am still having that terrible tight band feeling with stiffness, intermittent pain, unable to walk without a cane and a limp, the intermittent exhaustion, flexion is obviously NOT the key to measuring how well someone is doing, in my opinion!!! So, I am going to begin following what my body is telling me more often and give myself the permission to "listen" to it and respond accordingly.

The 2nd thing that made me happy at my PT session today, was that I was informed that starting next week, I can go in a pool and do my exercises there!!! Wa hoo!!! They said I can walk in the pool and stretch in the pool, etc. The PT said I can cover my scar with waterproof tape while I am out so it is not exposed to the sun. That made my day to know I can go to a pool instead of being cooped up inside and exercising in a pool is so much more enjoyable!!!! Not to mention lifting my sprits!

I did have a very busy afternoon and evening, but I am not going to do that again. I know I overdid it!!! I went to PT, then out to a store to run an errand, then dinner out, but did keep my foot elevated on a chair while eating, but then I came home and gardened outside for 1 1/2 hours. I have so much to do outside, that I could not stand having my property look so bad. I sat on a stool and moved it around. I know that it was very foolish of me to do all of that in 1 day. I am going to keep ice on and elevate for the rest of the evening and place it on at night as well. I came home and read everyone's posts and feel like a ding dong for doing so much. I am trying to drink a lot of water now to help flush lactic acid from all the exercising out of my system. Hopefully between that and the extra icing and elevating, I won't feel terrible tomorrow.

 

[MidwestTKR]

@Josephine, I did not see your comments until this evening. I am sure you will have a canary when you see how foolish I was today. I had great flexion and extension today at the PT. See my post above. However, that doesn't mean very much in my opinion since I still have all the other symptoms. Thank you for helping to give myself permission beginning tomorrow, to listen to my body, not how many PT sessions I get in. I am going to follow your advice and see how I do this next week.

Can you elaborate a little more on the angry tissue stage. What does that mean exactly? Was that in one of the links and I just forgot?

 

[Kansas Teacher]

Wow! You have had a busy day. But I'm so glad to hear about your ROM and the fact that you've given yourself permission to listen to your body now. The pool will be nice. Will you be doing that at PT or on your own? I have a community pool and have been thinking about going over and using it for some of my exercises. With the heat we've had lately, the water should be warmed up!

Roxie

 

[PolarBear60]

LOL. Definitely do some planning and spread some of those activities out!


Jean

LTKR (Stryker Triathlon): 21 April 2015
Right Knee Arthroscopy: 25 July 2006
Left Knee Arthroscopy: 10 February 2005

 

[MidwestTKR]

Roxie,

No, the pool will be on my own. I have a few good friends that have community pools and they said I can use their pool. Even if it's only 2 or 3 days a week, it will be so nice to get outside!!! There I nothing like a pool when it's hot outside!!

 

[Jamie]

The "angry tissue" stage means that the soft tissues are reacting to the trauma of surgery and are easily inflamed. This means swelling and pain can come much more easily when you overdo things or maybe even when you're not doing a lot of activity. Not everyone has problems, but don't be surprised if you do.

The pool is great, but let me caution you. Your body will be supported by the water and movement will be easier in the water. That means it is easy to do more than you think you are. Please start slowly and limit your time actually exercising in the water until you're sure you won't be hurting in the next 24-48 hours. Most of the time you'll feel fine while doing the activity....the pain comes later.