TKR Starting to wish I'd never had a knee replacement

[50yrold]

Linda Lady...forgive me, as I didn't read your whole thread. But this I will tell you. I am about 4 months and a week out, and it's a world of difference from just a few weeks out. Give it time. You'll do great!

 

[maggie may]

You cannot be perfect or rather you already are!!

Slow down and be gentle with yourself. You deserve it!!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[lindaladyishere]

I was starting to see some progress. I can now put my leg in the car without using the strap to pull it in. I noticed that I can bend it a bit more and that my leg is more flexible in physical therapy.

Also almost all the swelling is gone, almost. My knee now bends 95 degrees... feeling good progress ... wrong! While I am making progress my physical therapist tells me today that if within 2 weeks if I am not at 100+ degrees consistently she is going to refer me back to my doctor so that I can be evaluated for a manipulation. ... I do not want that. I have been doing my exercises at home 3 times a day, went to the gym and did exercises my therapist approved of. What more can I do to get the bending mobility back?

 

[maggie may]

You cannot be forced to have an MUA. 90 degrees is great at this point and I would just refuse and give yourself time. How many weeks has it been?!?
You are doing great!

 

[maggie may]

As a matter of fact maybe you are doing too much PT! Josephine will help or others. Sounds like a lot to me!!

 

[micha]

Oh Linda - I remember your frustration and fears and wanting to get better right now! It's a very difficult recovery as you have read. There really is nothing you can do to force yourself to recover faster ... trying to actually may slow down your progress. I am over a year out and I am so thankful I had the replacement. I wasn't and thought I never would be for almost 6 months. But I do everything I want to do now and I get to do it pain free! Wait, fall in love with ice, rest, and rest some more. It will get better! Good luck to you!

 

[Josephine]

my physical therapist tells me today that if within 2 weeks if I am not at 100+ degrees consistently she is going to refer me back to my doctor so that I can be evaluated for a manipulation. ... I do not want that.

and you're what - 5 weeks out? And already at 95 degrees? Tell her to get lost. Really, I mean it! Don't even listen to her. The very last thing you do is set times when 'this' or 'this' will happen! It doesn't work like that.

And Maggie is correct - they can't force you to have an MUA. Do you not remember what I said to you earlier about doing anything without consent is against the law? This applies to everything, even doctors. If you say you don't want it, however strongly he feels about it, he has to comply with your wishes - that's the law. So stop worrying about that side of it.

I have some questions to ask you - I know I asked them before but that was a weeks ago and I'd like to know what it is now, to see if anything has changed:

1. what are your pain levels right now?
(remember the 1-10 scale: 1 = no pain and 10 = the worst you can imagine.
And don't forget that 'pain' also includes soreness, burning, stabbing, throbbing, aching, swelling and stiffness)

2. what pain medications have you been prescribed, how much are you taking (in mg please) and how often?

3. how often are you icing your knee and for how long?

4. how high are you elevating your leg, how often and for how long?

5. what is your activity level? What do you do in the way of housework, cooking, cleaning, shopping, etc., and

6. what kind of PT/exercises are you doing? How much and how often?

I'll be back!

 

[lindaladyishere]

Pain meds; hydrocodon 20-325. I take one pill 3 to 4 times a day. Pain level about a constant 5, but when i over do it an 8, its just the stiffness not physical pain. (Slight constant swelling, pulling sensations here n there. Actually slight pain when i do straight leg raises.)
Icing my knee about 2 times a day. About 30min. My therapist says i should not ice that much because the swelling is from other things (froozen knee, i know u said she is full of it, but thats what she told me). I elevate about 3 times a day (toes to nose), about 30 mim each time, however when i go to bed its longer, probably at least an hour. Housework is light, vacuum, sweep, mop once a week. Its really not alot, but i do go shopping alot, about 2-3 times a week and when i'm out its for 1-3 hours, but at some stores i am in the electric cart, so I'm sitting down.
P/t exercises include strengthening: quadriceps 1 set of 10, knee flexion 5, heel slide in bed a set of 10, leg raises 2 sets of 15, and squats a set of 15. I do these 3 times a day. Im supposes to also do terminal knee extension standing, but i only do those occasionally. I asked my pt if i go could go to the gym and go on the bike(of course i cant get my legs to go completely around). She said yes that would be good to go to the gym. I went once, my plan was to go to the gym atleast 2 times a week. She said i could also do a couple of other machines there too such as the calf machine, leg press, and one other one i dont know the name of. I know they cant force me to do the MUA, but if they recommend it, i then have a successful decision to make. Oh at PT they have me on the bike, doing stretching exercises, on the leg press, and doing terminal knee extensions. Pt is 3 times a week.

 

[mrs cricklewood]

I would not them bully you into a MUA either. I am at 10 weeks and as of today I only have a ROM of 74% and my surgeon wanted me back in next week to have a MUA too . I am not getting it done as I am quite happy plodding on doing what I am doing ..I have come so far in the last few weeks to even think about going backwards now...NO WAY ! Even my physio said there are no guarantees with a MUA anyway ...and my knee is only just now starting to resemble a normal knee without the horrific swelling I have had for so long...so I am going to stick with my small increase every week....I don't understand at all why they think your knee bend warrants a MUA especially when it has only been a few weeks..what are they thinking ?? XXXX

 

[Roy Gardiner]

P/t exercises include strengthening: quadriceps 1 set of 10, knee flexion 5, heel slide in bed a set of 10, leg raises 2 sets of 15, and squats a set of 15. I do these 3 times a day. Im supposes to also do terminal knee extension standing, but i only do those occasionally. I asked my pt if i go could go to the gym and go on the bike(of course i cant get my legs to go completely around). She said yes that would be good to go to the gym. I went once, my plan was to go to the gym atleast 2 times a week. She said i could also do a couple of other machines there too such as the calf machine, leg press, and one other one i dont know the name of. I know they cant force me to do the MUA, but if they recommend it, i then have a successful decision to make. Oh at PT they have me on the bike, doing stretching exercises, on the leg press, and doing terminal knee extensions. Pt is 3 times a week.

There are two kinds of exercises; training and healing.

Strength training (indeed any kind of athletic training) involves stressing the muscles to the point of damaging them, so that in recovery they rebuild stronger. This hurts, and is where 'no pain, no gain' comes from.

Healing exercises involve simply keeping the muscles and tendons mobile, gently, so that they don't 'seize up'. They are also designed to stretch the tissues, because during the course of the deterioration of the knees you get reduced ROM and they adapt to this by shortening.

At your stage, 5 weeks out I make it, strength training could well be counterproductive. This is because your leg is already seriously damaged by surgery and needs to recover. Hard training stops this happening.

I would stop doing quad sets, leg raises, squats, and anything that puts force through the knee.

What you need, IMO, are flexion and extension stretches ONLY. There are any number of ways of doing these, please see my exercises thread (link below) to see just a few.


The bike is good; just rock the pedals back and forth until you can get full rotation. Raise the saddle as high as it can go for you, too.

 

[lindaladyishere]

I use the sit down bike, should i use the stand up bike?

 

[Roy Gardiner]

Makes no odds, IMO. The key is to do the exercise on zero resistance, the idea is simply to have a controlled way of flexing your leg.

If you have a rocking chair that will do just as well or better; feet on the floor, rock forwards until your knee is at the limit of its bend (no pain, mind you!) and back. Repeat any number of times. Or use the skateboard thing if you've seen the pix I've put up.

 

[maggie may]

I agree with Roy! And I must say I think you are overdoing it at 5 weeks. Really. I would imagine your leg is very angry at this point.
Rest, ice, elevate!!!
Be gentle with yourself

 

[kneeper]

This is your knee.

 

[renatelynne]

OMG if your tag is right, it is only 5 weeks out? And you are cleaning house and shopping besides doing PT. No wonder you aren't being able to bend your knee... The poor thing is tired! Way to early to worry about it not bending 100

 

[leejaa]

At your point in recovery I cannot believe you are so much on the go with shopping and housework and PT and icing and elevating so little. You need to listen to your knee more and be kind to it and yourself.

 

[Josephine]

Pain level about a constant 5, but when i over do it an 8, its just the stiffness not physical pain. (Slight constant swelling, pulling sensations here n there. Actually slight pain when i do straight leg raises.)

Honey, did you read the recovery articles you were left earlier? I think not because the very first one contains the comment that pain includes soreness, burning, stabbing, throbbing, aching, swelling and stiffness. And these all need to be medicated.

Pain meds; hydrocodone 20-325. I take one pill 3 to 4 times a day.

Is that what you are prescribed? It's usually 1-2 tablets every 4-6 hours. Meaning you can - and should - take at least 4 times a day. What you are taking is woefully inadequate and little wonder you are having problems.

Icing my knee about 2 times a day. About 30min. My therapist says i should not ice that much because the swelling is from other things (froozen knee, i know u said she is full of it, but thats what she told me).

Ice more - LOTS more. any time you are sitting down for any reason whatsoever, ice. You can't do it enough. PTs are notoriously ignorant about the value of ice after these operations. And 'frozen knee'? What on earth is she talking about? There is no such thing!

I elevate about 3 times a day (toes to nose), about 30 mim each time, however when i go to bed its longer, probably at least an hour.

Elevate more. Along with icing every time you are sitting down. Can't do it too much.

Housework is light, vacuum, sweep, mop once a week. Its really not alot, but i do go shopping alot, about 2-3 times a week and when i'm out its for 1-3 hours, but at some stores i am in the electric cart, so I'm sitting down.

Yes it is a lot and explains a great deal! You should stop all of this right now. And NO MORE shopping! It doesn't matter that you use the kart, you should be at home resting, elevating and icing. All of that comes later, at about 8 weeks.

As for you exercises, along with everything else, you are doing far, far too much. Truly - you need to cut these out/down as I have indicated here
Pt is 3 times a week: they have me
on the bike,
doing stretching exercises,
on the leg press no way! This is a very BAD machine for you to be using so early
doing terminal knee extensions
And in light of the above, you really don't need to be doing so much at home
P/t exercises 3 times a day once is quite enough but do alternate days
quadriceps 1 set of 10
knee flexion 5
heel slide in bed a set of 10 5 is enough
leg raises 2 sets of 15 5 is enough
squats a set of 15.
terminal knee extension standing

I asked my pt if I go could go to the gym and go on the bike She said yes that would be good to go to the gym.
I went once, my plan was to go to the gym at least 2 times a week. She said i could also do a couple of other machines there too such as the calf machine, leg press, and one other one i don't know the name of.

*shrieks* at 5 weeks?? no, no! Never go to the gym until you are 10-12 weeks out. Gym machines are not for 5 weeks out.

I know they cant force me to do the MUA, but if they recommend it, i then have a successful decision to make.

I think you meant difficult, didn't you? I don't think you need an MUA. What you need is LESS of everything as detailed above.That's the only reason your flexion is lagging, the ONLY reason your leg is so swollen. Remember this article Swollen and stiff knee: what causes it? It explains it exactly - you are doing far, far too much.

I will repeat
- take more pain meds as prescribed
- more rest, elevating and icing
- do less exercising, less of everything
- definitely no shopping
- be more patient and remember that your knee is still very new and takes more than 5 weeks to heal.

Again I ask if you read the recovery articles? If not, please find them and read them. If you did, go back and read them again because you're not getting it.

And if I seem to be coming across as bossy and school ma'am-ish, please remember it's only because I care about you and want to see you do better and get a good outcome from your knee.

 

[lindaladyishere]

I spent most of the day in bed elevating and icing my knee. I keep telling myself just because I can does not mean I should (going out shopping). My goal is to try and spend the whole weekend elevating and icing. Tomorrow will be a challenge, as it is a very hood day to coupon but I have a plan. My daughter and granddaughter are suppose to come visit me tomorrow, so I plan on giving my daughter the coupons and telling her where to go (through her I might be able to get my coupon fix).

I only did 5 heel slides and leg raises today. I am going to try and take the advice of Josephine. I do think I have been doing way too much way too soon. I am really going to try and slow down but it's hard for me as I live alone and being in the house by myself drives me crazy. But I will try.

 

[skigirl]

That is good news and I think we would all like to know if a weekend off helps.

 

[NetballKnees]

Hi Linda Lady .. I found you! I thought I would return the favour of the visit. You have certainly been through the mill, especially with your PT. My knee was cringing when I read what you were doing. I totally understand your frustration with not doing what you "normally" do and I am 15 years older than you. I always thought I was a lazy person until I had to lie around and not do anything. It is not easy.

I hope the weekend of not doing anything has helped you. You are only 10 days ahead of me, but when I read what housework you do, I can't believe it. I have swept my bathroom floor twice in 4 weeks, done a small sink of washing up and stripped my bed. My ex-husband is doing everything else.

I cannot wait until I can go back to the gym. I was a bit limited in what I could do before the surgery, but I could ride bikes and loved doing RPM and Express Cycle classes. I also did boxing and personal training sessions of upper body weights. At my 6 week check-up I am going to ask the OS if I can go back to doing only upper body strength training.

I am still using my walker and cannot see me not needing it for a long time as I do not have a normal gait even when using it.

Linda - I hope you can work out how to be happy with doing less and just letting your knee recover at its own pace, as all the Bonesmarties have suggested. And if you have, or when you do, please let me know how to do it too.

Take care and look after yourself ...
Ellen