TKR Suggestions needed for “tight band” feeling

[sistersinhim]

@Celle: for my limp, my dr also suggested to fill a gallon jug of water and put it in a grocery bag and hang it off my ankle while laying on my stomach on the bed. Thoughts on this?

I am really surprised any doctor would recommend this. Would you do this to a good knee? Of course not. Your body is not meant to undergo this kind of treatment. If you do this, you are asking for all kinds of injuries. Nature will straighten your knee when it's healed enough.

 

[Celle]

I see that other people have answered your questions while I've been sleeping (I live in NZ). I agree with them. Absolutely no weights to try and force your knee to straighten.

The tubular elastic bandage you're using goes by various trade names, Tubigrip, Tubilast, TUbifast, and Surgitube among them.

 

[Starsfan22]

Please don't do the lying on stomach, hanging leg off exercise. It hurts a lot. I did this 2 times before deciding anything that hurts this bad can't be good for my knee.....

 

[Rockgirl4]

@Stiff knee NC Oh my Goodness!!!!! About 3-4 yrs ago, I did that stretch many times with a 4-5 lb weight hanging on my ankle. By the 5-6 minute mark, it was excruciating. Did it straighten my leg---yes!!! But did it make the pain and swelling worse??---YES!!!!

Then the knee was sooooo straight that I had trouble bending it again. It was like robbing Peter to pay Paul. I had much better luck after my TKR and last year's Microfracture surgery with walking more, making sure to walk "heel to toe". Also, as the swelling went down, the leg straightened more. I finally learned I didn't need that range of motion back to normal in 3 wks. It was okay if it took longer, even if the PTs didn't like it.

I've been down this path 3-4 times, and I will NEVER let anyone do that stretch to me again.

 

[Jamie]

A gallon of water weighs 8.34 pounds. It would be insane for you to try and do a hang with that much weight right off the bat. If this is something your physician suggested to you, I'd begin to question his ability to properly guide you in your recovery.

In any type of physical therapy involving weights a person should always start with a small (1 lb) weight or even no weight to do the hang exercise he is recommending. You start low and slowly work up to maybe 5 pounds over WEEKS. Doing otherwise risks damage to your soft tissues in addition to whatever other problems you have with swelling that are giving you that tightness. It would be the same if you had a healthy knee but didn't do much running, then suddenly decided to run 20 miles. All your muscles and soft tissue would hurt like the devil and you'd be weeks recovering from the damage.

If you want to do the hang exercise, start with no weight and just do it until you are barely uncomfortable twice a day. I did that exercise for extension and as I recall I only started with 60 seconds at the beginning.

 

[Stiff knee NC]

I wanted to wish you all a happy holiday season...and thank you for ALL your advice/encouragement during the past 22 weeks of recuperation. Quick question for one of you: I took a month off from the gym and all other exercise. Tightness was better and I had one really good day 2 wks ago. Went to the gym yesterday for 5 mins on stationary bike and 4 mins on “pedal” type machine (but nothing else). As before, lots of tightness and some pain today. Should I take another month off OR just do 2 mins or so on bike/pedal machine. I see the dr in abt 3 wks...he was concerned w/my slight limp and “straightness.” I’m concerned bc my ROM and straightness have decreased, altho I know in time they will come back. Tks in advance!

 

[sistersinhim]

You are only a little more than 1/3 of all the way healed. Maybe you did too much at one time after being off for a month. Did you do your normal daily activities while off of the gym. Your ROM has worsened because you did too much and your knee is swollen. Even if you can't see it on the outside, it's still swollen inside. Rest it for a few days until the pain goes back down and then try the gym at a lower pace.

 

[NewToMe]

I wanted to wish you all a happy holiday season...and thank you for ALL your advice/encouragement during the past 22 weeks of recuperation. Quick question for one of you: I took a month off from the gym and all other exercise. Tightness was better and I had one really good day 2 wks ago. Went to the gym yesterday for 5 mins on stationary bike and 4 mins on “pedal” type machine (but nothing else). As before, lots of tightness and some pain today. Should I take another month off OR just do 2 mins or so on bike/pedal machine. I see the dr in abt 3 wks...he was concerned w/my slight limp and “straightness.” I’m concerned bc my ROM and straightness have decreased, altho I know in time they will come back. Tks in advance!

Bike NO MORE THAN 5 mins at a time! Keep moving around the house every hour and gentle stretching! That has helped the band on my knee.

Also when it does go away, I relax for a bit, walk better, then it comes back. That's the signal I am doing to much if that makes sense.

Happy Holidays

 

[Stiff knee NC]

@sistersinhim, @NewToMe, @Celle: When I took a month off from the gym, I DID do all my usual daily activities. After a month, on Christmas Eve day, I did 5 mins on bike/4 mins on pedal thing. Current pain and tightness are just like BEFORE I took the month off. I don’t think I can do ANY exercise! Do some people have to avoid exercise for several months? Every time I go to the gym I take 100 steps back re tightness. Been resting, elevating, icing. Am wondering if I should just do 2-3 mins on bike/pedal type thing...or take ANOTHER month off! I see the dr on Jan. 12 and I’m reluctant to tell him I haven’t done ANY of my at-home exercises, knee straightening or biking/pedaling.

 

[Starsfan22]

Stiff Knee....I know just where you are. We are at the same stage of recovery and seem to be expierencing the same problems. My stiffness is abating somewhat unless I stand too long, then it's like a peg leg with pain. Resting awhile allows me to continue on with whatever task I'm attempting. I'm so tired of pain.... I overdid this week and am resting as much as possible before my last event tomorrow. I'll be watching for your surgeon report. I'm beginning to think I should go in for a check to see if what I'm experiencing is normal.

 

[Stiff knee NC]

@Starsfan22: it’s SO frustrating isn’t it?!! I’m afraid my dr is going to be furious when he hears that I haven’t done anything... but I spent the first 4 mos doing everything I was told and had constant tightness/pain as a result! I will say, in the last “week” of my one month off... I had a GOOD day, meaning I could stand for more than an hour and it wasn’t as tight as normal! It was very exciting! Do you mind sharing w/me what, specifically, you do exercise wise on a daily basis? I’d recommend seeing your dr....mine wants to see me bc I’m having so much tightness/pain still. I dread my next visit...

 

[sistersinhim]

Do you mind sharing w/me what, specifically, you do exercise wise on a daily basis?

You don't need to be doing any specific exercises. Just use your knee normally as you go about your day. Walk with a heel to toe gait, which helps extension. Just ignore your knee as you go about your day. When you sit, ice and elevate. That will help to keep the pain and swelling down. Exercises just aggravate your soft tissues, causing pain and swelling. Use your knee as it was created to be used and nothing else and it'll snap right back.

 

[Helizabug]

I find a routine of gentle exercises helps me feel like I have some influence on my body and some structure to my day. But mine are mostly gentle, whole body exercises that we use when warming up for Tai Chi. Gentle arm swings, hip circles, shifting weight from side to side, shoulder rolls, and neck stretches. I also do sit-ups because my balance has always been bad, and I need good core stability. Every other day, I add my PT work, but these, too, aren’t anything too aggressive for me: straight leg lifts, step up on a low step, side step in a small squat (we just added that). I also work on my flexion and extension, very gently, spending time just at the edge of discomfort for one to three minutes with a minute of rest, never forcing to pain.

I’m sharing because you asked, but I think daily activities and walking mindful of gait is probably plenty. I just know that I crave the structure and the sense of independence I get from exercises.

 

[Celle]

I’m afraid my dr is going to be furious when he hears that I haven’t done anything... but I spent the first 4 mos doing everything I was told and had constant tightness/pain as a result! I will say, in the last “week” of my one month off... I had a GOOD day, meaning I could stand for more than an hour and it wasn’t as tight as normal! It was very exciting!

If your doctor is furious, that's his problem, not yours. He is responsible for his feelings, not you.
You have done what feels right for your knee, and that is your decision to make, because it's your knee, not his.

Here's the thing - your surgeon can offer advice, but you have the right to choose whether or not to accept that advice. You don't have to blindly follow orders.

 

[Starsfan22]

@stiffknee...My exercise is minimul currently. I use my floor pedal for 5-8 min. first thing in the am, sometimes in the late afternoon. I try to walk each day but not that far, down the block and back. If I shop that is all the extra walking I do for the day. I try to be aware of correct gait/posture. I also lift weights several times a week focussing on arms and chest. The weights have no affect on my knee. Very rarely am I adding pt exercises as what I'm doing is all I can do without pain.

 

[Stiff knee NC]

Jockette, Celle, Starsfan22, Tykey, Rockgirl4, sistersinhim, judgar, Sara61, Pumpkln, Jamie, NewToMe, TheSloth, Seatides, lionsm13, Helizabug, Carole4815, gothgirl1:
This will be a long but joyful post! I’m sending it to everyone (esp the moderators) who gave me such great advice and encouraged me. I am 26 weeks out and I am BETTER!!! For the past five weeks or so, I thought I was imagining that I could stand longer than an hour, that the tightness wasn’t as bad and the pain after standing was less. It was very subtle...but after abt 3 weeks I told my husband, I THINK I AM getting better.

Back in late November I followed the moderators’ advice to take a month off from exercise and the gym. I probably took abt 7 weeks off. I also put away the water-filled milk jug that I was supposed to hang off my ankle along w/the “3 x 10” piece of equipment to help straighten my leg. I started taking Celebrex and used a gel 2x/day (called Diclofenac Sodium topical gel, instead of the expensive compound gel). Started being mindful about walking heel to toe, and mostly tried to stop worrying so much about my knee.

What a difference all this made! I’d say I’m abt 40% better and 100% happier! I don’t know where I’d be if I hadn’t, in desperation, gone online looking for a “knee forum” and stumbled upon Bonesmart. (Well, actually, I DO know what I’d be doing: leg presses, knee squats, and lots and lots of time on the bike and pedal-type machine, which would keep my knee perpetually inflamed). I can’t overstate my gratitude to Bonesmart and everyone who took the time to write.

So what am I doing now? I started back at the gym 2 weeks ago, doing 2 mins on the bike and pedal machines; I go up a min on each piece of equipment after about 10 days. I’m also able to water walk heel to toe 3x/wk for an hr w/o any tightness or pain. I have a few good days and a few bad (tightness) days, but there’s no doubt that I am healing and am improving! My knee only gets slightly warm and, curiously, my scar is itchier than it ever has been.

The ice machine got put away yesterday...but I still rest and elevate. I have no doubt that it will take me a full year to be completely better, but I no longer have any doubt that I WILL get there. So THANKS to all of you ❤

 

[Pumpkin]

Stiff kneeSC,
Happy to hear how well you are doing, and that your knee has settled down. TKR is like the race between the tortoise and the hare, we all know the slow but sure tortoise won.
Keep up the good work,

 

[Jockette]

I am so excited for you, that you are coming along so well!!

 

[Helizabug]

Great news! And so encouraging for me! It’s a wonderful story to share, and I hope it gets better and better!

 

[sistersinhim]

What an uplifting post! I'm so glad we could help you out. That's what Bonesmart is for!