TKR Surgery yesterday morning>

[wilsonma]

I am 19 days out and thanks to the advice I received here, I am doing very well -with no PT. I am walking up and downstairs and today went out shopping. When you think of the bones being cut and damage to the tissues, it doesn't make sense to aggravate it by PT. Let your joint heal and only do as much as you can, without pain.

 

[DEM8869]

Hello all! I've found allot of these threads are very helpful to me especially because I know I'm not alone. In fact, far from alone. I do have a few questions though. I am five days out and I am experiencing some localized pain on the inside of the lower area of the knee. Especially when doing any of my exercises. I guess ive been under the assumption that I would feel pain in general throughout the entire knee/leg. I also have quite a bit of pain on the back of my knee. I was told that I had a huge bone spur there so maybe it's removal is causing it. I don't know. I appreciate any and all input or advice..thanks in advance!!

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[referee54]

@DEM8869 --I merged your two threads as per forum protocol---we would like only one thread in the TKR Recovery section, as it helps us to see what issues you may have had, what questions you have had, and where you are in recovery---and what concerns you have had in the past---it makes it so much more efficient for us to help you and to advise you. It also prevents double posts.

Thanks for your understanding,

Tim C.

 

[DEM8869]

Thanks...this whole tapatalk app is new to me so I'm having a hard time. I apologize if I'm posting wrong[emoji53]

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[referee54]

Absolutely no need to apologize at all---we are very glad that you found us and we will do everything we can to help get you the answers that to your questions!

 

[Vangheluwec]

Not sure if you have an apple product like iPad or iPhone but they have a great app that is easy to use. Type bone smart into the App Store and it will bring up the app. It's great and really easy to navigate.


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[DEM8869]

I don't, but thank you anyway

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[Vangheluwec]

You are welcome. Hope everything goes good with your recovery.


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[greatlakes]

Quite a few of us had pain in the back of the knee and found that icing the back was helpful.

 

[Majella]

I hope you start feeling better! TKR is a long recovery.....more like a journey and your knee is usually the boss. This is my second TKR and I'v learned so much along the way, mostly patience and encouragement from the great people on BoneSmart. We are here to help you get through the tuff times and celebrate the good ones.

 

[DEM8869]

The pt t told me that I need to be able too bend my knee 90° within 2 weeks from the surgery date. Seeing as I'm already a week out and can only bend 30°-40°(NOT comfortably) I'm a little concerned. I have anxiety attacks when I am with the therapist. I may bed wrong but I don't see a big difference in the bending whether she does it for me and hurts me badly...or when I just work at it slowly. She also said I shouldn't be having this much pain when she does it. Umm...considering...i think I'm taking this quite well. I'm getting around..I'm weaning off the pain meds...i only have problems with pt. Any opinions?

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[referee54]

Do not worry at all about anybody's schedule---your recovery is dictated by the schedule set up by your surgical knee. You are less than a week removed from a very traumatic surgery on your knee---they sawed off two bones, pounded, filed, glued and possibly screwed things into place---and then you were closed up.

Do not listen to your PT---and never, ever, let anybody hurt you. The PT's work for you, not the other way around. You set the ground rules---you tell them what you will do and what is unacceptable---and being taken well beyond the point of discomfort is horrible and counter-productive. Never take exercise or stretching past the point of discomfort.

'm getting around..I'm weaning off the pain meds...i only have problems with pt. Any opinions?

It is too, too early to be removing yourself from the pain meds---again, less than a week ago, you had surgery.

How much "getting around" are you doing---at this stage of the recovery, I can tell you that your PT is having you do waaaaay too much, and your activity level may add to that, as well. Gentle stretches, icing, and elevating are all that you should be doing at this stage of recovery.

How often are you icing and elevating your knee---and for how long?

The pt t told me that I need to be able too bend my knee 90° within 2 weeks from the surgery date.

I couldn't, either---so what? What are they going to do about it? This is not their schedule---it is your knee's. Don't let your PT bully you.

 

[DEM8869]

Thank you...thank you so much!

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[referee54]

@DEM8869 ---there is no "schedule" for recovery. There is no, "At this time, you should be able to do this..." Your PT is wrong and your PT is wrong to bully you. The more pain that is created during these sessions, the slower your recovery will be---and more frustrating. We are all different, and our surgical recoveries are different, too.

For the most part, a TKR recovery takes a lot longer than we would like it to and a lot longer than we are prepared for. It took me six months to get close to 80%-85%. It was not until eight months that I was around 90%-95%---and I gained ROM well after the one-year anniversary of my BTKR surgery.

Relax, and be patient. Set limits for your PT---and do not let them cross the line. If they do, fire them.

This is not about "no pain, no gain"---but rather, "no pain, more gain." The more you let somebody inflict pain on you---both physical and psychological, the slower and more frustrating your recovery will be.

Please, please, let your PT know that you are upset with her and that you will not allow her to hurt you again. Take every thing to the point of discomfort only, ice and elevate as much as you can.

 

[skigirl]

I saw your question about how to handle the PT on another thread and did not want to derail that thread, so am posting here. Remember this---you are the person paying for this. Remember---the customer is always right.

Since I have been on Bonesmart I have heard many people talk of PT's who really reach beyond their authority. The threat to tell the doc, or that you will get a MUA is really unprofessional. The PT is not the doctor and most doctors do not even speak to the PT. So, your PT's attitude is his/her own, not necessarily that of the doctor.

A professional will listen to you and do what you want. So, you can just say that you do not believe that no pain no gain will work for you and here is how you want to do rehab. Think about it, would you return to a salon where the woman did what she wanted? or a massage therapist who worked on your leg when you wanted the back to be treated?

Next, a PT clinic needs to make money just like any other business. So, if you have PT who will not listen to you, just ask the owner, manager to assign another PT to your case. Remember---who is paying???? Believe me that will do it because they do not want to loose your business. And, far from hurting the feelings of the first PT, perhaps he/she might learn a few things about rehab.

Most of all---you are not the powerless victim of this PT---in fact, you are in charge and if you do not like what is happening, it is up to you to change it. I always think this way---If I get through an uncomfortable 10 minutes one of us is going to be happy---why shouldn't that person be me???

 

[uva55]

So many PT's say that same thing to the patients, I think most doctor's don't even check that, don't stress, ROM will come as the swelling goes down, you know the drill less is more when it comes to PT, don't let them bully you.

If the back of your knee is still bothering you may want to ice the back of the knee, I used to ice the back also and it really helped.

I hope you are feeling better soon

 

[DEM8869]

Hello...I saw my Dr on Monday. It has now been 19 days since surgery. He said that by 21 days if I cannot get 90° I am to call him and may need a manipulation. I am at an approx 70° bend- a little more with PTt pushing it. It's extremely painful to try to bend further than the 70°.

I was just reading about people having more problems with stiffness especially if they had limited ROM before surgery. My leg would barely bend before surgery. I'm having a lot of anxiety about this now. I get very upset during physical therapy. I WANT to bend it - it is just so very stiff and painful to bend.

Other than the stiffness I have very little pain. I'm scared. Any suggestions?

 

[ACDCJen]

@DEM8869
I'm so sorry to hear you are having trouble with your flexion. I wish I had the magic answer for you... I have relatively poor measurements. My operative/left is 95/10 (measured 110 in surgery) and my other/right knee is 105/10. So, I didn't start with the best numbers and I'm lucky that my OS and PT are not expecting miracles. I really hope that something happens in the next few days to get you closer to 90.

Please keep us posted.
Jen

 

[DEM8869]

Thank you. I will!!

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[KarriB]

DEM,welcone to BoneSmart! It is very possible that your knee isn't bending due to swelling and PT (especially with a therapist pushing) may be the culprit of that swelling. How often are you elevating and icing your knee? What are your daily activities?