Do you think your successful recover was, in part, to the first several days (or week can’t remember) in rehab facility?
Hmmm... that's an interesting question. In fact, it brings me to a conversation I had the other day with a neighbor who asked about my knees. She saw me walking and noted I was walking a lot, but that she hadn't seen me for a few years. I told her about my knee replacements and flashed the scars.
"Bilateral!" Her eyes widened. "Did you go to rehab?"
Me, not picking up on the clue, "Yes. But I don't think I needed it."
"You don't? But you needed the therapy."
"I could have done it at home."
She looked dubious. "I work at a rehab hospital. The bilaterals I see all need it."
Not wanting to diminish her work (I belatedly remembered she was a nurse), I assured her I had gotten a lot of benefit from the rehab hospital and we made some more small talk before she said she had to skedaddle to work.
So here's the deal: I got a lot of benefit from the rehab place, that's true. But I would have recovered JUST AS WELL at home.
You see, I think the therapy that helped me most was the occupational therapy... how to do stairs, how to bathe, how to get into and out of cars and chairs and off toilets. And the second part of therapy I found beneficial was training in how to use my walker... uneven surfaces, curbs, turning corners, how to navigate a kitchen while using a walker and cook a little food. That kind of thing.
The therapy I could have done at home was bending and straightening, walking, quad strengthening, and leg lifts. The exercising part I could have done on my own. I didn't need in-house PT.
What was really helpful about rehab for me was being out of the house where a 93 year-old with dementia had terrible hygiene habits. I was exposed to less chance of infection in the rehab hospital. I had better medical control of any issues also. I'm a type-2 diabetic who only became that way after a previous surgery where my blood sugar skyrocketed, so they wanted to watch my blood sugars and could do so better than I or Mr. Shoes. So those considerations were important in my case.
So I'm appreciative of the rehab hospital. It was medically a sound choice and I did benefit from several things about it.
But I was only there a week. I don't think it fast-tracked my recovery. I had decent ROM right after surgery. I went into the rehab hospital with a flexion of 95/90 and left with a flexion of 115/113. I think the therapy was helpful; we walked daily, a lot, and I learned different ways to bend my knees and that I liked some better than I liked others. It was a good experience and certainly didn't set me back!
If your surgeon wants you to go to rehab, and it isn't a financial hardship for you (insurance paid for mine), then you could take advantage of the rehab experience. It has pluses.
The minuses:
- You will not be in control of your own pain meds. I had to lie to the nurses in rehab about my pain level, because if I wasn't dying from 8-10 level pain I did not get my oxy. I got Tylenol.
- You will not be allowed to go to the bathroom without summoning assistance. This can involve a wait. This can be really really annoying.
- The food might be dreadful. Mine was. Wretched. You will have better food at home.
- They will order tests. It's what hospitals do. Daily blood tests. Urine tests. I got an ultrasound for a bladder condition I don't have.
- Rehab is more stressful than your nice, quiet home. It's just the nature of a hospital. The needing to call for assistance. The interruptions of your naps for shift changes. It's just not going to be as peaceful.
- They may not have good TV. Just saying.
The reason I had a rocking good recovery is not because I went to rehab. I completely credit my recovery to BoneSmart. Even in rehab I followed the BoneSmart mantras to the extent I was able.
- If it hurts, don't do it. If it hurts after doing something, don't do that thing again.
- Control pain. Take pain meds on schedule.
- Elevate. All. The. Time.
- Ice. Ice some more.
- Rest. Rest. Rest.
- Listen to the knee.
- Walking is the best exercise. Walk as the knee allows.
And that's it. I took it slow. I took it easy. I never tried to fast-track my knees. They were in charge. I controlled my PT. Now it happens I started out pretty well, and I was fortunate in that. The rest of recovery, though, was because I didn't do anything to set my knees back!
It should just settle into a "fully healed now, nothing new happening here" normal. I will cross my fingers it's something easily corrected.
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