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TKR Suzibelle on the Road to Recovery

Thanks, @Celle! I know it takes longer. I just feel like it's taking too long. :( That said, bad habits are easy to form, and it's good to be reminded about walking heel-toe. There are glimpses of me walking normally. Last night it was looking good for a few moments. Naturally, the tighter the muscles, the more of a bend I have. The more of a bend, the more of a limp. The more of a limp, the more my body is out of alignment. Vicious circle! @Josephine's comments on the original thread about a chiropractor speak to me, in addition to the exercises. I'll be visiting a sports massage specialist tomorrow evening.
 
Celle said:
I know that it's probably harder to be patient and accept slow progress if you are younger.
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It's not so much that it's hard to accept because of my age. I think it's hard to accept because surgeons tell us that healthier people endure surgery better and typically have more successful outcomes. Couple that blanket statement regarding surgeries with the information given to me prior to surgery (my life would be mostly normal at 6 months), and that is where I struggle to be patient and accept slow progress. No one every indicated that needing a crutch at 6 months was a likely outcome. The story painted just before and just after surgery is very different than the reality, for me anyway.
 
Suzi, my OS told me that I would be fine to go back to Africa in 6 months. Thank goodness I found this place before surgery and my expectations became more realustic. I think if we look at it as trading one year or so for MANY years of getting our lives back, it helps. I, too, am impatient but there's s life lesson in that for me. I'm learning to accept things I cannot change. I have a friend who is in AA and she sent me a serenity prayer cross-stich pillow before surgery . I am just now understanding how relevant that prayer is for all recoveries.


Shelia
RTKR - 8/23/16
LTKR - 9/20/2016
 
Your friend was right on! We can't change how long our knees want to take to heal, so we just have to relax and let it be in control until it's healed.
 
sheliac said:
I have a friend who is in AA and she sent me a serenity prayer cross-stich pillow before surgery . I am just now understanding how relevant that prayer is for all recoveries.
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That is so true!

I have found the Serenity Prayer so helpful in times of impatience and crisis. Many a time, it's been my "go to" reminder, to help me calm down.
 
What a wonderful way to help you to calm down.
 
@Suzibelle oh that painted picture they paint, it's beautiful, the one we paint ourselves shows the amatuar that all of us truely are. I find so much of this that is fed to us, helps lead us to extra anixety and depression. Those first few weeks when we are so tied down we all seem to understand that as normal, but as the weeks and months progress and our recovery stalls out for a time or takes a detour, those type things haven't been talked about, our manuals and handbooks don't talk about that, all that pre-op classes are a thing of the past, we have no one contacting us, cheering us on, were on our own at this pt. Looking back in hind sight I don't think it would be a bad thing for hospital staff to add more to those patient handbooks about what you could possible expect. To have the patient back in for follow up classes just some extra support on their end to all of us. I've found lately my comfort coming from others on this site, I have come to realize were all different, all heal at a different rate, but we also have a lot of things in common, so are writings often help the next person out, and prevents them from dispair, to realize that more of us then not are not in that one size fits all categorie. This site has allowed me to believe in myself, my bodies wonderful ability to heal me back up when I've become broken and to proceed forward, not by what our manuals have told us, but what our body is telling us. It's also given me a voice so when things aren't going the way they should be, I have the courage to speak up and speak my mind. ( this part is a ongoing process as I don't like to confront others, but sometimes you do have to speak up on your own behalf.)
 
And speaking up for yourself when it's to your benefit is a positive thing. So many of us have been brought up to not go against an authority figure. But if they are doing something to hurt us, we need to speak up for ourselves!
 
Ten months and four days. That's how long it's been! I come to the forum today because FINALLY my leg is starting to straighten closer to 0 degrees. It's not there, but it's pretty damn close!

I think what really helped was me starting a Pilates reformer class (with the spring-loaded machines). It's run in my physio clinic (not a gym), and it's a 3-1 patient to physio ratio. All the notes are there for the physio leading the class, and though insurance hasn't covered it, it has been 100% worth it. The strengthening of the leg and work on a very lazy VMO has allowed/encouraged this damn leg to straighten. Along with my trusty foam roller (initially an agonizing 2 minutes of rolling from my hip to knee and up and down my quad), my leg and my back are both getting back to "normal".


I'm sure someone will suggest that it has been a culmination of all the exercises that got me to this point (and in a big picture sense that is true),but for over 7 months my leg stayed at 5 degrees (at its best). In those many months I did the weighted ankle with my leg hanging off the bed. I rode the bike daily. I swam. I did yoga twice/week. The strength that has come on in the 8 Pilates classes I've done has been a massive game-changer for me. It's been very noticeable in how I stand, how I stride and how I get out of chairs.

For anyone who thinks their progress has plateaued or been stunted, the jump in physio Pilates at this juncture (less swelling than a few months ago) has really made a world of a difference. Enough to make me cry with joy in class!

I will say that my surgeon always said that strength would help it to straighten. I will also say that I have heard from a range of PTs that it was possible that my leg wouldn't straighten. I'm glad my surgeon was right about this. :)
 
What wonderful news! I believe wear rocker bottom shoes helped to get my knee straight. That was the last thing to come. My bend was pretty good from the git go, but that extension just didn't want to come. Rocker bottom shoes make you walk heal to toes, which helps to straighten the leg. I'm so glad you found something that worked for you.
 
Wonderful to hear how well you are doing after many long months. :yay:
Finding the right program at the right time, letting your knee heal, and lots of patience have finally got you where you are today. You and RunA42K have posted such wonderful updates about how patience and perseverance brings healing in the last 24 hours.
Wishing you continued healing,
 
sistersinhim said:
What wonderful news! I believe wear rocker bottom shoes helped to get my knee straight. That was the last thing to come. My bend was pretty good from the git go, but that extension just didn't want to come. Rocker bottom shoes make you walk heal to toes, which helps to straighten the leg. I'm so glad you found something that worked for you.
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I despaired at various points re: my own extension. I was in UK weather over xmas, and it felt like I had regressed! 10 months isn't everyone's common milestone, but it would appear to be one of mine. Thanks for the kind words!
 
Pumpkln said:
Wonderful to hear how well you are doing after many long months. :yay:
Finding the right program at the right time, letting your knee heal, and lots of patience have finally got you where you are today. You and RunA42K have posted such wonderful updates about how patience and perseverance brings healing in the last 24 hours.
Wishing you continued healing,
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This forum has been helpful at so many critical points in recovery. When my leg showed the first signs of getting straighter, I felt I had to come here first to share the news! :)
 
2 years and 2 days shy of 3 months. That's how long it's been. I won't say it's been easy, because that is not the case. That said, I am grateful to have avoided infections. I have a reasonable ROM. The recovery took much longer than expected, and it was worsened by an aggravated lower back (the not-so-smooth stride must have altered my posture for a loooong time). However, I am nearly at the top of this mountain. :upright:I can exercises daily, an hour + of cardio on the treadmill (still no jogging...I feel like I need to learn how to do this again), elliptical and stationary bike. Yoga has helped me to increase my ROM and allow for the knee to tolerate activities such as kneeling. It's also made me stronger. Reasonable amounts of exercises don't agitate the RTKR anymore. I can hike again, though still not the 10-12 mile hikes. I'm comfortably hovering around 5 miles. My hiking sticks remain my best friends, as they were before the surgery. Going uphill is still easier than going downhill, but the last 9 months of living in the oh-so-hilly town of Kandy, Sri Lanka have forced my leg muscles to get on board with stairs and steep climbs. Those uncomfortable descents on hills are becoming a thing of the past. There are days when I overdo it, but I give my knee a break and it happily responds within a couple of hours. The excess weight is starting to shift with the increase in regular exercise. I'm so happy to be flying on that elliptical and bike that I haven't lost motivation yet (those of you still having dreams of running down stairs post-surgery can surely relate).

On a side note, I started using a fitness app called Aaptiv. It does have a monthly fee, but it's been fantastic in crafting workouts with a trainer in my ear and great music. It's been wonderful in helping me regain my strength. At first, I stuck with the beginner workouts, but my muscles soon remembered what it felt like to be strong. Between the back issues and my knee sometimes complaining, I wasn't ready for this much exercise 6 months ago. Around the 2 year mark, it was like someone flipped a switch. For that, I am forever grateful. :tada:

If your'e just out of surgery and wonder if you'll ever stop noticing the rubber band around your leg or the stiffness when you stand...it will go away. :)
 
Thank you for a very positive and encouraging post! We need to read these. Those in the dark days of recovery will see that with patience their lives can get back to normal! Not even back to normal, but much better!

Enjoy your new life!
 
sistersinhim said:
Thank you for a very positive and encouraging post! We need to read these. Those in the dark days of recovery will see that with patience their lives can get back to normal! Not even back to normal, but much better!

Enjoy your new life!
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Thanks, @sistersinhim ! Hard to see the forest for the trees when you're dealing with discomfort and limited mobility. It does happen eventually, though. ;)
 
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