Swelling? Can't figure out why....
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Tamsmom
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After an very uncomfortable Wednesday at therapy and a busy day with work as little as I could commitments and a highschooler that had an end-of-the-year function yesterday, I was pleasantly surprised that therapy was not difficult and my knee loosened up pretty quickly this morning.
I am closing in on four weeks that will be next Tuesday. My range of motion is 97 with my degree of extension sitting at 4%. For some reason I went 100 to be my range of motion so badly and quickly it is just a mark in my head that I have had from the beginning and wanted so badly to be there by now. I am trying to take the advice here and rest and elevate and ice as much as possible but as you start to feel better it is more difficult to do.
I almost feel like I need to put it on the calendar because time gets away from me so quickly.
Does anyone have a temporary handicap parking permit? If so does your physician just give that to you or do you have a long process to secure one? I feel up to driving but walking the parking lot and then through the store is way too much for me at this point.
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I am closing in on four weeks that will be next Tuesday. My range of motion is 97 with my degree of extension sitting at 4%. For some reason I went 100 to be my range of motion so badly and quickly it is just a mark in my head that I have had from the beginning and wanted so badly to be there by now. I am trying to take the advice here and rest and elevate and ice as much as possible but as you start to feel better it is more difficult to do.
I almost feel like I need to put it on the calendar because time gets away from me so quickly.
Does anyone have a temporary handicap parking permit? If so does your physician just give that to you or do you have a long process to secure one? I feel up to driving but walking the parking lot and then through the store is way too much for me at this point.
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midwest girl
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@Tamsmom yes I have a temporary handicap parking placard. 2 weeks ago I called my OS office and asked for one. They handled all the paperwork and I received the placard in the mail last week. Since it is temporary it is a different color - it is red instead of blue. I was disappointed to find out that expiration date was July 31,2014. I was expecting at least 6 months and hoping for a year. When I see my OS for a pre-op visit on Monday I'm going to be asking about an extension to the expiration date.
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Tamsmom
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Husband and I have just traded places, I am now getting pretty comfortable in bed and I think he fears waking me up so he ends up on the couch many nights or hours of the night!
I decided last night not to set an alarm for my pain meds and it was about seven hours before I got uncomfortable and woke up. Of course I took something right away and then went back to sleep for a couple more hours it was the best sleep I've had in a long time! I was nervous to see if the pain was worse this morning, but it wasn't!
I am sure many of you I like me I get up only to get everything prepared for me to ice at the beginning of the day so I get up to sit down.
Does your physical therapist measure you at every session or just on a weekly basis? Mine does every session so sometimes it is frustrating if the change is little or there is no
What number is considered to be a success for ROM and extension.? I have no clue.
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I decided last night not to set an alarm for my pain meds and it was about seven hours before I got uncomfortable and woke up. Of course I took something right away and then went back to sleep for a couple more hours it was the best sleep I've had in a long time! I was nervous to see if the pain was worse this morning, but it wasn't!
I am sure many of you I like me I get up only to get everything prepared for me to ice at the beginning of the day so I get up to sit down.
Does your physical therapist measure you at every session or just on a weekly basis? Mine does every session so sometimes it is frustrating if the change is little or there is no
What number is considered to be a success for ROM and extension.? I have no clue.
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Once a week for ROM is more than enough.
Best to get extension first, flexion will come over time.
Best to get extension first, flexion will come over time.
lori107
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I haven't started physio yet. My first one is on Thursday so I will find out then how I am progressing.
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Tamsmom
senior
Well you know the whole saying "up with the good and down with the bad?" Well I must have thought I was doing great cuz I went down the stairs with the good leg and wow did that hurt! I won't be making that mistake again soon! Ouch!,
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I think my permit was for 6 months but I only used it for about 3. Unless you have a situation where you'd have to walk blocks and blocks you'll do fine after a few months.
There's no need to have ROM measured every session. That's just the physiotherapist getting hooked on the numbers and wanting to put something that shows improvement in his/her notes. I only had mine measured twice in the whole post-op period. The first time was at my first PT visit and the last time was at my last visit. My surgeon used to just eyeball it and say "Show me what you can do," - and I had a sterling recovery.
There's also no rush to get ROM. People here have told us that they continued to increase ROM for a year or more after their surgery. Just work at it gently and the bend will come as your knee recovers.
As Pumpkin said, extension is important, because you can't walk properly if you can't straighten your knee.
As for bending, 90 degrees of bend is needed to do most things. Anything beyond that is all good. Eventually, over time, a lot of people get to 120 or even 130. Most people achieve 90 degrees in about 4-6 weeks, but there's no hard and fast rule. Continued progress is what matters.
Above all, there is no magic date or window of opportunity, within which time you must achieve a certain degree of ROM, or all is lost. Every knee is different.
Phil75070
post-grad
@Celle I am one of those whose flexion has been exceptional (132 after 6 weeks post-op, but the best I can get for extension is 8*). Is there a rule of thumb as to when NOT getting to 0* becomes a truly major concern? After 6 weeks, I still have a fair amount of swelling. Does extension improve as fluid dissipates?
Junebug2
junior member
I slept first 6 -7wks in recliner, using a king size pillow under each leg.(longways) My husband put the recliner in our bedroom. I eventually weaned my self from recliner to bed by beginning my nite in the bed. First week I only spent 30 minutes at a time in bed, then couple hrs in recliner then bk to bed .. finally staying in bed...Course sleeping is not that easy. I hope by now you are sleeping soundly..
I don't think there's any rule of thumb with exact dates for achieving extension. Like bending, it's a gradual process. There are some things you can do at home to help extension. Let me see if I can find the article in the library.
Here is is:
https://bonesmart.org/forum/threads/extension-exercises-for-improvement.9529/
I hope that helps!
Here is is:
https://bonesmart.org/forum/threads/extension-exercises-for-improvement.9529/
I hope that helps!
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Tamsmom
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How does everyone go about reducing pain meds? I have quit setting my alarm to take in the night but I usually wake up after 6 or so hours and take something.
Take less or extend time between doses? I totally am not trying to be superman, I just want to see where I should be for pain meds.
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Take less or extend time between doses? I totally am not trying to be superman, I just want to see where I should be for pain meds.
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Tamsmom
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My fav dog's nickname is junebug....her real name is Junie!
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Tamsmom
senior
8 hours last night without pain meds...but it was in the recliner....
I hope everyone stayed safe with all the bad weather around the Midwest and south last night!
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I hope everyone stayed safe with all the bad weather around the Midwest and south last night!
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My physical therapist always laughed when I would ask him to measure my ROM. If I was able to pull my foot back a little further than usual while at home, I wanted him to measure so I could see progress. That was a strong motivator for me. If I didn't think I had improved, we didn't measure. My therapist didn't worry about the numbers.
I was one of the fortunate ones in that I slept in the bed in the guest room from the first day I came home from the hospital. My plan was to sleep in the recliner but I used a CPM machine 6 hours a day and that couldn't be done in the chair. I had my stack of pillows, CPM machine, ice machine, stack of magazines, computer and various other things I needed, in a king size bed and it was full! I stayed in the guest room for 6 or 7 weeks. There was too much activity and junk that I knew my husband wouldn't get any sleep if I stayed in our room. He needed his sleep because I kept him so busy during the day! I slept with my leg elevated while sleeping for about 8 or 9 weeks. I am having my other knee replaced on June 11th. Round 2!
I was one of the fortunate ones in that I slept in the bed in the guest room from the first day I came home from the hospital. My plan was to sleep in the recliner but I used a CPM machine 6 hours a day and that couldn't be done in the chair. I had my stack of pillows, CPM machine, ice machine, stack of magazines, computer and various other things I needed, in a king size bed and it was full! I stayed in the guest room for 6 or 7 weeks. There was too much activity and junk that I knew my husband wouldn't get any sleep if I stayed in our room. He needed his sleep because I kept him so busy during the day! I slept with my leg elevated while sleeping for about 8 or 9 weeks. I am having my other knee replaced on June 11th. Round 2!
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Tamsmom
senior
I feel like I am at a stand still...I can't even say why except I didn't do much yesterday. I told my self it's ok to have lazy days but then I fell blah by the end of the day.
I did do a lot if my job from my laptop yesterday but besides my exercises I didn't do much else.
I keep plating with my pain meds trying to cut down but I never make through the day without going back up. We haven't had Tylenol around our house for years. I am going to get some today and hopefully that will help me cut down on my narcotics. I am tired of the emotional roller coaster of all of this.
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I did do a lot if my job from my laptop yesterday but besides my exercises I didn't do much else.
I keep plating with my pain meds trying to cut down but I never make through the day without going back up. We haven't had Tylenol around our house for years. I am going to get some today and hopefully that will help me cut down on my narcotics. I am tired of the emotional roller coaster of all of this.
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