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TKR Swmrgirl is Recovering

Hi Julie! I did the Church Pew exercise after both TKRs and found it helpful. Sometimes quads simply forget what they're supposed to do and need reminders. It was about 12+ weeks before I could begin any real strength training. It sounds like you're recovering very well.

I love Sand Harbor at Lake Tahoe. The water is sooo clear and actually gets nice 'n warm, though swimming is probably hazardous there what with all the boulders and kayaks.
 
Wow! Your messages encourage me. I look forward to the day I can jump into a Florida spring. They are a chilly 72 degrees which is probably 30 degrees warmer than Lake Tahoe. I was at Lake Tahoe for a running camp and waded in above my knees and felt like a hero. :heehee: My local gym has a COLD pool which is in the 40's I haven't tried it yet. It would probably be good for the knee.
 
It's been some time since I've posted, but I've been peeking in from time to time to see how recovery is going for all those new knees out there. I went back to work in mid July, and that's been keeping me very busy!

My right knee is just over a year, and my left is just over six months. I'm thrilled to report that I consider my knee replacements enormously successful! Recovery was undoubtedly a bumpy road, and my cheerleaders at Bonesmart have been my best support and resource. Although I was skeptical at first, I followed the advise I was given here, by resting, icing, taking pain meds when needed, and most of all, not pushing the PT. I found that doing everything the therapist wanted was counter productive, and when I slowed down and let my body heal, my knees started improving faster. The second time around, I became very assertive with my therapist about my approach, and she respected my wishes. I ended up skipping out-patient rehab altogether after the most recent surgery; I felt like an expert by then (which I am not!)

I'll be honest, my knees aren't quite "there", but improving all the time. I have no joint pain, just a bit of stiffness and swelling every now and again, and my kneecaps tell me when it's going to rain, but nothing major. It certainly doesn't stop me from doing what I want! I am fully back in my active life, biking, hiking, swimming and generally enjoying being strong again.

Sending wishes of encouragement to everyone who feels like they're struggling. It really does get better. XO
 
Good to hear from you, Julie and so happy your knees are doing well!
 
Thank you, Karri! Hope you're doing well... I'll catch up on your thread soon. When did you become a forum advisor? Congrats, you're great at it!
 
Thank you for that lovely post, @swmrgirl . It's so encouraging for other people
It's great to know that you are doing so well. :yes!: :yay:
 
Hi swmgirl! Long time no hear from! So glad to hear you are making such progress and reaching out to all of us. October was the 1-year anniversary for my BTKR and I still have trouble with bursitis in both knees caused by overzealous PT staff and arthritic hips. Glad you were wise enough to tell them to back off and wish I had been.

I've been writing on the hip side so here is a brief recap for me. Last month I got the left hip replaced which will have long term benefits. Already my left foot is pointing straight ahead instead of 45 degrees to the left. But replacing the hip really changed the whole pelvis and has caused a major showdown between the pelvis and the new knees. The hip replacement was cake with very little pain compared to the TKR. I didn't even do PT. But the knees behaved like spoiled children and became extremely painful. My OS said to let them fight it out so after 6 weeks my knees are getting better. Now I understand why they advise that if your hips and knees are bad, you should do your hips first! I'm still looking forward to checking things off on my bucket list -- things like paddle boarding and zip lines and even riding a bike since I'm not allowed to jog anymore but maybe next year. Hope to hear more from you.


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Thanks, Julie! I think it was in July, I love the cool little banner on my Avatar!
 
It's nice to see someone out there with words of encouragement, I'm still at the point of not sure if it was worth it or not. Waiting to see the light at the end of the tunnel like you and others have found. Glad to hear all is going well.
 
I need some advise please. My right patella has started making a grinding sound and is sore when I get up from a chair and when I walk up and down stairs. It's not terribly painful, but something has definitely changed. This started about a month ago and seems to be getting worse. I have an appt with my OS on the 25th and am waiting for an earlier cancellation. Any ideas what this might be?


Julie
 
Sorry to hear about your new knee pain and hope it turns out to be something minor. The only thing I could share is the tremendous impact of our hips on our knees. As I said in a previous post, my BTKR still left me with considerable knee pain and discomfort until after I had my arthritic left hip replaced. I learned that our hips have tremendous influence and impact on our knees and having my hip replaced changed my body alignment including my knees. At this point all of my knee pain is now gone including the bursitis and stiffness. If your OS asks to X-ray your hip, it might be to see if there is significant arthritis there.




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I had a lot of pain with my let patella---after a bike ride, I would be in significant pain. It turned out that adhesions had formed over my patella and they were pushing it into the metal prosthesis. I ended up having an "open lysis of adhesions" or removal of scar tissue. It made a significant difference to me.
 
swmrgirl said:
My right patella has started making a grinding sound and is sore when I get up from a chair and when I walk up and down stairs. It's not terribly painful, but something has definitely changed.
Click to expand...
It would appear to me that your patella is maltracking. I would suggest that you get a PT so discuss McConnell taping with you. There is some information about it in this article Patello-femoral pain syndrome (PFPS)
 
Thanks for your input everyone. I had a short convo with my OS earlier today, and he agrees with you @Josephine about the taping, so I'll see the PT on Tuesday, and then OS on the 24th. I'm sure I'll know more after my visit with him. Unfortunately, it seems like it's getting worse rapidly. My hope is that I won't have to have another surgery, but will do whatever it takes.
 
I saw my OS today and I have significant adhesions over my right patella. @skigirl, we're twins! My OS is such a dear man and spent time checking both knees and explained what what's going on. He said this happens in under 5% of TKRs, and it shouldn't continue to be a problem after the adhesions are removed. I'm grateful that it's nothing worse than that, but it does mean another surgery.

On a really happy note, my 9 month new left knee is fantastic! No pain or problems of any kind. See me jumping for joy on one leg?
 
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