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TKR the long road back

I find it's always a trade off: strength increases and ROM decreases due to swelling. Work on ROM and my knee feels all weak and wibbly wobbly. Eventually, and slowly, you get both.
 
Day 5 is turning into a milestone day. I measured 100 on flexion 4 on extension I walked with a walker 7 houses the knee felt GREAT. Its hard not to get excited after a day like today!!!
 
@fish58 I am coming up for 9 weeks and ROM is at 93. Everyone is different. J worried I was so far behind but as it started at 68 I am happy at 93. As everyone on here will tell you ROM comes in time.
 
You're doing great so i'm sorry to sound like "Debby Downer". Take the great days when they come but don't get too excited and lulled into thinking every day will be like that. If they are; wonderful. If not, it's easy to become a little depressed and discouraged.
 
@fish58, as a fellow guy who has gone through what you are experiencing, I’m going to warn you to keep a close watch about joining the ODIC (over did it club)! Although I had “only” a PKR, the overall recovery and experience is exactly the same as for TKR. Us guys tend to think we can bounce back faster, push more, heal faster, you name it. Problem is, knees have their own ideas about what they will tolerate and it’s NOT the same as what you have in your head! The sooner you realize that your knee is the BOSS and listen carefully to what it is saying, the better chances you’ll have at staying away from the ODIC.

Keep in touch and don’t hesitate to reach out with questions. If you want the specific insights of another guy (but I’ll tell you the ladies on this forum are great and have a LOT of great insight and info), feel free to tag either me or @Roy Gardiner and we’ll get back to you.
 
Six days ago I had RTKR The doc told me it was a MESS He cleaned out old carbon fiber for ACL surgery and implanted new CONFORMIS. I just can't believe it The center of my knee feels great. I am in less pain today than before the surgery. Its a miracle I walked to my mailbox to get the mail without walker or can and it felt amazing.

I had two secret tests The first if I walked backwards before surgery it would KILL and the second was walking down the driveway. I did both today and neither hurt at all. I am so emotional right now because I feel like have been given a second chance at life. One where i am not grumpy all the time and testing my knee. One where i can go out to dinner and not limp to the restaurant. I am trying to keep my expectations low but with each passing day I feel amazing My daughter is coming home in October and my goal is to be able to go on a hike with her

still taking tylonal and one tremadol every 8 hours for pain thanks for everyones input
 
That’s awesome that you are doing so well! :happydance:
 
You are rocking your recovery! Just be careful to not overdo!.
 
@fish58, it’s great to see you are having a great recovery! It really helps to keep a positive outlook and when you think of the pain and challenges you had pre-surgery to what you are experiencing now, you have a lot to get excited about. Just be sure to be careful NOT to over do it as that will cause a set back. If you do join the ODIC, learn from it and and adjust your activities accordingly.
 
Nine days post OP Making great progress on ROM enjoying short walks daily Only big problem The whole thigh and hamstring and especially right above the knee cap are incredible sore. I am not doing any strengthening exercises till those muscles heal.. Knee feels great but the thigh wakes me up several times at night. Also lot of bruising on hamstring and thigh.
 
Isn’t it nice to see such progress early on, many of us take longer to see that.

Pains will come and go for a while.

You’re doing well!

I like that waterfall behind you in your avatar. I used to live in the Cleveland area, pretty country. We went to several local waterfalls. Brandywine Falls were my favorite. I saw it frozen one winter, it was awesome!
 
Ten days post op. I think I have plateued a bit Swelling is way down. extension around 4 degrees flexion around 104 The biggest overwhelming problem is my thigh It kills to do straight leg raises At night it really wakes me up starting from right above the knee cap to the mid thigh. I can not help but wonder if maybe the tendons have been stretching because i had such a bad limp not sure I think i might take a strong pain pill for sleep To date I have only taken xtramadil but maybe I should start taking an Oxy before bed.


Still walking four or five short walks daily exercises twice a day. Hoping to go back to work at the end of three weeks.
 
@fish58, try backing off the straight leg raises. I, too, found they bothered my thigh muscles. Part of my problem was that the Makoplasty procedure involves anchoring a sensor into the thigh bone and shin bone. Of course, that means going through the thigh muscle. I ended up doing sitting leg raises instead. I just sat on edge of the bed or high chair and let my leg hang down, then, slowly raised my foot up as high as I could. I stopped if I felt pain. It helped me get my quads to properly work without over stressing the knee or muscles.
 
13 days post op. The good news great range of motion the old knee pain 100% gone when i walk the center of the knee feels great The swelling almost gone.

the bad news. My thigh still ache daily and also even though I have great range of motion my knee feels very tight when I walk and i still have a limp even though it doesn't hurt to bear weight.
 
Also thanks for your advise NavyGunns I have stopped working so hard on strengthening and focusing on range of motion
 
23 days post op. making some progress. I went for a mile walk today felt great on the walk but ached quite a bit after. When I say ached, its never in the knee it's the thigh, the IBT band, the calves, and the hamstrings. For some reason I have had this problem from the beginning the muscle groups hurt much more than the knee.

range of motion is 7 on extension and 115 on flexion I do the excercises twice dailey I do some strengthening but mostly range of motion do to the pain in my thigh and IT band. Also still have quite a bit of swelling Im a little discouraged that the swelling hasn't come in more. overall I am much better off than before surgery but I really look forward to the day where I don't think about the pain
 
@fish58, that is a familiar feeling. I just spent the morning taking down our above ground pool (18’ x4’) by myself. Lots of kneeling, bending, walking, up and down the steep steps to our basement, carrying heavy items (like the pool, ground cover, pool cover, boxes), etc. Knee did great! Muscles and other soft tissues are bound to give me their opinion about that later. Took the afternoon off to elevate and rest things. No ice as no swelling, maybe later. Expecting some stiffness later, but so far it’s good.

When you do things that are a bit out of the norm, you can expect those issues. Just like when you try a new exercise routine, you feel it for a few days afterwards.
 
tomorrow is my one month anniversary. Looking forward, I know I have a long way to go but looking back I have come a long way. To begin with its fantastic to sleep again. It is fantastic to walk almost perfect again without that horrible limp. Its fantastic to be able to bear weight on my knee without wincing in pain. Still very frustrated with with the swelling and soft tissue pain Also frustrated with all the muscle pain in the calf thigh and hamstring. Also frustrated that I seem to be stuck around 7 degrees from full extension. All in all I am thrilled with my progress I am way way way better than pre surgery. I just hope my residual problems continue to resolve themselves
 
fish58 said:
I seem to be stuck around 7 degrees from full extension.
Click to expand...
Don't worry about your extension. For many of us, myself included, it comes in more slowly than the bend. I helped mine along by increasing my stride length. I made sure that something I could hold on to was always close to me, then I'd concentrate on stretching out my leg forward as far as was comfortable and then step, heel to toe. This helped me the most of anything to bring in my extension.
 
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