TKR Three-Months After TKR--A Thank You to BoneSmart

rms6

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TKR for left knee, December 6, 2019

I have been following the Knee Area forums since well before my TKR surgery. This is a "thank you note" for the moderators and contributors. Their observations and advice have made significant contributions to my own recovery. I haven't posted before this because every question or concern I had was covered somewhere in the forums.

A few brief observations on my own experience:
  • I injured my knee in a motorcycle accident at 24 years of age. After an active lifetime--hiker, runner, bicyclist, paratrooper--my knee began to rapidly deteriorate a few years ago. I was 68 when I finally had it replaced.
  • The pre-surgery advice at BoneSmart is right on. I worked on strength and flexibility, including yoga and sessions with a physical therapist who has extensive experience working with joint replacement patients. I believe the prep contributed a great deal to the speed of my recovery.
  • My health insurance plus Medicare gave me access to an extremely capable surgeon and a hospital that does a thousand or more procedures a year. Both were superb.
  • My immediate post-op physical therapist followed the general approach advocated in the BoneSmart forums--we discussed this in advance. We worked on recovery, flexibility and strength, without ever pushing beyond my comfort zone.
  • As range of motion increased, I moved to out-patient PT, with greater emphasis on strength.
  • After about six weeks, I also began working with my yoga teacher, a physical therapist who specializes in addressing fascia issues through massage and dry-needling, and a Rolfer. All three helped improve flexibility and are enabling me to take full advantage of my newly straightened knee joint. I had been favoring my bad knee for so long that it threw my other hip out of alignment and was hurting my lower back. I had to re-learn how to smoothly transfer my weight from one leg to another as I walked.
  • At three months I am walking normally without a limp and building stamina on the stationary bike. The knee gets stiff if I sit still for too long, but loosens up quickly when I start walking. While I'm seeing my yoga instructor once a week, I am several weeks away from doing regular classes as kneeling is uncomfortable and it's difficult to get up from the mat to a standing position. Nevertheless, there are a number of poses and stretches that I can do which are helping with flexibility and alignment.
The knee forums on BoneSmart gave me a very realistic picture of all that would be involved in both prep and recovery--and motivated me to see it through. In particular, they helped address all those nagging questions that kept coming up: Is it normal to be this swollen? Why can't I sleep through the night? And so forth.

Thanks to everyone involved. And, I've made a small donation.
 
@rms6 Welcome officially to BoneSmart! I am so glad this site has helped you through your recovery. There is still a way to go but sounds like you are well on your way to returning to an active life.

A special thanks for your donation! Every penny helps us keep supporting members like you. Much appreciated!
 
Thank-you for your great feedback! And thank-you also for your donation. You're coming along nicely and before you know it you'll have days at a time when you forget you ever had knee surgery. Good luck and thanks again.
 
I'm so glad you posted. Your message confirms something we've believed for some time - that there are people out there who read on the forum and never find the need to post. But everyone's stories and the information presented here are still a great help for them both pre- and post-op. Thank you for validating that! Your donation is greatly appreciated and it will help us continue to provide timely support for people who do post with a question or concern and allow us to expand our educational content on both the website and forum.
 
I’m the opposite of you. If I stop posting, I don’t know what will happen. It’s great to know you’re out there and healing well and getting help. I love this site too.
 
I'm kinda like you Helizabug- who else is going to care or get it like our fellow BoneSmarties??
 
4 months post tkr today. Knee still very tight , hurts going up &down stairs , Wondering when will I feel normal again.
 
1 month post op today and feeling same -- knee very tight and swollen. Yes, still icing and elevating. Doing gentle stretching at home (PT 2 x week), but worried knee will be permanently bent forward and no ROM better than 90 degrees. Worried about scar tissue tightening up knee too. Can go up stairs (no more than 20 a day) with surgery knee, but not down standard 8 inch stairs (just barely do 5 1/2 inches, but every day a struggle with stiffness and seeming to start over).

I understand BoneSmart philosophy, but doctor, PT and YouTube doctor and YouTube PT videos all seem to push for greater ROM and exercises. Worried if I don't push too, will be permanently impaired/frozen in surgery knee.

Just don't know what to think right now, confused and discouraged.
 
1 month post op today and feeling same -- knee very tight and swollen. Yes, still icing and elevating. Doing gentle stretching at home (PT 2 x week), but worried knee will be permanently bent forward and no ROM better than 90 degrees. Worried about scar tissue tightening up knee too. Can go up stairs (no more than 20 a day) with surgery knee, but not down standard 8 inch stairs (just barely do 5 1/2 inches, but every day a struggle with stiffness and seeming to start over).

I understand BoneSmart philosophy, but doctor, PT and YouTube doctor and YouTube PT videos all seem to push for greater ROM and exercises. Worried if I don't push too, will be permanently impaired/frozen in surgery knee.

Just don't know what to think right now, confused and discouraged.
Hi J, my mom is having the similar feelings everyday. Have you improved?
 

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