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:
Thanks to everyone involved. And, I've made a small donation.
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.
Thanks to everyone involved. And, I've made a small donation.