TKR Three weeks post op, so glad I found this forum

[Celle]

4,000 mg in 24 hours (in divided doses) is the recommended safe daily dose in the UK and other parts of the world. That dosage will not cause liver damage.

I believe that the more conservative recommendation in the USA is for 3,000 mg. That's because they were afraid that people would not factor into their calculations any Tylenol (Acetaminophen) that is in other medications they are taking.

 

[woodsidequeen]

How long does it take for the "soft tissue" to heal?

 

[woodsidequeen]

Today I will have an assessment in PT. I am at the end of my second prescription for physical therapy. I don't go back to the OS until Feb 17. I am wondering if I should stop PT at this point - I belong to a YMCA and could continue PT there as well as aqua therapy. I have 105 ROM. I walk very well with no limp and at a good pace. I don't have stairs in my house, but can go up and down my basement stairs with just a slight stiffness. I have a recumbent bike at home, as well as the exercise strap with the hand slots, a ball and the bands. So basically I have most of the equipment they use in PT at home and can use the strength machines at the YMCA. I have not been happy at times with the therapist (he was the one who pushed my leg back 15 degrees and I had to recuperate for 10 days). The only thing I like at the therapy is the massage, which I do at home also. Do you think I am ready to stop physical therapy? I will be 10 weeks this coming Monday. Wondering how many sessions most of you had before stopping physical therapy.

 

[Timetolive]

I stopped PT about the point you are. Like you, I have everything I need at home. The measurements are the only thing I can't do at home, although they are just numbers. My PT frustrated me at times and I am still trying to recover from an injury incurred there. What kind of massage were you getting? My OS told me to work up to 20 minutes a day on the recumbent and walk twice a day. There are so many on here that did no or minimal PT and are doing well. It is a decision only you can make, but don't be afraid to make it. Good luck and God bless.

 

[woodsidequeen]

@Timetolive It is amazing to me how frustrating physical therapists can be. Like you I feel I don't need to know the numbers. And in the 9 weeks since the surgery, I have had 3 injuries (muscle pulls) too. The PT massages my knee at the end of each session. It "breaks up scar tissue, moves the fluid out" and it does feel good. I will let you know my decision.

 

[Clipless]

I quit PT at 12 weeks post op and went back to the gym. I'm doing great, better every day. If you feel ready to move on don't let them guilt you into staying!

 

[woodsidequeen]

I had 9" of my colon removed in 1999 (diverticulitis). By 2 months out, all my tissues were healed and back to normal. I had rotator cuff surgery 3 years ago and by 2 months back to normal. Is it the sawed off bones that take so long to heal that gives us the pain and discomfort? It seems to me that the tissue itself should be healed after 2 months. And the prosthetic itself should not be painful, correct?

 

[Clipless]

I'll let the experts field this one- all I know is there is a lot of "remodeling" going on, bone, muscle, nerves, tissues, and it takes a long time. The prosthetic itself does not "hurt", but everything around it sure can!

 

[Celle]

I had 9" of my colon removed in 1999 (diverticulitis). By 2 months out, all my tissues were healed and back to normal. I had rotator cuff surgery 3 years ago and by 2 months back to normal. Is it the sawed off bones that take so long to heal that gives us the pain and discomfort? It seems to me that the tissue itself should be healed after 2 months. And the prosthetic itself should not be painful, correct?

Nope! It's not the bones. It is the soft tissues. They can take as long as a full year before everything is completely healed. We tell people that because it's true.

A knee replacement is brutal surgery and it's much more serious than the other operations you've had. Have you ever looked at a video of what is done during a knee replacement? Have a look at this article:
Knee replacement surgery types and suggested videos

Your skin is cut open; soft tissues are teased apart, then pulled out of the way; your kneecap will probably be turned over; the ends will be sawed off two large bones and then they will be shaped to fit the prosthesis; two large, metal foreign bodies are hammered and cemented into your bones; the back of your kneecap may be replaced with a plastic button; tendons and ligaments may be lengthened or shortened; the everything will be put back in place, internal stitches will be inserted and your skin wound will be closed, with sutures, clips or glue.

That's major trauma and you're not going to bounce back quickly from it, or be completely healed in two months.

I'm afraid you're going to have to be patient and accept that this recovery is a marathon, not a sprint.

This article probably explains it better than I have;
Where are you in recovery?? (TKR)

 

[woodsidequeen]

Why haven't I learned!! Day before yesterday at PT my therapist asked how the knee was feeling and I said stiff. So he massaged the knee and did some manipulating around the kneecap and at one point it hurt quite a bit, but it was very brief. Afterwards I was able to continue the hour of therapy and felt fine. Later that night I felt fatigued and when I woke yesterday my knee was in pain. I went to the grocery store and could barely walk holding on to the cart. Came home and elevated and iced. Had to take a Percocet and a nap. Felt better upon waking but took another Percocet upon going to bed. Once again I have a setback from PT. I was scheduled to get another script for an additional 4 weeks of PT, but now my decision has been made, no more PT for me. I will do it on my own: recumbent bike at home, I also have a ball and the strap with all of the loops on it as well as stretch bands. I belong to a YMCA and will do some gym work as well as aqua therapy. I see the OS on Feb 17th and if he wants me to go back to PT, we will discuss it. I am just venting and warning you all about the setbacks of aggressive PT.

 

[Swish]

@woodsidequeen, I loved my PT. My therapist was very good and always listened to me. She was not there one day, and I had another therapist who really hurt me....so I do understand your frustration. I did PT for 2 months because that was all my insurance would cover. At 2 months I saw my OS and told him my PT was going to put together a home program for me. He said he was going to give me a program. I was to go to the gym and do 10 minutes on a stationery bike. Then every day I would extend my time by 1 minute until I was at 30 minutes. Then I would start to increase the tension on the bike. I did this faithful for about 3 months. Now I'm not as vigilant....especially with the blizzard last week. I'm going back to the gym on Monday and going to try and really keep it up. BTW, I'm in South Jersey....how about you?

 

[Timetolive]

I am sorry you had that experience at PT. I have had a similiar experience and like you, decided to stop PT. My OS told me (like Terry) to start at 10 minutes on the recumbent and work up to 20 minutes with no resistance. Good luck. Having an injured knee or swollen painful knee from PT cannot be conducive to recovery!

 

[Celle]

Once again I have a setback from PT. I was scheduled to get another script for an additional 4 weeks of PT, but now my decision has been made, no more PT for me. I will do it on my own: recumbent bike at home, I also have a ball and the strap with all of the loops on it as well as stretch bands. I belong to a YMCA and will do some gym work as well as aqua therapy. I see the OS on Feb 17th and if he wants me to go back to PT, we will discuss it. I am just venting and warning you all about the setbacks of aggressive PT.

Good decision!
You're far enough along now and you've learned what to do. Your knee will continue to recover without any further PT - and without the risk of being hurt or set back by unwise treatment.
Don't overdo the exercising you do by yourself, though.

If your surgeon is unhappy about you stopping PT, remember two things -
- It's your knee and only you have the right to decide what happens to it. Your surgeon may advise, but the decision is yours.
-You were hurt and set back by PT and you have decided not to let that happen again (you can tell your surgeon that, too).

 

[woodsidequeen]

@Swish I am in North Jersey - Wyckoff.

 

[woodsidequeen]

Today had the same pain as yesterday, could barely walk. I think all of yo
u in the UK have the right idea - no physical therapy seems to be a better option. I had to take a Percocet at noon and lay down. The pain was like the day after the surgery! I am cancelling my PT going forward. I have had 5 sessions at home and 21 sessions as an outpatient. Doing my own exercises and bike and walking can't be any worse than the damaging PT I have had with therapist. I will be calling them in the morning to cancel my sessions.

 

[newlybionic]

PT just seems to cause more problems for many of us. I know I had 20 outpatient visits and I had 9 different therapists. They all seem to have their own ideas of what I should be doing and when. I wound up getting hurt more times than I wanted but never spoke up. I'm glad you are telling them no more.

 

[woodsidequeen]

@Josephine , is it possible for a therapist to push a patela out of place with aggressive manipulation and massage?

 

[woodsidequeen]

It has been a week since my physical therapist pulled up my patela during massage. I am limping and in pain. Sleep has been so restless. I am 10 weeks out from surgery. I felt better at 4 weeks than I do now at 10 weeks. I am getting discouraged and depressed. Once again therapist injury is my suspicion, but am worried that maybe therapist did some damage that is going to take a long time to heal. I don't see OS until Feb 17th. And once again I am seeing him the week after aggressive therapy. My 4 weeks visit was also after aggressive therapy injury when he forced my leg gack to get 15 more degrees of ROM.

 

[woodsidequeen]

11 weeks out. I am healed from that aggressive PT. I am taking the recommended Bonesmart combo of Tylenol and Advil, however I am not getting much pain relief even with the 4000mg of Tylenol. I am off of opiods because I take meds for Restless Leg. Is there a OTC replacement for Tylenol?

 

[PolarBear60]

When you head out on your own, err to the side of doing too little. Also, go easy on any gym work. Aquatic work paid big dividends for me. When I reached the end of my PT time, I mentioned I'd arranged to use a pool and asked for exercise recommendations from my PT. They were happy to provide a list of suggestions. Remember, it's easy to overdo in the pool, so take it easy there, too.