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TKR Three years post TKR

I know what you mean about the weather. We're having the wettest year on record. I have an outdoor wood-stove and can't even get enough dry wood to run it anymore. That's means I'm not getting the exercise that I usually do this time of year. In some ways I like not having to work with all that wood, but I know gathering wood is good for me and my pocketbook!

Hopefully, you'll get out of the house really soon and hit that trail!
 
We had two dry days and I had to work. It's rained all day again today, and it's not forecast to stop until Sunday night. If I hikes now, I'd have to take a drysuit and a life vest.
 
sistersinhim said:
Not to mention you'd have to watch out for mudslides! You must be getting some of the same rain we are.
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we have had something like 30 inches more than average rainfall. Every wet-weather stream is bank full.
 
rustic said:
How are you doing, @MtnSearcher? Did it ever dry out enough to go hiking?
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As a matter of fact, I did today. This was my first attempt at a true hike since my knee injury in May 2016. My other knee, the July LTKR, did sort of Ok. It buckled twice, but I was using two hiking sticks, so was able to catch myself. My right knee was still pretty weak and painful, even after 2 1/2 years. I did a mile today with something over 400 feet of elevation change, according to the topo. I didn't think to keep track on the altimeter on my mapping app.
 
Actually, if my app is right, it was closer to 700 feet total elevation change.
 
I had my six-month checkup last Wednesday, and the doctor, his PA actually, said I don't need to come back for six months unless I have a problem or concerns. I do have concerns, but he said all are either normal and things I'll have to live with, or will resolve with time.
I'm not sure I trust that assessment. I still have a golf-ball-size knot on the lateral inferior area of my knee that he said just happens with some people and may never go away. I still experience clicking when I walk that he attributes to the plastic on the inside of my patella hitting the metal in the joint. Again, he says it's normal and will probably never go away. I also have quite a bit of swelling, and pain when I sit for very long at work, and weakness in the quad. All, he says, will resolve on their own.
I guess I will see, but I have my doubts. I have no restrictions now, so I'm going to test drive this thing and see what happens.
 
It sounds like your appointment was a waste of time like mine was on Monday. Why do they pawn us off on the PAs? Must be a money thing. Anyway, the clicking is nothing to worry about. Many of us have it forever. It doesn't hurt anything, just sounds funny. Can you post a photo of that golf ball sized swelling you're talking about? At 6 months sitting for a while causing pain and swelling isn't unusual either. Are you getting up and walking around every hour or so? That should help.
 
@MtnSearcher I hope that I get to see my OS at my six month followup, this coming March. That must be frustrating to get the PA after months of waiting, building up a list of questions, etc.

Sitting still is evil. Try to reduce that as much as possible. Foot on a skate board? Sit on a Swiss Ball?

My knee still clunks, but mostly when it is in the air (swinging foot forward while walking for instance). I can feel the vibration all the way up at my hip bone. That effect might get less as my ligaments shorten to their appropriate lengths. I'm hoping.

How is your pain when first getting out of bed? "Escaping the covers" is always uncomfortable for me, and I have some scary pains in the first hour or so after getting up. Did this get less for you in months 4-6?

I also have the quad weakness big time. My operated leg shrunk almost two inches. The other one is pretty weak as well. It is a loooong term project for me to get strong legs. I don't build muscle quickly, or easily.

I'm having a hard time imagining what your "lump" looks like. How far back, around the side, is it?
My only "lump" is a hardening of the quad tendon, just above the kneecap. My PT says that every TKR person he has worked on has that hard spot. So, he thinks that it will be permanent. Mine is getting smaller, via massage.
 
rustic said:
My only "lump" is a hardening of the quad tendon, just above the kneecap. My PT says that every TKR person he has worked on has that hard spot.
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I forgot that I had a spot like this. I just felt along my thigh and it’s gone. I’m almost 2 years post op, and I didn’t do anything to address this hardness, so I guess time and healing took care of mine.

I think most PTs only see us for a few months, and we don’t go back later and tell them what has resolved, so they are unaware of later improvements.
 
Jockette said:
I forgot that I had a spot like this. I just felt along my thigh and it’s gone. I’m almost 2 years post op, and I didn’t do anything to address this hardness, so I guess time and healing took care of mine.

I think most PTs only see us for a few months, and we don’t go back later and tell them what has resolved, so they are unaware of later improvements.
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That is great that that spot has softened up for you. Mine is already a bit smaller and softer than it was, but still feels strange. Maybe it will continue to improve.

I agree about "most PT's" especially the ones at the hospital, not seeing the same people over a long time.
But, my present PT is stationed at a health club and has been there for 20+ years, so a good portion of his patients are people he has known for many years. Flagstaff, AZ is a great outdoor recreation town, and people that live here tend not to move away. He has worked on various parts of my body, using many modalities, over those years and keeps track (somewhat) of what works. He works on my wife too, and asks us "how the spouse is doing."
I'm sure that my PT has plenty of people that he doesn't ever see again, but he has a lot of long term clients that had a TKR at some point in the past. These guys come back in for other/new (unrelated) problems and he always checks on the knee as well. It is likely that he will be seeing me for another 20 years or so, hopefully none of it to do with my new knee. Eventually, my un-operated knee is going to need some help keeping up with the new knee.
 
@rustic The lump on my knee is below the knee cap and just to the lateral side. It feels just like a muscle, but it's where you would expect only ligaments. As for escaping the covers, that still gives me a twinge now and then. The pain is mostly gone when I first stand up. It's subsided in just the past month or so.

Sorry I didn't get back to you sooner. My mother is extremely sick. We celebrated her 89th birthday in her hospital room yesterday. The doctor has told us we need to be looking at hospice.
 
I do have an exercise question. The PA said at my 6-month visit that I can do anything I feel up to, so I tried pushups tonight. The puships themselves didn't hurt my knees, but getting down on the floor and bearing weight on my new knee certainly did.

What does everyone else do about floor exercises?
 
"The lump on my knee is below the knee cap and just to the lateral side. It feels just like a muscle, but it's where you would expect only ligaments."
Hi @MtnSearcher I have exactly the same lump. I just figured it's part of the healing process. It seems to go down sometimes and then when I've done a lot of walking it comes up. I don't really feel it's anything to worry about.
 
@MtnSearcher, the area you describe may be a “fat pad”. I had a similar area in exactly the same location that was “puffy” for the longest time. Didn’t really have much pain associated with it but it’s also in the area where my knee is numb so it always felt weird. Now it looks just like the other knee.
 
@NavyGunns Whatever it is, it's swelling that makes it so prominent. The lump is much smaller this morning than last night, but it's still there. Like yours, it's in the area that is numb, so it always feels weird. The PA didn't explain it, he just said it never goes away for some people. Not a very satisfying answer, but I guess it will have to do.
 
@grandma chris That is exactly how mine does. If I do a straight leg lift, the lump is very firm like a flexed muscle. If my leg is at rest, the lump is soft and feels almost like the pockets of fluid I always had around my knee before the surgery.
 
That last description fits mine as well. Wierd how it feels so much like a muscle when I tense the straight leg.
 
The “fat pad” description is what my PA called it. I questioned him about it at my 12 week follow up. I thought it was fluid build up. He also said that, for some people, it remains prominent, but most find it eventually returns to normal which is what mine did. The numb patch just makes it feel really weird.
 
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