TKR TKR Progress

I played Pickleball again and can honestly say I believe it helps my knee. I was able to move better this second time. My knee is usually a little sore after playing, but the next day it feels so much better. I even noticed I had an easier time bending my knee to get in our raised tub for a shower. This is my kind of physical therapy! :tennis:
It definitely makes me hopeful I can get back on the tennis courts again.
 
:goodpost:You are doing so well! I'd like to try pickleball.
 
Pickleball has gotten easier for me, so today I got on the tennis court for the first time in a year and 8 months! My husband and I just hit cross court. Overall, I felt pretty good and encouraged. The knee doesn’t hurt, but is somewhat tight. I’m mentally guarding it so I’m not moving well off to the left side. I was pleased. It’s a good start!!

I’m glad I discovered this site, but I’m happy it wasn’t until after I had my surgery. Prior to my surgery, I was only reading all the many positive testimonies of the Conformis knee replacement on their website which is why I decided to go that route. Overall, at five months, I have been very happy with my knee replacement.

I might have been hesitant to have my TKR surgery had I come here first because not everyone here has had great TKR experiences. However, this group provides honest and truthful healing experiences, some of which can be kind of scary to read, but there is so much helpful information shared here.

I agree that many doctors and PTs are out of touch and have unrealistic expectations of our healing which is why the surgeon and PT (if any) you choose is so very important.

I will say the vast experience of this group has taught me that my knee simply needs time to completely heal and painful PT and early manipulation under anesthesia (MUA) wasn’t going to help me with my range of motion. Only time is going to do that.

I have been amazed at how often doctors want to do MUAs! It seems that many times when doctors perform MUAs, the patient only gets a temporary gain, more swelling and goes right back to where they were before the MUA.

Healing of a TKR truly is a marathon, not a sprint.
 
I decided to measure my knee today to verify swelling is down and indeed it was.
So I decided to give my recumbent bike another try. The last time I used it which was probably at least a month ago, I could do a full rotation, but not easily or without some pain. Today’s pedaling was easy peasy! No pain whatsoever. I pedaled for 10 minutes. I just may be able to ride a regular bike in November when we go on vacation after all!
!:bicycle1:
 
Pedaling without pain is great news. :yes!: Soon come now (as my old Caribbean auntie used to say).
 
Today I tried to see how my knee felt on my regular bike. I can make both the back and forward rotation, but there was definitely some pain doing it. I’m going to try moving the seat up on my recumbent exercise bike since the last time I used it I had no pain whatsoever. Hopefully, I can work through small adjustments to further gain ROM over the next month so I can ride my regular bike while on vacation in November. Wish me luck!
 
I tried my bicycle again today and road it a small ways with minimal discomfort. I’m so excited about it! We will definitely be taking our bikes on vacation next month.

I swear I can feel the healing in my knee every day. I definitely believe slow and easy it the way to go. Let your knee pain guide your decisions.
 
Congratulations on the bike riding, @Odieodell ! You are doing so well with your approach to recovery. What a great example and inspiration you are to folks who are still in their early days.

If you don't mind my being noisy, where will you be riding your bike on vacation next month?
 
That's great news @Odieodell. Take the bike and let your knee be the barometer.
:biking:
 
I swear I can feel the healing in my knee every day. I definitely believe slow and easy it the way to go. Let your knee pain guide your decisions.
That pretty much sums up the BoneSmart philosophy, glad it's working well for you.
 
If you don't mind my being noisy, where will you be riding your bike on vacation next month?
@benne68 we are going to West Palm, FL. Hopefully, our resort didn’t incur too much damage. We ride bikes and usually play tennis, but may be Pickleball this year and relax on the beach and by the pool.

I live in Michigan, so our weather is starting to turn cooler. Looking forward to the fall colors, so may ride our bikes some before we go.
 
Nearly 14 miles biking for the first time since my total knee replacement on March 30th. Hopefully, I won’t belong to the ODIC tomorrow. Felt good during the bike ride and after.
 
14 miles! I hope that was on an Ebike! Otherwise, that is much too much for your first trial. If you are feeling it today, rest, ice, and elevate as much as you can.
 
Yay! That's really good news.
 
I’m approaching 7 months since my surgery. The most recent thing I have noticed is tenderness of the tibia below my knee, but I only notice that when I massage that area. Otherwise, it doesn’t bother me. I read the following and given I have been playing some Pickleball it makes sense:

“Your new knee is placing new stress on the tibia (shin bone). Before your knee replacement you likely had a valgus or varus curvature to the knee.”

I measured my TKR knee compared to the non-surgical knee and I still have some swelling. For the most part, my knee doesn’t bother me and I’m guessing I may still be making very small ROM gains. I will say the knee hurts if I try bending it beyond around 100 degrees. I keep hoping the ROM improvement will continue happening during next 5 months or more.
 

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