TKR Falling after TKR

What do you mean by “twiddling” the needles? I’ve never had acupuncture.
The needles go in and then the acupuncturist 'twiddles' [twists/fiddles] the needles. My hamstring for instance is so tight at the moment, when the needles are twiddled, it spasms but that spasm is the tendon relaxing. It works.
Add the hamstring stretches I'm also doing and I'm hopeful of a normal tendon again.
What's interesting is the speed in which the tightness came on and I am speaking from a position of stretching and using gym equipment to prevent tightness, normally.
 
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@Scaredycat10 @Sks1997 I had 4 sessions with an orthopedist who did acupuncture with electrical stimulation at 14 weeks and I do believe it lessened my stiffness and discomfort greatly. Unfortunately, Medicare doesn't cover acupuncture except for the lower back, so it can get costly.

@Scaredycat10 I suffered from on and off pain behind my knee, and @Jockette reminded me to ice there too. That pain went on until about 14 weeks.

Now comes have an odd mild pain in my calf! Who the heck knows where THAT one came from, this surgery has taught me there are aches and pains coming from all over.

Sleep is normal for me now, and has been probably since week 10. I don't know anything worse than not being able to sleep. Or maybe not being able to eat!
My acupuncture sessions are always self funded but I think they're worth it.
I'm happy with the non eating so much. I've definitely unintentionally lost weight which isn't a bad thing for me.
My liver has had a long holiday too as alcohol and pain meds don't mix so double health whammy there! :loll:I do try and look for the positives in life where possible.

Sleep will come. Hopefully.
 
Wanting a bit of normality, I have just had a quick foray to our local [huge] M&S store to get some items from the Food Hall.
I bagged a lift off my husband but as I can't yet push his wheelchair, I went in on my own, wielding one crutch and dragging one shopping trolley as the other crutch.

I cannot BELIEVE how tired I am after a twenty minute shop in a place I know where all the food stuffs are so no thinking involved. SO tired, hence the capitals.
Home delivery on Sunday!!!
 
Yes, that was a lot for 3 weeks post op! Home delivery is a great idea.
 
Interesting aside,
My right hip area aches a bit.

I don't think I've joined the ODIC and yes, I can walk minus any aids around the house, but I have no need to impress [myself] with my prowess and so unless carrying anything, I am back to a balanced way of walking...with two crutches.
Out to dinner tomorrow night. That should be an experience for the pair of is as I used to get the wheelchair out of the boot and wheel my husband to wherever we needed to be.

Thank goodness for wonderful friends.
 
Bearing in mind I was nearly sick with the pain when attempting a full rotation on the static bike on Friday due to my tight hamstring, I had a brutal session with my physio's elbow and her needles this morning.
Then she took me into the gym and against my better judgement, got me on the bike. Again.
Seat slightly higher I rocked the pedals back and forth, Then she said, try a rotation.

By veering slightly to the edge of the seat, I managed it and the more I did, the easier it became until I could sit on the seat properly and cycle for fifteen mins.

Not everyone is as lucky as I to have access to a such a wonderful physio and adjacent gym but without her elbows and needles, I would not have been cycling for fifteen mins.
I can drive come Wednesday and I shall be in the gym everyday. I am not expecting the next few weeks to be a bed of roses and I'm sure there will be setbacks, but the light at the end of the tunnel has been seen today.

Admittedly, a long tunnel, but the light was there. :) :-) (:
 
I have been reading a lot about the make do aids folk utilise to ensure the heel/foot glide exercise goes as smoothly as possible.

I came home from hospital with one of these
MYAID ORTHO-GLIDE knee exercisers
£9.31 and worth every penny.

I call it my poached egg. It can be bought online from a huge online shop, the link of which cannot be put on this site.

I cannot tell you how useful it is and hopefully, others may find it of similar use.
 
Four weeks and one day and I drove my manual car to the gym and the physio, a mile and a bit away.

I went when the traffic had died down; used the back roads and not at warp speed for the very short journey.

Interesting.
My main problems were remembering to push the seat back as far as I could when exiting in order to avoid any 'ouch', and stop riding the clutch with the left leg.
Lifting the leg off the clutch was definitely OK, but much easier to let it rest lightly on the clutch.

I will repeat the journey tomorrow, but I won't be driving anywhere near main roads, during school traffic or any journey over the length I did today.

It's good to get a measure of independence though,
 
Success

Five hours sleep last night.. That's three up on Wednesday's debacle. Maybe I'll be able to leave the sleeping tablets intact in their packaging after all.
OK, in snatches but I'll take that, The main thing being, for the first time in weeks, I stayed in bed and didn't get up.
Major step forward.
 
A word of caution... I somehow, looking back, was able to “ push it” early in my recovery ( my surgery was Oct 6); I would be extra tired, but nothing serious. This past weekend I overdid myself pretty bad - nothing big, mind you, but I guess it all accumulated. I was literally, exhausted! Yesterday ( Tuesday), I felt strong enough to go to my PT session. I was pretty tired by the time we got home. Resting today, but Still not fully “ up to snuff”. So, pretty much resting again tomorrow, & hopefully make my PT session Friday. One of the Moderators reminded me that I’d been through major surgery less than a month ago, & my body was already using a Lot of energy. So there isn’t much left. It catches up.
So Do take care of yourself. I’m doing good, in general, my walking with no assist is good. I still take a cane outside ( our yard). A phrase my sister’s mother in law always said, as her kids reached 50’s and on.... “ you’re not a baby anymore “. And that particularly applies after major surgery. I’m So looking forward to getting down & playing with our grandson, cooking up a storm in my kitchen, next year working full steam in our garden, so many things without that awful bone on bone pain. But for now, I have to remember, and abide by that rule Hawk2go reminded me early on..... slow & steady, slow & steady.
Sounds like you have a very good PT. My best to you!
I loved your comment that you cant wait to cook up a storm in our kitchen. We moved into our newly renovated house just before the op with its new kitchen and I didn't get chance to get used to the kitchen or indeed cook up a storm which is my passion. I can't wait till I can. Oh and I can wait till I can get down on the floor ane fix the filler strip round the bathroom (LOL)
 
I realise I'm not much help on this forum as my recovery is not typical. As a carer [husband wheelchair bound] I had one shot at this so once my physio started practising again after lockdown eased, I threw everything into my prehab. Having had a personal trainer for twenty years, I am completely at home with all aspects of gym equipment so when I use them now, I know my boundaries.
My physio is well known, as is my surgeon, as joint replacement professionals and with their help and guidance and sheer and utter grit, I am where I am now.

I am driving [manual car] very short distances to the gym and physio; use one crutch for night time forays when I can't sleep [wish I could sleep more than four hours a night], first thing in the morning and when I go out of the house. Other than that, no walking aids around the house, but my knee is stiff. I know it's only four and a half weeks post op so that's normal. What I find irritating is my scar seems to be tight so today, after a very hot shower, I massaged it with Bio Oil.
I had dissolvable stitches [a huge bonus to scar rehab apparently] and the scar is intact so I thought, give it a whirl.
What a difference.
It might have been the piping hot shower or the oil or both, I don't know but the scar feels more comfortable.

I WILL walk into my surgeon's consulting room in ten days time without any walking aids [OK, collapsible stick in shoulder bag] but oh, I wish my hamstring wasn't so tight and I could sleep.

Nothing is perfect is it!:) :-) (:
 
@Scaredycat10 We had our surgery on the same day. I too worked with a trainer for prehab, I think it made a huge difference in recovery. I just started driving this week, an automatic thank goodness. I'm not sure how successful I would be with a manual car. Keeping that seat back as far as possible in order to enter and exit without a lot of painful twisting. My garage is small and there is no way to open the door all the way so I am keeping car in driveway for easy access. I find I need to plan my activities carefully because of fatigue. This is our Thanksgiving holiday week and I have a lot of baking and cooking to do including a 16 pound turkey. The holiday meal itself will be at my son's home thank goodness but I will be preparing much of the food. They will have to come pick it and me up for transport. I am not going to attempt to carry a roasted 16 lb turkey to the car!
 
I had my one and only 'OUCH' the first time I took the car out of the garage. I got in it OK [rh drive and left knee TKR] but didn't have the seat back, to get out.


I do now!!! :) :-) (:

Well done you, keep it up.
x
 
I had an hour's sports massage this morning on my left leg.
From hamstring to glutes; IT band, to lymphatic drainage and then gentle massage of the scar to ease up some of the scar tissue. It's the complete opposite of a relaxing occasion and it hurts at times [nothing to do with the knee joint apart from gentle scar massage], but wow, my flex afterwards was over 100, with no effort at all.
To be recommended.
 
Scaredycat10,
You are around 3 weeks behind me. You are doing fine and will get there. It seems like mine just gets a little bit better without me even noticing it. Then I'll have a little setback with numbers of rom but the knee does feel better than before. If i would of been asked that 4 weeks ago I would of said hell no feels worse.
Hang in there. Next thing you know you're gonna be saying damnit I left my crutch or cane at home or in the other room. I'm gonna be carefull. Then next time it'll be I made it last time. Then you'll just be like I dont need it as long as I'm carefull.
Your doing GREAT!!!!!
Booger
 
Scaredycat10,
You are around 3 weeks behind me. You are doing fine and will get there. It seems like mine just gets a little bit better without me even noticing it. Then I'll have a little setback with numbers of rom but the knee does feel better than before. If i would of been asked that 4 weeks ago I would of said hell no feels worse.
Hang in there. Next thing you know you're gonna be saying damnit I left my crutch or cane at home or in the other room. I'm gonna be carefull. Then next time it'll be I made it last time. Then you'll just be like I dont need it as long as I'm carefull.
Your doing GREAT!!!!!
Booger
Thank you very much.
Nothing boosts confidence more than a reply such as yours.

One of the reasons I was down to one crutch yesterday was because I couldn't find the other one as I don't use them indoors and so I'm already there with the 'where's my crutch'!! :) :-) (:

However, I am aware my knee although 'getting there' isn't fully stable yet and a fall would screw up four weeks of intensive rehab so careful is my middle name at the moment.

As I have said, I intend to drive to the hospital and walk into my consultant's room in eight days time with no walking aid... apart from a collapsible stick in my bag!
Fingers crossed as I can't cross my legs yet! :heehee:
 
Thank you very much.
Nothing boosts confidence more than a reply such as yours.

One of the reasons I was down to one crutch yesterday was because I couldn't find the other one as I don't use them indoors and so I'm already there with the 'where's my crutch'!! :) :-) (:

However, I am aware my knee although 'getting there' isn't fully stable yet and a fall would screw up four weeks of intensive rehab so careful is my middle name at the moment.

As I have said, I intend to drive to the hospital and walk into my consultant's room in eight days time with no walking aid... apart from a collapsible stick in my bag!
Fingers crossed as I can't cross my legs yet! :heehee:
Your going to do it. We all know an accident can happen. I try to be carefull but still need to improve and push myself. I guess its a fine line.

Booger
 
Interesting development last night.

I am having huge problems with night-time discomfort/ache. My whole leg aches and quite frankly, I don't know where to put it once I wake up after a couple of hours.
My physio recommended I take a hot water bottle to bed with me filled with as hot a temp. as the bottle allows, and then when I wake up, place the still hot bottle under or around my knee, whichever position suits.
I did that and the ache immediately lessened and I managed another couple of hours sleep. Tonight, I'm going to take two bottles. One reasonably hot for immediate use and the other very very hot for when I inevitably will wake up.

Anything is worth trying if it aids sleep and last night, I got some almost quality hours in.

Happy Thanksgiving to our fellow American Boners. :)
 
Glad the hot water bottles worked - I will bear that in mind. I have some aches but they are currently only in small areas. The other night it was the back of my ankle so I just used some ibuprofen gel and it resolved the ache and allowed me to sleep.
 
Glad the hot water bottles worked - I will bear that in mind. I have some aches but they are currently only in small areas. The other night it was the back of my ankle so I just used some ibuprofen gel and it resolved the ache and allowed me to sleep.
I'm fine during the day, it's the night time aches when I wake, around 2/3am which are the problem. I have huge difficulty getting back to sleep. I'm blaming my hamstring, not the actual joint.
I will see what tonight brings.
 

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