Bilateral TKR Tracie's new knees

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Question for bilaterals: How long did you have physical therapy? I've been going 3 days a week for 2 hours at a time. I am so over it. I don't want to go anymore.
Went to PT and this very attractive young woman had her hands all over my knees which didn't hurt ONE BIT oh no no way* and she sent me home with no PT at all 'Nothing we can do for you' :blackcloud:

*actually it genuinely didn't, I just write it that way for the joke.

Our Guvnor Josephine doesn't think much of PT either, and she's the medical background to back that opinion. All you need is gentle stretching to promote mobility, that's all.
 
My opinion only, but I think once or twice a week is more than enough. (With that, if insurance will pay for 12 visits in three months, only schedule once a week.) The idea is to work on problems you're having getting your life back. All of my PT people were able to give me things I could do at home on my own to improve areas of concern.

My physician prescribed 16 sessions, which worked out to eight weeks at twice a week. For me, that was more than enough. Half way through, he told me I could stop the PT anytime I wanted. I let it go until the end, because we were working on things I found helpful for me until then (although I was ready for it to end by the last session.) I continued for another two months with self-directed pool therapy averaging once a week, and I think I'm done with that for this year now, too.

I didn't have bilateral, but after the first few weeks, I think there might be some similarity in recovery approaches. My sessions were for one hour at a time and included a 10 minute warm up on the recumbent bike and closed with ten minutes of icing (not enough, but I took it when offered). In the middle, I did about five or six other exercises targeted for specific areas of concern. If any of them hurt, the PT changed to a different exercise designed to achieve the same goal but it didn't hurt. They made enough variety so I didn't get bored. Except for the few weeks when they massaged my ligaments (which did not hurt me), they never touched me, even the three times they made measurements (beginning, middle, and end of my time there). Yes, my PTs were not numbers obsessed. I think they eyeballed where I was at, but they only made measurements at rare specific intervals.

They didn't completely adhere to BoneSmart views, because they advocated three sets of ten reps and sometimes put small weights on my ankles. Each time, I approached with caution, but never did I experience any pain during or after (except the one time they had me walk backward on an inclined treadmill. I came back for the next session and told my PT, and his response was, "We won't do that again!" And we didn't). Usually, they erred on the side of lighter weights.

At three days a week for two hours at a time, I can certainly see why you don't want to go anymore. What do you feel you're achieving during PT? Are they addressing concerns you have, or are they just throwing exercises at you and you're doing them? If all your concerns have been addressed, I'd consider stopping PT. If you still have things you're working on that are helping you, consider reducing frequency and duration of each session.
 
Quite possibly, but if you don't mind them giving you some oversight on your progress, it can't hurt.
 
@tdh_1, I had some in-home pt for about 5-6 weeks, then took off for 3-4 weeks, and just started outpatient PT. It depends what you want out of it, I think. I hope to rebuild strength I lost over the years of having arthritis, and I know that is going to take a long time. If you want to do more short-term stuff, maybe you are done! You might want to ask your PT for some strength/flexibility training you could do at home, and stop PT, if you don't find it useful. I know that @Rob 68 recently stopped PT and is eager to strike out on his own! :-)
 
Thanks everyone for your input. You all are a world of knowledge! Now I have another question.

I was told prior to surgery by my doctor, and after surgery by my therapist at rehab, that I shouldn't put a pillow under my knees for sleep. The reason being that it could cause the scar tissue to make the knee lock up and then there would have to be another procedure to "break" that tissue loose.

The question is: Is that forever or can I at some point put a pillow under my knees? I'm 4 months out now and still cannot sleep for beans. I just feel like pillows under my knees would be the answer to all my problems. I will not however, until I know for sure it's safe. I've been released by my dr. and PT and didn't think to ask how long I had to wait.
 
Can you use a pillow under your heels, or higher up, under your thighs? I usually sleep with a pillow between my knees, because I'm a side sleeper. I turn on one side or the other with the pillow between my legs.

I would think that 4 months out is plenty of time that you would not develop scar tissue now; however, perhaps one of the moderators will weigh in.
 
I was told prior to surgery by my doctor, and after surgery by my therapist at rehab, that I shouldn't put a pillow under my knees for sleep. The reason being that it could cause the scar tissue to make the knee lock up and then there would have to be another procedure to "break" that tissue loose.
The question is: Is that forever or can I at some point put a pillow under my knees? I'm 4 months out now and still cannot sleep for beans. I just feel like pillows under my knees would be the answer to all my problems.
The reason you are advised not to put a pillow directly behind your knees has nothing at all to do with scar tissue - which is not going to form there if you keep your knees bent. In spite of all the worry therapists seem to generate about scar tissue (more correctly called adhesions) it is quite rare.
As for the threat of another procedure (I guess she meant a MUA) that's just scare tactics.

If you keep a pillow under your knees, it can have an effect on your getting full extension of your legs, as the tendons would tend to shrink. You would then need to work gently at achieving full extension, which could take quite a while.

So, it's almost 4 months since your surgery. How is your ROM? More particularly, how is your extension? That could have some bearing on whether or not you could occasionally put a pillow behind your knees.

Do you normally sleep on your back? Have you tried sleeping on your side? You can put apillow between your knees, to make yourself more comfortable on your side.

i don't know the answer to your question about how long the restriction against putting a pillow under you knees should last, so I'm going to ask @Josephine .

A lot of people find it's difficult to get back into a proper sleeping pattern after this surgery (including me). Don't despair. Sleep will eventually come, but if it's getting you down you could ask your regular doctor for a prescription for some sleeping pills, to use for a short while.
 
I get to test the sleeping theory again. I wonder if i will have sleep issues now that i know what to expect and can compensate to some degree. It to me about 5 weeks to finally get back to sleeping. The selifan wraps and the special knee pillow for side sleeping are the solutions I have come up with.
 
My extension is -4 on the left and -2 on the right. I'm also 128 on left and 121 on right. I think I'll call my doctors office and ask to talk to the nurse to see if it's ok. I do use the pillow between my knees while sleeping on my sides. Thanks all!


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Has anyone ever fallen? I started to take my walk last friday and promptly fell down. My right ankle rolled and I was unable to catch myself. I went down on the left knee, both hands, and finally my face. Unfortunately for me, I was on a gravel road. I did go to the Urgent Care for X-rays on my left knee and left hand. Both showed no breaks or fractures. I did however, find out that I am able to get up off the ground by myself. Anyway, just curious if falling is a hazard of bilateral knees or am I just clumsy?
 
I'm sorry you had a fall. That must have been scary and painful. :console2: I'm glad you haven't done any permanent damage.

I think many of us have fallen - I have, at least three times - and almost always no damage is done to the knee replacement. These bits of hardware are pretty tough!

I don't think falling has anything to do with having a bilateral and it doesn't have anything to do with being clumsy.
I know that at least one of my falls was because I hadn't lifted my foot high enough and my toe caught on an unexpected rise in the pavement level.
 
Thank you Celle. It did scare the dayLights out of me. I was afraid to move for fear I damaged my knees. It's been 4 days now and I'm recovering. My left knee is still kind of a mess with scabbing and bruising but my other bruises are starting to fade. I sure hope it doesn't happen again!! I've never had an issue with tripping or falling so I was baffled that I fell. Thanks for your response!
 
I'm glad you're recovering from your fall, @tdh_1

I've watched my grandchildren trip and fall many times. They are seldom hurt and they bounce right back up again. For them, it seems to be just a part of normal life.

Unfortunately, as we get older, falling becomes a big deal. The ground is further away and it seems to be harder. Falling shakes us up, even if no harm is done, and it can take a little while to recover.
 
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