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TKR Veronica's TKR Recovery

Thanks Celle, I was going to have to look that up on my computer - easier than my phone. I agree with the advice in the car! I had a cast for a month and had to sit across back seat - bring a bunch of pillows too, it can be hard to be comfortable, at least in our small car.


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Thanks for the info. Headed home; was pretty stiff; didn't stop or ice though How early in therapy did anyone have aquatic therapy? Doc wrote PT script to start water therapy 02/29.
 
What kind of lotion or oils to use on scar for skin to heal nicely. Also the 3 hour one way trip to doc today has me in recliner and very stiff.
 
I used a vitamin E cream. The scar would look lighter in some areas than others but after a while it all has faded to my natural color. It did take several months before it was totally gone. I never had water therapy. I wanted to try it but there wasn't any place around me who offered it.
 
vonjpo said:
What kind of lotion or oils to use on scar for skin to heal nicely. Also the 3 hour one way trip to doc today has me in recliner and very stiff.
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Do't put anything on your scar until it is completely healed, with no scabs or open areas. If you start putting lotions on too early, you run the risk of introducing infection.

Actually, it's not necessary to put anything on your scar to help it heal. The scar will flatten out and fade as time goes by.
Just leave it alone, because nature is very good at healing, without any intervention. However, some people like to use a vitamin cream, cocoa butter or Bio Oil. They help if your skin is very dry. Don't bother buying expensive creams, though, because any ordinary moisturizer will work just as well. This article talks about it:
Massage post THR

If your doctor says you're ready for water therapy, you should be OK, as long as your wound is completely healed. Do beware of doing too much, though, because it's very easy to overdo things in the water, without realising it.
 
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Thank you guys. Doc also told me that he would not have to see me for 6 months unless my ROM is not 110 by the end of April. Says he will have to do MUA within 3 months for it to work. Also I am on medical leave and I am on a timetable to get back to work. I cannot be off 3 months.
 
Went to church today and then a birthday dinner in the fellowship hall for one of our youth. Was there from 11am until around 3:30. Iced and elevated upon returning home; haven't done much else today. PT tomorrow, which is a 30 minute trip one way.
 
That was rather a lot to do in one day. Probably, either church or the birthday dinner would have been enough for such a new knee. How tired were you after all that?
 
Not really tired, but was very stiff from sitting. I had a couple of nights of good rest, but since the staple removal on Friday I've gone back to waking Every hour or two. PT really stretched me today. I gave him the script from doc which suggest aquatic therapy after the 29th and he implied that I must have told the doc to order it. He again asked me was I sure I wanted to do that. I'm very confused about their differences of opinion about the pool. He pushed my knee to somewhat past 90, but I am wondering why i am so stiff daily and have to work the knee every time I get ready to move around. Still on walker as well. Today made the 3 week mark. I am a juvenile probation officer and plan to go back to work at 6 weeks.
 
Hi Veronica. I hope you're doing well today. We had our surgeries on the same day but I had to spend a couple of days in the hospital because my surgery was more complex. They had to do a manipulation, remove a plate from my tibia and screws and then put in a revision knee because of the damage I have done to it in my accident. My ROM has improved but just to 76 today after massaging and working it with PT. I still get stiffness after sitting awhile and after lying down, it takes some moving to get it feeling better again. My doctor also wants to do an MUA if I can't get to 90 in the next couple of weeks. I was stuck at 45 for 4 months before the TKR so your ROM sounds good to me! So it sounds like we are in a similar place in getting better. But I run a small business out of my house that's easy to do with my daughter's help. I hope you will be able to get back to your job when you need to - and that you can get the water therapy, that sounds so good to me!


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Don't let the PT push on your leg. It may take a day or two to recover from the time out with your leg down. You are very early out in your recovery and stiffness is to be expected. Stiffness is a kind of pain as well in this recovery, though we often don't think of it that way.
 
vonjpo said:
He pushed my knee to somewhat past 90, but I am wondering why i am so stiff daily and have to work the knee every time I get ready to move around.
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As others have said, do not let the PT fellow push you---this will bring about more swelling and stiffness. Take any exercise to the point of discomfort and no further.

There is really nothing you can do to speed up your recovery---but there is plenty that the PT can do to slow it down and to make it more painful---and pushing that knee is one of them.
vonjpo said:
I am a juvenile probation officer and plan to go back to work at 6 weeks.
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I hope you can reconsider this----I taught, and I went back to the classroom at eight weeks post-BTKR, and that was very much a mistake. I was sore, stiff and exhausted by the end of the day.

In looking back, I should have waited for another four weeks or so---I now know that I slowed down my recovery by going back too soon.
 
Thank you for all of the advice. Is the stiffness just a part of recovery, irregardless of the PT being gentle or not? The stiffness is a problem for me sleeping and everything. When I first wake up I can only do a heel slide about 20degrees and it takes about 10 of them to even get to 60-70 degrees flexion. Am I being too sedentary throughout the day?
 
vonjpo said:
Is the stiffness just a part of recovery, irregardless of the PT being gentle or not? The stiffness is a problem for me sleeping and everything. When I first wake up I can only do a heel slide about 20degrees and it takes about 10 of them to even get to 60-70 degrees flexion. Am I being too sedentary throughout the day?
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At this stage of recovery, stiffness will be there, and it may take some time to subside. Icing and elevating will help to minimize it somewhat, but, when you consider that you have had a very traumatic surgery and that you are still in the "Dark Days of Recovery", you will have stiffness. Continue to ice and to elevate to alleviate this as much as possible.

As for being sedentary, I would say that it is not about doing more, it is about keeping the knee happy. The stiffness upon waking is normal, and with a minimal amount of movement it will loosen up a bit.

Keep in mind, please, that working harder will not make any recovery go faster. The harder you work, the stiffer the knee will be at this stage of recovery. The harder you work, the more painful and slower the recovery will be.

It is also important to understand that recovery is not linear---it has its ups and downs---and this goes from day to day as well as within the day.
 
Yep, "log leg" first thing in the morning. :heehee:
For me little bits of movement throughout the day were helpful. Too much at once would make the knee unhappy. But a few heel slides (like 5) a few times a day did help loosen things up a bit (within the overall range of stiffness.)
 
I had the same experience that others mention--trying to do too much resulted in a stiff, swollen, angry, painful knee. Resting more, elevating more, icing more results in a more flexible, mobile, less painful knee. I find that gentle stretching while lying in bed and before I try to even sit up helps quite a lot with the morning leg stiffness.
Don't try to go to work at 6 weeks is my advice. Your body still needs to send a tremendous amount of energy to your knee to heal it and this leaves very little for the activities of work.
Good to "meet" you, Vonjpo!
Jan
 
"Log leg" My PT told me today that he would be stretching me tomorrow. I told him I don't mind him stretching me as long as there is not pain. His response was a chuckle and stated well I have to do it to get you where you need to be. He apparently has done the same with all his TKR patients. He thinks he is not doing his job otherwise.
 
The thing is, he really doesn't have to lay a hand on you. My PT did very little and always stopped when I said that was far enough. Mostly it was showing me exercises and talking me through them.
 
@vonjpo I had to delete your avatar---for some reason, it returned---as the forum protocol indicates that we cannot use copyrighted material.

Thanks for your understanding in this,

Tim C.
 
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