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TKR What Did I Get Myself Into?

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I'm having to retrain my brain so that I don't limp either. When I walk, I repeat "Don't limp... don't limp" as I walk along and I actually think my brain is beginning to listen to the mantra!
Vickie
 
I too find myself walking a little stiff, mainly after therapy..or doing a bit too much. I remind myself to march..lol. But seriously..my PT told me when I catch myself doing that..to actually almost march. Bringing leg up, then down. Only takes a few steps, and I am in the groove :)
 
I was told early on by my in-home therapist to bend my knee while walking & not walk peg legged or walk on my toes. She also told me that I should not limp...... If I limped, then I was not ready to get rid of my cane so I still use my cane when I am out and about so I won't limp since I haven't gotten my full balance back yet. Practice makes perfect; at least near perfect....

Actually, I forgot how to walk.......It's like starting all over again :tada: !!!!
 
When I was on the walker my therapist kept reminding me to take smaller steps so that I was centered. I stayed on the walker for a long time (4-5 weeks) with cane use in between to make sure my gait was good. Even with that my OP PT noticed a slight limp with the cane and reminded me heel/toe so now I talk to myself- heel toe heel toe for both legs to make sure I do not fall into the pattern from when I could not walk more normally. It seems to be helping.


Keep trying, it will come .
 
I wished that I would have used my walker longer because I think that it would have helped me a lot. I think I was on the walker about 2 1/2 weeks before I found BS. A comrade from my American Legion loaned me his walker and I returned it too soon. When I have my TRKR, I plan to get my own walker.

leejaa,my OP therapist & my MT showed me the heel-to-toe method and it does work. I, like you walk around repeating heel-toe so I can have a proper gait. Eventually, I will get there as well as anyone else who is having the same problem.
 
Yep, heal/toe....heal/toe.....heal/toe is always in my mind when I'm walking. My PT also made me give up the walker at about 2 1/2 weeks. I went to a cane, and I've just now stopped using it at home, but I do still use it when I go out just because I feel safer with it. I am just past 8 weeks now.

I really limp when I'm not thinking about my walk. I know it has to do with how I was walking for years before the surgery. It just seems natural to me. I have to retrain myself to walk normally! I think it will take a while, but it will come. It's only natural when I force it now.

Keep working on it. We'll get there!
 
I am just a little over 3 weeks post- surgery. My PT said to keep using my walker longer to help me walk correctly and pretend like I'm "kicking an acorn" as I walk. That way it forces me to come down on my heel then toe with the surgical leg every time I take a step. I don't have any trouble bending when I walk. My problem is that it feels really "clunky" in my knee when walking and painful, sometimes more than others.
 
Sure, I had to retrain and remind myself constantly. I could do it, it was just a bad habit. I had to consciously walk the correct way. Sometime (now don't laugh) I even MARCHED the halls...still do sometimes. It feels good.
 
My PT told me to use the walker as long as I needed it. That it was a tool and it was not a race to see how fast I could get rid of it. He said if you have to hang on to the furniture or wall between a few steps, then you were not ready for the cane yet.

I used my walker until I felt I could walk correctly and didn't feel I needed the stability between steps. Then I graduated to my cane.
 
Thanks for all the advice, I really appreciate all the support on this site and I'm glad that I stumbled upon it.:) It's good to know I'm not alone.
I agree that you should use the walker as long as needed and it's not a race. When I use the cane I do hang on the walls, furniture, counters and people. I went back to my walker today and I'm diligently trying to remember to walk properly. When I get up in the AM, I find that my knee is the most flexible then because of the heat build-up during the night from the pillow and comforter and of course being off of it for awhile. As the day goes on I can feel my hamstring getting tight and then it's harder to walk heel to toe.
 
[Bonesmart.org] What Did I Get Myself Into?
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I had it in my mind I would not use a walker. only used it a couple of days then went to a cane for about a week then I used nothing.
 
I'm nervous about going to outpatient therapy tomorrow. This will be the first time going out for therapy. I hope I don't get some sadistic nut for a PT like the last one I had here at home. I also go to my OS on Thursday...Dreading that too. :scary:
 
Walking without a limp and redeveloping a normal gait can be a normal issue after a TKR or a BTKR. My PT's worked extensively to re-establish a normal gait. I did many types of PT exercises and had to concentrate on walking normally.

"Mechanics is muscle memory"---so often one has to work on re-establishing a new normal gait due to what arthritis had done prior to the TKR surgery.
 
referee54, that's my "wall" right now. I can't even remember what a normal gait is. I just hope I get a good PT that can help with this problem because that is the only thing that is holding up my recovery. I know once I get past this, that everything else will eventually fall into place.
 
We have to remember that many of us were waling with a dysfunctional gait prior to our TKR or our BTKR. Because of that, what is actually abnormal has become normal. Now that you have a new knee, your gait needs to change, and it may take some time and some work (not to mention concentration) to actually bring about a normal gait.

The limp stayed with me for almost five months, so it took quite some time before I could actually walk normally.
 
I was made to walk over tiny little hurdles in PT. Forwards, backwards, sideways, all ways! I also had elastic belts attached to me while I did this, too. It takes time and it can be frustrating, but it does result in victory!
 
If your like me you have had years of walking with a limp so it's going to take time to walk correctly again!:groan:
 
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