Will,
I didn't read through your entire thread, but I am wondering if you consulted with your surgeon to make sure he feels it safe you've returned to Pickleball this soon? I read online that most people will get back to playing Pickleball at 6 months post op, but it could take up to a year to fully regain the necessary strength and motor control to play your best Pickleball without any pain. I also read that knee strains are common when changing direction and or pivoting. While playing pickleball, you may find yourself changing directions or mostly pivoting during swinging. When pivoting too quickly, you can put repetitive strain on your knee, causing the tendons or muscles to become damaged or overworked. There is a lot of information online about returning to Pickleball post TKR, but it is important you FIRST get a nod from your surgeon. to return to the game, even though you described your current engagement as "light".
Also you asked about ROM which is difficult to judge because each individual's recovery is different and while Pickleball may eventually help increase your ROM, I don't feel you should be engaging while you're still dealing with pain and swelling. It's counterproductive to your recovery process if you're continually overdoing it and aggravating healing soft tissue. Hate to sound like a Debbie Downer, but you do want to get this right so you can return to the game in good form. Additionally in regard to your ROM, you're only a tad over two months post op. While your range of motion is currently limited, it will naturally increase as the swelling subsides and the pain eases. Your time on the Pickleball court could be prolonging the pain and swelling you mentioned then consequently the time it takes to increase your ROM.
As far as LDM, you may want to give it another try after finding someone with the right qualifications that comes highly recommended, I am not certain how you would go about that, but I am tagging my colleague
@CricketHip to see if she can advise on that.
All in all, Will, I think you may be pushing it and hope that you can dial it back a bit and get most of your exercise through the activities of daily living at this point along with gentle PT, if you're still involved, and walking for exercise without overdoing it. In doing so, hopefully you will experience the Spring and Summer you're likely dreaming of.
A great rest of the week to you!
@WillB