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MUA Whome08's Recovery thread

@Whome08 , i totally agree with everyone else. I am 7 weeks, the first 4 are hardest til it hits you that you can't make it go faster. Ice, ice, ice to reduce swelling and little by little ROM just happens, you start to notice more on a weekly basis not daily how things get a little easier.
 
Thank you for all the kind words. It helps to get advice from folks that have been there. I plan to back off on PT although I still am going to go just not aggressive. I did very little yesterday other than some walking, icing and raising and my knee feels so much better.
 
@Whome08 i sympathize with being torn about what to do post op. As with everything in life, everyone has an opinion. All I can tell you is...do what’s best for you..not what’s best for the doc, PT, and everyone else. Your recovery is about you! Some things might work better for you than others. It’s difficult to know what that is...until you try. The best gauge is going to be your knee. The more swollen and aggravated it is, the less you can do. After all you’ve been through the last few months just proves how strong you are as an individual. Listen to your body! I wish you the best! And know you can do this...your way:puppysmooze:
 
I went to outpatient PT yesterday. It was more or less a meet and greet. PT did a massage and some light stretching. She showed me some stretches to do on the stairs. I feel like I o have a bit more flexibility. Its not as tight and I am not as guarded. I am still very emotional and cry at the slightest thing. PT and I were on the same page as far as how aggressive I want to be with therapy. She said you just have to find the fine line between just enough and too much.
I appreciate the support of everyone here so much. Everyone understands as opposed to just saying well just do your exercises or you're not doing them enough.
 
had my first pt session last night. I was happy with therapist. She was very open to how I felt about aggressive bending for ROM. She worked with me and made me totally comfortable. I feel I made good progress yesterday
 
Kind of a crappy weekend. Felt so very tired and nauseous. Looking back, I think I need to make sure I am keeping myself hydrated and eat more often. The PT is definitely burning some calories. Hopefully, this week will be better than the weekend. I also slept in my own bed upstairs. I think it was time. Had a decent night sleep which also helped.
 
Unfortunately, I think I took a few steps back yesterday. My knee was very swollen and stiff. I think I tried to do too much bending. Therapist even said I was stiff. Spending the weekend icing and elevating with some walking. Hopefully that will help
 
Well, another downer today at therapy. PT mentioned she feel an MUA is in my future. She doesn't get the feeling from stretching me that I won't be making anymore progress without it. Two more week until I see OS again. Feel so defeated. Hopefully I will make some progress in the next few weeks.
 
You are still really early in recovery and still have a lot of swelling. The swelling is holding your ROM back. Please don’t let them discourage you, where you are now is not where you will end up and you have months and months of time to improve.

You don’t have to rush to get ROM, mine continued to improve way past my one year check up. They are working your knee too hard which is preventing the very thing they want.

I’m going to tag @Josephine to advise you. Please take her advice, she’s had many years of joint replacement experience and has had both her knees replaced so she knows what it’s like.
 
I think you need my input! I'd really like to offer you some structured advice but in order to do that, I also need to ask you some questions. Are you willing for me to do that?
 
Whome08 said:
PT mentioned she feel an MUA is in my future.
Click to expand...
Don't listen to them. So many PTs use this scare tactic to try and make you work harder. What they don't know, but we do!, is that working a baby knee makes it swell and hurt. That is BAD for a baby knee. Your knee is telling you to stop it! Can you bend a water hose filled up with water? Nope. Well, that's your knee right now. That's why it's not bending as much as you want it to. But, stop those exercises, rest, elevate, and ice and the swelling will come down. Then your ROM will improve!

One of our members, Bertschb, kept a record of his ROM process. He agreed for us to post it for those of you that are afraid you're stuck. The key is to have patience! Bertschb says:

I'm 12 months out from my surgery and have some advice based on my experience:
1- Stop going to PT (all it will do is make your knee swell and reduce ROM)
2- Don't worry about your ROM
3- Be patient - VERY patient!!!

Here is my ROM history (more or less):
1 month - 60 degrees
2 months - 80 degrees
3 months - 85 degrees
4 months - 90 degrees
5 months - 90 degrees
6 months - 110 degrees
7 months - 120 degrees
8 months - 125 degrees
9 months - 130 degrees
10 months - 135 degrees
11 months - 140 degrees
12 months - 140 degrees

I spent waaaaay too much time worrying about ROM. I thought I'd be riding my bike a couple months after surgery but it took SIX months! Looking back on my surgery, if I knew then what I know now, I wouldn't have wasted my time with PT and I wouldn't have worried about ROM.

This is what one of our members wrote about the slow development of her ROM. (Thank you, @Campervan ) As you can see, her flexion continued to improve for a long time.

"I had a slow recovery. Here's my flex measurements at various points:
92 - 8 weeks post op
105 - 10 weeks
107 - 5 months
110 - 6 months
112 - 7 months
116 - 9 months
119 - 11 months
118 - 1 yr
120 - 1yr 2 months
125 - 1 yr 8 months
128 – 6 years "
 
@Whome08 you are doing fine!
This need for a TKR did not come on overnight and it won’t resolve that quickly either. The body is a complex machine and is going to do things when it wants to - and no amount of prodding or pleading is going to change it. This is the one surgery in my 18 on my knee where the words patient and patience mean the same thing. Lol

I’m 2mnths and just now am making strides. Literally. There is no timeline to meet or keep up to and your pt and OS need to be reminded of it. The knee is on YOUR body.

As well we all have gone thru the post surgical blues. It’s a very real thing and you will find a lot of posts on it here. Things seems horrible and impossible and overwhelming. Know we are here for you to help you thru this doubt and to find what works for you and to make the scariest parts a bit easier. :console2:
 
Whome08 said:
Feel so defeated. Hopefully I will make some progress in the next few weeks.
Click to expand...

You will make progress. You absolutely will. Your knee is healing in ways you can't see. The best thing to do for it right now, at one month out, is to elevate as much as you can (helps reduce swelling), ice often (especially after using the knee), and only exercise with daily activities and maybe a little walking. Little. Just enough to know you've moved it enough.

Therapists tend to generalize and get all patients to fit a pre-conceived notion of what is "success." This puts a lot of pressure on you. I'm sorry to hear you're getting the not-so-subtle MUA threat. Your knee has plenty of time to get more flexion.

This is a wonderful time of year to relax and indulge ourselves. Shop online or read all the catalogs you are surely getting in the mail every day. Drink warm or hot beverages. Binge on holiday movies, if you like those. I binged on Hallmark Christmas movies last year at this time. Helped put me in the holiday spirit! And made me sigh for small towns and snow. The latter is not usually something I yearn for.
 
Josephine said:
I think you need my input! I'd really like to offer you some structured advice but in order to do that, I also need to ask you some questions. Are you willing for me to do that?
Click to expand...

Absolutely
 
Hello, thank you again to everyone for the optimism. I am elevating and icing and relaxing. I am trying to walk as often as I can get out. I am going to take a hiatus from PT since it coincides with Thanksgiving anyway. I want to give my knee a rest.
 
traceys, Thank you
I feel like I am on the proverbial roller coaster. So many different emotions all at once. Thanks for the words of encouragement. I feel like people that have not experienced this have no clue. All they say is do your exercises....
 
You don’t need to walk a lot just yet, short walks are good. I’m glad you’re going to take some time off PT. Rest, ice and elevate as much as you can. Take care of you. :console2:
 
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