TKR Yoga post TKR?

[AnnYo]

When I asked the PA about the puckered look at the top of my incision, she said she thought some of that would abate as swelling goes down further. Just a thought.... Don't know if this applies to you but hope so!

 

[WFD]

she thought some of that would abate as swelling goes down further

I had that after one surgery and it did gradually go away as healing progressed.

 

[teacheri35]

I had my 6 week appointment yesterday. 130+ flexion and 0 degrees extension. Hard to sleep without pain meds at night. Taking tylenol and alternating with ibuprofen. I am sure it will improve.

Saddest about limits on yoga poses. I can understand lotus and hero. Yet, the Dr was hesitant to let me return to practice.

How have you other yogis accommodated your knee. Which poses do you use in gentle yoga practice?

 

[sistersinhim]

Be very careful when trying to do different poses. Your knee is far from being healed and you don't want to damage those inside soft tissues. When you try something different do it just one time and wait until tomorrow to see how your knee reacts. You don't want to slow down that healing!

 

[Layla]

How have you other yogis accommodated your knee. Which poses do you use in gentle yoga practice?

Hi teacher, Happy Sunday to you!
If you don't get enough of a response here, and if interested, try the SEARCH at the top right of the page, typing in "Yoga" and all threads where it's been mentioned will pop up. There will be a lot.
Best Wishes for a good week and a very Merry Christmas!

 

[Jaycey]

@teacheri35 There may be poses that put more strain on your new knee. But in general I think you can probably approach returning to yoga once that knee is fully healed. I'm afraid 6 weeks out is very early in this year long process.

I'll change your thread title so that our members with experience in returning to yoga can come here and chat with you.

 

[benne68]

Yet, the Dr was hesitant to let me return to practice.

How have you other yogis accommodated your knee.

At 6 weeks, you are still early days and it's importan to give your knee more time to heal before you put it under stress.

I did not return to yoga practice until almost four months post-op. In the early weeks, I found it very uncomfortable to kneel, but added a few poses at a time. I eased into it with cat-cow, cobra, bound angle and side stretches. Later I add the warrior sequence. Up until a few weeks ago, I was doing a full yoga practice.

I am now on hiatus since I just had my 2nd TKR Friday, but I know I will return to yoga next spring.

 

[raylo]

I asked my doc if I would be able to do yoga after I recovered. He said sure. I said that's great because I couldn't do yoga before the one time I tried it! ;-). Being a relatively inflexible sort I couldn't even get into most of the starting positions, much less advance the movements from there. And that was when I was much younger. LOL. I wish I could do yoga and envy you folks who can.

 

[dotski]

I was doing downward dog from week one…mostly as a survival move to enable getting up off the floor
I really needed that time on the floor to get my legs up in the air for swelling management, and using a strap to stretch my IT band and hips. I found I really need to keep my hip flexors loose or my back aches. I started out using my cane to move my leg though - rigid, better control than a yoga strap.

 

[teacheri35]

Yet, the Dr was hesitant to let me return to practice.

How have you other yogis accommodated your knee.

At 6 weeks, you are still early days and it's importan to give your knee more time to heal before you put it under stress.

I did not return to yoga practice until almost four months post-op. In the early weeks, I found it very uncomfortable to kneel, but added a few poses at a time. I eased into it with cat-cow, cobra, bound angle and side stretches. Later I add the warrior sequence. Up until a few weeks ago, I was doing a full yoga practice.

I am now on hiatus since I just had my 2nd TKR Friday, but I know I will return to yoga next spring.

Thanks!!

 

[teacheri35]

How have you other yogis accommodated your knee. Which poses do you use in gentle yoga practice?

Hi teacher, Happy Sunday to you!
If you don't get enough of a response here, and if interested, try the SEARCH at the top right of the page, typing in "Yoga" and all threads where it's been mentioned will pop up. There will be a lot.
Best Wishes for a good week and a very Merry Christmas!

Thanks

 

[Layla]

Happy Two Month Anniversary, teacher!
I hope you enjoyed the holidays.
Best Wishes for 2024!
@teacheri35

 

[teacheri35]

Thank you, Layla! First! I could never have gotten this far without BoneSmart! Thank you!

Back to school tomorrow. I found a used seated elliptical for my classroom, so I can move even when teaching.

I am walking 2 miles as weather permits and pedaling on a seated little floor elliptical at home. Heal slides are still hard, but I can get there. Insomnia has reared it's ugly head. Difficult!

I was wondering what the flexion range of motion is for most at 8wks. I think I saw a couple of different charts posted a while back.

 

[teacheri35]

Yet, the Dr was hesitant to let me return to practice.

How have you other yogis accommodated your knee.

At 6 weeks, you are still early days and it's importan to give your knee more time to heal before you put it under stress.

I did not return to yoga practice until almost four months post-op. In the early weeks, I found it very uncomfortable to kneel, but added a few poses at a time. I eased into it with cat-cow, cobra, bound angle and side stretches. Later I add the warrior sequence. Up until a few weeks ago, I was doing a full yoga practice.

I am now on hiatus since I just had my 2nd TKR Friday, but I know I will return to yoga next spring.

Benne68, I hope you and your newest knee are well. Since you are a yogi may I ask what your flexion in your first knee is now?
Thank you for all your support!

 

[sistersinhim]

No, I don't think you saw any charts here because there is no set time for ROM to be achieved. Each recovery is different.

Good luck going back to work tomorrow. At least you found something to help you through the days.

 

[EalingGran]

How have you other yogis accommodated your knee. Which poses do you use in gentle yoga practice?

I mainly do pilates but I do some yoga.
At a year plus I have 150+ ROM. I can do most of the positions I was able to do before. I don't sit back fully in child's pose any more- as I wouldn't want to risk the full weight on my new knee.
I was never able to do a full lotus and certainly wouldn't attempt that now.
My pilates teacher is also a yoga teacher and has loads of free videos on YouTube ( Google Katja pilates).
I mainly used her knee friendly side lying glute strengthening routine( with no squats or kneeling) to build up strength.

 

[Jaycey]

@teacheri35 You asked about charts tracking ROM. There are a couple of members who tracked their ROM past the one year mark. Note that they both continued to see improvement. Still very early days for you!

Here is betrtschb's record of how his flexion developed over time:
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.

And I have another record, from Campervan - she discovered that her flexion had increased even at 6 years post-op:
"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 "

 

[benne68]

your flexion in your first knee is now?

To be honest, I don't really know. My one-year surgical report says 130, but my surgeon never measured -- just eyeballed it -- because he was more concerned with function than numbers. I can't get my butt all the way down to my heels in child's pose, but it's close enough for me to get all the benefits of the stretch.

I should also say that my right knee flexion prior to surgery was poor, because of swelling and previous surgeries, so being able to bend without pain was a game-changer!

 

[teacheri35]

your flexion in your first knee is now?

To be honest, I don't really know. My one-year surgical report says 130, but my surgeon never measured -- just eyeballed it -- because he was more concerned with function than numbers. I can't get my butt all the way down to my heels in child's pose, but it's close enough for me to get all the benefits of the stretch.

I should also say that my right knee flexion prior to surgery was poor, because of swelling and previous surgeries, so being able to bend without pain was a game-changer!

Thank you! I am in a good place then. I am hoping to be back on my mat tomorrow. I lead yoga, so I need to get back to my group.

Thank you again!

 

[teacheri35]

@teacheri35 You asked about charts tracking ROM. There are a couple of members who tracked their ROM past the one year mark. Note that they both continued to see improvement. Still very early days for you!

Here is betrtschb's record of how his flexion developed over time:
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.

And I have another record, from Campervan - she discovered that her flexion had increased even at 6 years post-op:
"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 "

Thank you!! I am at 130 and finished pt at 5 weeks pt. I am now at 8wks.