Oh YES!!!!! Therapy pools ARE THE BEST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
In an ideal world, I think exercises post TKR in water, once incision sealed up, at least twice a week, would be experienced by everyone with TKR...makes such a difference to rehabilitation!
Obrigado, Andrew. Acho que a paciência é a chave aqui. Minhas costas estão doendo. Preciso perguntar ao fisioterapeuta sobre alongamentos para as costas
So if doctor gives ok for like hot tub it’s a good idea?
Big difference between the two. First, there's the depth and then there's the temperature. I guess if you lowered the temp of a hot tub waaaaaay down it might be possible (don't know the temp of a therapy pool...it's not like the 102-degrees of a hot tub) but I don't see how you could do the full range of leg exercises available in a real therapy pool with all the surround seating in a hot tub. Wonder if anyone has tried that and to what level of success...
My doc would NOT let me submerge my knee for at least 6 weeks post-op. By that time I was well on my way to full ROM with my PT plus there are no therapy pools or even YMCA's anywhere near me. However, when I had a hip replacement in '09 back in New Jersey, I started the pool and gym work near my home about 10 days post-op. Six days a week, 5 hours a day...full hip rehab in six weeks. The therapy pool was crucial to that fast recovery. The problem is that knees cannot be pushed like a hip so the two timeframes are not comparable.
Still, a true therapy pool, or even snagging a lane at the YMCA, is GREAT exercise. The best are the squats where you try to get as low as possible in the pool (water over your head?). Plus all the leg lifts for the quads and extensions for the glutes are great...but typically, you're chest-deep in the pool to get the most benefit from the buoyancy and water resistance. Adding the pool to the necessary gym work to rebuild all those atrophied muscles and you have a winning combination.
Thanks! You know I haven't even seen my doc in awhile! Last time I saw him was Sept 1 surgery was Aug 17th I am set to see him on November 1st so I can ask him. But I am not doing squats at all not even in PT.
You're point about temp is good. Too hot might cause more swelling vs just icing. Icing consticts while best expands. I will be very interested in what doc says on the first. He will also be doing x-rays too
You can do the squats at home. Just hold onto the back of a chair and dip. Go as far as you can...hold...rise...repeat. Those and the heel slides are the primary ROM exercises you can do outside of PT. Once you get down the road to the gym exercises, see if you can squat 350 pounds...right...like, those days are over!!!
Also, you have to literally learn how to walk again. Concentrate on kicking the new knee's leg as far out and as straight as you can and come down on your heel...roll to the toe. This will feel very weird since you've been walking naturally since you were a toddler. But it is something you have to think about as you walk. After a month, muscle memory takes over and it feels natural again. Remember...NO SHUFFLING!!! And no limping...you can throw out your back or hips. I got sciatica because of that. Walk as normal as possible.
This is what I am noticing ~ I have to focus on WALKING! Yes, I literally tell myself concentrate walk as normal as possible. Of course that slows me down but its very important to do for the very reasons you are suggesting.
Thanks for tips
Mesma coisa aqui. Eu me machuquei um pé fazendo exercícios com uma faixa de tecido macio. Não acho que meu pé seja forte o suficiente para esse tipo de exercício. Acordei esta manhã e meu corpo todo doía. Quase chorei. Sabia que tinha artrite em meu joelho "bom", mas essa cirurgia e o uso de muletas pioraram muito isso e me pergunto se também vou precisar de cirurgia nele. Não acho que conseguiria enfrentar isso. Minhas costas também doem e não tinha problemas com elas há muito tempo, mesmo tendo osteopenia. Me sinto mal por ainda precisar tomar remédios para dor. Talvez na próxima semana seja melhor. Estou me sentindo exausta. Estou tentando muito fazer os exercícios, mas descobri que me saio melhor se não me esforçar tanto. Vou ligar para o fisioterapeuta amanhã sobre o pé. Tem algo definitivamente errado com ele.
My "good" knee got rapidly worse and I thought oh dear!
But it has improved again now, in think just ball the extra strain on it made it worse? Hopefully yours will improve again with time. Not a great thought having another op, but just because worse now does not mean it is permanent.
I, too, am 5 weeks post-op and have many of your symptoms. I do my exercises on a regular basis and work with a physiotherapist who comes to my home.
I called my surgeon's office to ask about the constant pain and was told that this is "normal" even at 5 weeks.
I have pain in my back - kidney area - and wondered if this could be due to the Oxycodone. I took it every day for the first 3 weeks and then cut back - using extra-strength Tylenol during the day - to OxyC only at night. Sleep is sporadic. Urinating is frequent - up to 10/day. Difficult to sit in one spot for very long.
I've walked around the block and a short visit to the mall using my 4-wheel walker. Yesterday I tried going round the block using walking poles; it was a real struggle.
I know I sound like a whinger, but this has really got me down. I'm so grateful I'm retired and don't have to go to work.
I should add that I had a hip replacement 16 months prior to the TKR - both on the right side. I wonder if that explains why my pain goes right up to my groin/hip
Obrigado por este post. Eu moro no Reino Unido e também tenho o problema de urinar frequentemente. Acho que tem a ver com meus remédios para dor, pois não tinha isso antes. Minha experiência... fui ao meu cirurgião para a consulta de seis semanas e minha perna estava muito inchada. Ele me encaminhou para outro fisioterapeuta que me disse para fazer os exercícios, mas reduzir a caminhada se estivesse sentindo muita dor ou inchaço. Tenho feito compressas de gelo por dez minutos a cada hora e elevado a perna várias vezes durante o dia. Basta uma colher de chá de líquido no joelho para impedi-lo de dobrar. Segui suas instruções e o inchaço diminuiu e esta noite consegui dobrá-lo mais do que nunca antes. É difícil equilibrar exercício, compressas de gelo, elevação e caminhada. Se você começar a sentir dor excruciante, febre ou veias saltadas, precisa ir para o pronto-socorro. Estou esperando poder reduzir alguns dos remédios para dor no futuro próximo. Não acho que conseguiria fazer meus exercícios nesta fase sem remédios para dor adequados. Cada um é diferente. Aos cinco semanas, ainda estava sentindo muita dor. Na verdade, ainda estou sentindo bastante dor aos sete semanas. Certifique-se de não hesitar em fazer perguntas ao seu fisioterapeuta. Desejo-lhe o melhor. Esperando poder tirar umas férias agradáveis na próxima primavera e desfrutar de um joelho que dobra direito. Vou voltar ao médico e perguntar sobre o problema de frequência. Estou cansado disso.
Thank you for sharing your experience, Lywn. It's strange that you received conflicting advice regarding how to treat the swelling in your leg. I don't have much swelling around the incision, but I do have an accumulation of fluid behind my knee - not sore to the touch, although it's uncomfortable when I walk. Btw, my PT showed me how to massage my scar, not only to make it less visible, but to break down any scar tissue. This video shows you how to do the massaging. While the person in the video didn't recommend using creams/oils my PT highly recommended Bio-Oil. I bought some today and will start the massage when I've finished this message. Will let you know if I can feel a difference in a few days.
It's certainly a very frustrating time. My surgery was originally slated for May 2018. At this point in time, I wish I hadn't asked for it to be brought forward. Last year, when I had a new hip, the weather was beautiful almost every day (I live in Canada, originally from the UK) and I was able to sit outside on my deck, enjoy the sun and tend to the flowers in containers. It's cold now and cabin fever has set in. Friends assure me it won't be long before I'm singing the joys of having the surgery. We leave for Portugal on February 7, for six weeks so feeling anxious that I can walk well by then.
I'm sure the pain meds are causing the frequent urination. Also, There are numerous periods during the day when I feel teeth-chattering cold.
I, too, am feeling down and completely fed up. I wish you well in your recovery. Take care.
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Hi Pennypops, I'm at 5 weeks now and feel your pain. If I knew how excruciatingly painful this process was going to be I doubt I'd have gone with it. Actually a nurse told me if they told people how painful it was no one would have it done!! I too thought I'd be up and about and back to work in 6 weeks but it's just not happening. I'm on codeine, sleeping on sofa (most "comfortable"place) and getting horrible burning sensation as well as leg pain particularly at night. Also like you, whilst I can walk (stumble) without a crutch I'm not holding myself straight and my leg swings slightly outwards, therefore I'm still using one crutch. I haven't had any clunking but my thigh muscles are sooooo tight. I'm trying soooo hard to get them moving and trying to do my excercises as much as possible but I'm just not getting the bend I need. I've been stuck on 70 degrees for two weeks and whilst I can now lift my leg and do extensions (with difficulty) I am starting to panic that I'll never get to 90. My Physio says I will (though she has mentioned manipulation) and that all of a sudden my muscles will start moving (which was the case when trying to lift my foot which felt impossible until one day it suddenly lifted!). Anyway, the bottom line is that I am utterly fed up and becoming increasingly emotional and tearful. Please please leg wake up and let me walk and move about and stop this pain! I so hope you're feeling better since posting a month ago x
Isso vai melhorar e a dor vai embora. Ninguém pode prever quanto tempo vai levar. Muita fisioterapia, exercícios, medicação correta e gelo ajudam. 19½ e 17½ anos desde minhas operações e eu não tenho problemas.
Hi Rosy , I remember being 5 weeks post operation and was tearful and frustrated....and now at 11 weeks have full range of movement so it does get better...my thigh and calf muscles feel tight and are sore .....I'm sure things will get better week by week...I love this forum it's been great knowing there are other people who know exactly what I'm going through...wishing you well x
I found this site and your message. I will be 5 weeks post-op this week. I go back to my doctor on Thursday. I can bend my knee at about 90 degrees. I am worried that he will thinks I should be farther a head. It was good to read these other responses. Kind of gives me hope. I do work and I am in no way ready to go back to work after 6 weeks. I know some people have but not me. Again I was grateful to see you message.
Virtually no one goes back to work in six weeks. Just get that out of your head. Also, remove any thoughts about WHEN you SHOULD HAVE whatever ROM numbers. We're all different and heal accordingly. I started PT at 3-weeks post-op with a -14 / +84 ROM. Took 10 weeks at 2X/week plus the home exercises to get to -1 / +123. At 21 months, I'm 0 / +133. It takes time, work and patience. For almost everyone, the whole recovery takes a year...plan on it. People start feeling more "like their old selves" around 9-10 months. Still need to regain all the strength in your dead quads, glutes and core over that time...stairs are the last thing to master. Some light reading for you...
https://patient.info/forums/discuss/tkr-rom-work-at-home-620053
https://patient.info/forums/discuss/post-tkr-exercising-565527
Some soup for your soul...
https://patient.info/forums/discuss/tkr-and-ptsd-569521
This one is for way down the road...
https://patient.info/forums/discuss/mastering-post-tkr-stairs-552728
Lots of my discussions out there if you need anything else...
Concordo, foram 6 meses (26 semanas) para mim cada vez. Todos devem perceber que a fisioterapia e o exercício são muito importantes, além do gelo. Não exagere no exercício, mas também não faça pouco. Use medicação para tentar prevenir a dor, além de aliviá-la. Todos se recuperam em ritmos diferentes, não compare sua recuperação com a dos outros. Se você está a 90 graus e alguém que fez a operação no mesmo momento que você está a 110, não se preocupe. Na próxima semana, você pode estar a 120 e essa pessoa pode ter voltado para 100. A recuperação leva tempo. Estou chegando a 20 anos desde minha primeira artroplastia total do joelho e 18 anos para o outro joelho, sem problemas e quase 20 anos sem dor. A última radiografia no check-up mostrou que não havia problemas indicados, sem dor ou rigidez. Para aqueles que estão na fase "eu wish I hadn't had the op", realmente melhora, e você terá muitos anos sem dor para esperar e aproveitar.