Hi.I'm 20 wks posted op.I have pain at the top of my knee i feel it more when coming down stairs. I want to return to work at the end of Sept. I'm a builder is this to soon .should I wait till leg gets stronger and pain free.my work is very physical .is there any builders who have had a tkr and returned to work successfully. Anyone know what damage I could do if leg not strong enough. And how long should I wait .money a bit of a problem. Have appointment with doctor on the 28th. Cheers. Patch
As a builder you will possibly be carrying heavy weights which would put stress on your knee . I returned to work after 26 weeks , my job involved lifting and carrying heavy items , but not all the time , ask your doctor for advise but I think the choice should be yours , don't do anything which may possibly damage your knee . I worked for 17 years after my op and had no problems . Fortunately I finally retired 2½ years ago . My knees are fine and I have started to go to the gym 4 or 5 times a week , finally decided it was time I did some exercise .
Most people return to work in the 6-9 month range...the lucky ones go sooner with no ill effects. However a lot of people who attempt this in the 3-6 month timeframe report having to deal with pain and swelling every day because they weren't healed enough. You're looking at the six-month mark and that's good but your profession may be against you depending on your need to walk a lot, climb steep grades, navigate uneven ground, do stairs, etc. You will have a better shot if you've done a lot of post-PT exercising to rebuild your dead quads, glutes and core (gotta do that anyway).
So, for you, it's a toss-up. As with all TKR recoveries, you push the knee before it's ready and it swells...period. Plus, everyone's experience is different so other "builders" may not have encountered what will happen to you. Test it out. Go out for a day and simulate what you'd need to do on the job...perform all the activities that you would normally have to do and see how the knee reacts. If it swells up, it's too soon.
Here's the exercise program...
https://patient.info/forums/discuss/post-tkr-exercising-565527
Good luck.
Cheers .
Cheers. Might have to suck it and see.