Mastering Post-TKR Stairs

[nh_user_949675]

Going Up...

- Go to a stair.

- Hold on to the handrail!!

- Put the foot of your BAD leg on the step.

- Pull yourself up to the step.

- Bring up your other foot.

- Put the foot of your bad leg back down on the floor.

- Balance on that leg while you bring your other foot down.

- Repeat...a lot.

A few other thoughts regarding "up"...

1. You'll probably need to hold on to a handrail at the beginning.  The goal is to do it by yourself without holding on to the rail for balance.

2. You will have a tendency at the beginning to crouch a bit and "spring off" with your good leg.  Don't...that's cheating.  The whole point is to build strength in the quadricep of your bad leg.  Success is using the strength of that leg alone to get you to the next step.

3. This is a basic up and down exercise.  As you progress, go to the next step...and then the next...with the bad leg first building your strength.  Finally, go up a flight of stairs normally with alternating legs...and then without holding on to anything.

Going Down...

- Go to a stair.

- Hold on to the handrail.

- Put the foot of your GOOD leg on the lower step.

- Bend your knee and bring the foot of your bad leg down.

- Do the same all the way down.

- Repeat...a lot.

A few other thoughts regarding "down"...

1. You will have a tendency to not bend the bad leg but to "swing it around" to get to the lower step.  Don't do this.  Concentrate on bending your leg, achieving good ROM to get your bad leg down to the next step.  Keep your leg IN LINE and not swinging it out to the side.

2. Once you get stronger, lead with your bad leg and balance on it while bringing your good leg down.  This will rely on your stronger quads.

3. You'd better hold on to a handrail while doing this...probably for a long time.  Don't trust the new knee completely until your quads are really strong and you feel that you have your balance back.

TKR CHALLENGE...

Go up the stairs TWO AT A TIME!!!!!!  Yes, this will take you a year or more to achieve...At nine months p/o and almost 69 years old, I'm not close to doing this on a whole flight of stairs although I can do the first double (but I still cheat by pulling on the handrail a bit...very annoying...gotta try harder).  Goals are meant to push us to become better.  This one's mine.  Will it be yours???

[nh_user_965948]

Hi Chico, never had knee surgery but why is it that when I try to go up stairs my knee is horrible in pain? been over 7 months now & can't go up stairs unless I do not put my weight down on knee, ortho has done mris & xrays but they only find small spur & light wear on opposite side of same knee, why am I getting such pain is it yet trying to heal from an injury or what else? thank's..

[nh_user_949675]

MRIs and x-rays do not always tell the story.  Before my TKR, I had four knee scopes back on the early 2000's.  Before each one, the imaging studies showed nothing wrong.  Turns out that I had two meniscus tears (one each knee) and two ripped up femoral condyle cartileges (one each knee).  In all cases, the ortho had to go in to see what was wrong and fix it.  Just the way it is sometimes.  The good thing is that the imaging for you shows no bone-on-bone situation and obviously no need for a TKR.  Get it scoped...

[anon87974465]

Chico, I respectfully disagree...

Going up stairs...lead with the good, strong leg, step up, bring the bad leg up...good leg moves up next step, bad leg follows.

Going down stairs...bad leg leads...hold knee stiff as you lower it to the lower stair tread.

maybe we just do it differently in the USA

[nh_user_989225]

I too respectfully disagree ..... I was taught good leg first going upstairs and bad leg first going down stairs...

[anon87974465]

Hi Chico

Your input is correct I only did my stairs on my bum for the first 6 weeks as my knee pain was severe and my handrail is on my weaker arm so I felt safer just sitting.

[nh_user_949675]

Sorry if you disagree.  I did that exact exercise for NINE WEEKS in PT.  Gotta build strength in the bad quad.  Dragging the bad leg up behind you accomplishes nothing.

[anon87974465]

Hi Chico

As I said I agree with you but it worked for me, any type of exercise caused so much more pain in the first 6 weeks. Also if your stairs do not have a handrail on both sides it could be safer.

[anon87974465]

I am 6 week postop with a Total knee replacement the hospital told me the same  Lesley  hope you are doing well its a long recover but we will get there take care x

[anon87974465]

I was told in the Hospital when going down the stairs bad knee first  and going up the stairs good knee first !

[nh_user_989225]

Thanks Beryl....yes I'm doing great...just a few minor issues I'll be sorting out with my surgeon next week. Have a lovely Christmas and an awesome new year.🎅 🎄😊

[nh_user_987924]

Tips for Bilateral ??

 

[nh_user_912451]

same here

[nh_user_912451]

same

[nh_user_949675]

So tell me... what does going up a step with your good leg and dragging up the bad one do for your recovery?  What does that do to strengthen your dead quadricep muscle?  Absolutely nothing.  That's why you lead with your BAD leg.  I did this over and over everytime I went to PT.  Strengthening your bad leg is the only way to recover.

[nh_user_949675]

AmeriGlide.  They're the ones with that electric chair thingie that goes up a staircase on rails screwed into the wall.  LOL!!!

Sorry...I have no idea.  I can't even comprehend how youzeguyz handle a BTKR when we all sit around moaning about only one knee.  You are ALL heroes in my book.  After having one done, I can't imagine having both operated on at the same time!!!

[anon87974465]

hahahahaha....Ameriglide!

[nh_user_987924]

Lol i dont think of myself as a hero Chico, I was ill informed before my Op, totally didn't know to expect anything like this, if I had of known yes then I would be a hero for having had it done!

 

[nh_user_977277]

Thank you so much. I never thought climbing stairs were so hard.

[anon87974465]

The good is that one is more protected from falling down the stairs breaking your neck and lord only knows what a fall would do to a new total knee replacement, but I don't think it would be pretty.

I can just see an inexperienced person arriving home after a total knee replacement, facing their stairs for the first time, and breaking their neck trying to follow something you developed for strengthening before they had the strength to even attempt stairs!

If you had labeled your dissertation USING THE STAIRS TO STRENGTHEN YOUR QUADRICEPs