12 weeks post op

Posted , 5 users are following.

I went to see Doctor for my 12 week check up. He was pleased with my progress and my bend is 115.

Of course he said no jumping, running or anything like that.

?My question to him was about kneeling? I asked about when I maybe able to kneel? He gave me a funny look and asked why would I want to kneel? (Grandkids, Mechanic work, Garden)

?I said gardening. Then he said be careful in kneeling might crack the knee cap. He showed me pictures of before and after surgery results. Where they screw the plastic into the knee cap they have to cut the bone to make the plastic fit properly, so in kneeling I don't have much bone left in the knee cap.

I was wondering has anyone else tried to kneel yet?

This is my main concern about kneeling and not cracking my knee cap

0 likes, 8 replies

8 Replies

  • Posted

    I think kneeling  is ok just not on a hard surface. Get yourself some good quality knee pads to cushion your knee X 
    • Posted

      Thank you I will invest in a good pair of knee pads for my gardening
  • Posted

    Hi Ronnie,

    ?I had a partial knee replacement on 6 Nov 2015 - right knee, medial compartment. I still have a problem kneeling.

    ?Fer instance - going to church and kneeling in a pew would still be impossible. Its not the knee bending but rather the pressure on the knee cap itself from the hard surface that is the issue.

    ?Kneeling at home on a carpet is just barely manageable, i.e. kneeling to crawl under furniture to move power cords or any other homebased kneeling activity.

    ?Best of all is for me to use a thick plumped up cushion to place my knee onto while 'fiddling'.

    So unless I really have to I either never kneel or use an appropriate cushion.

    John

     

  • Posted

    I kneel no problem . I use knee pads or something soft. I do yoga and I am an artist who likes painting big, so I often kneel when painting on the floor.

    I don't do positions in yoga which involve putting all my weight on one knee and i don't do the kind of kneel where you actually sit on your heels with the weight on them.

    It probably depends on what kind of kneel.

    I cannot see why kneeling on all fours would be damaging as long as you had cushioning under the knee.

    But it may vary depending what the surgeon has done, what type of knee you have and many other factors. You had something put in your knee cap...I don't think I have...

    Can you see it in the Xray? Does it show up like the metal parts or not? I would be interested to know myself!

    I started trying to kneel very early on on my bed ,as it was a good way to work on the bend , and I really wanted to kneel in the future. I didn't want my psychological aversion to the very odd sensation to put me off! I think I started around 5 weeks post op, very gently, very gently, on the mattress of my bed and leaning forward a lot.

    • Posted

      Hello Jenny

      Thank you for the information on how you started kneeling.

      I've been wanting to try and knee on the carpet but I guess doing it on the bed would be better to start with. I'm just a little scared to do this.

      ?To answer your questions I had an total knee replacements on my right knee. In my x rays I can see the little plastic piece they use that is screwed into the back side of knee cap. It does look a little strange compared to the before surgery one.

      Of course when I knee I am usually going down on my right knee first then on all fours, so there will be more weight on it just for a few seconds before going on all fours.

      ?Thank you for your reply 

  • Posted

    Kneeling is tough early on.  The knee is METAL...you can't hurt it the way you're thinking.  What you feel is mostly nerves exacerbated but the early swelling and incision numbness.  The worst things for the knee, both short AND long-term, are pounding and twisting (torquing).  So...

    https://patient.info/forums/discuss/do-s-and-don-ts-after-a-tkr-a-typical-list-541794

    Once you're feeling more "normal" (10-12 month range), you may still notice some decreasing issues like stiffness, a "band-like" feeling, clunking and more that could remain for 12-18 months.  If you've been doing your exercises to regain all the strength you lost in your quads, glutes and core, you'll be able to do stairs without holding onto a rail in that same time frame.  But the kneeling...

    This isn't a mechanical issue, it's a nerve issue.  I'm at 20 months and I still get a nerve "tingling" when I kneel on a hard surface...which is why I don't do that.  4" foam pad indoors; padded tactical knee pads outside.  Long-term TKR veterans say that the nerve feeling goes away in time...we'll see.

    • Posted

      My thigh muscles are still weak but I'm working on this. I do the stairs on our front porch without a problem, that is going up and down. that band like feeling is still there but that is going away little by little. It' not as bad as it usually is.

      I am not really worried about the knee itself, like you said it's metal. Just concerned about the knee cap that's my problem

      Thank you for the information

    • Posted

      Never had a problem with the knee cap.  If you have discomfort there, see the doc.

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