Bilateral knee surgery

Nance

Not easy . i am 15 mo left tkr . i had flexibility of 105 until i tried JAS Brace 1 mo ago - which has impeded progress. Knee is swollen. Flexibility less. Now on prednisone for 12 days

2 miles is good. Progress can be slow.

maybe heating pad over quads to ease muscles. months back, my pt suggested theraband to roll out knots...looks like a rolling pin. you

might ask your pt about it

all the best to you

Hi Nance

I'm 2 years 8 months since my bilaterals. I've experienced several negative effects however I can walk 2-3 kms without much effort. Lots of stiffness, some pain post exercise. Warm water walking is my best exercise. Bilateral replacements are not for the feint hearted! Physio helps too however my whole body is out of alignment due to my knee replacements. Good luck!

thanks for the feedback. it helps to hear from others

Sorry to hear , I am almost a year post op and cant say ive really had any swelling or pain for months . I try and get my 10,000 steps in , not every day and find the more i use it the better it is. Everyone recovers differently , also I didnt go to physio did it myself very slowly . I find water aerobics good . You will have your yearly check up soon , ask surgeon

Hi Nance,

My TKR (or TKA as the Ortho surgeons prefer to call it) primary op in 2014 Stockholm, Sweden. Then deep infection.

April 2018 Two-stage Revision here in Thailand. More demanding than primary. Discharged in last month. Infection S. Epidermidis hopefully eradicated. Check-up in Jan 2019.

Now, PT two-three times a week. Plus water aerobic in the swimming pool. Two hours. Free style and back stroke.

And walking "pool walking" without my crutches. ( Forearm Crutches, " Canadian Crutches" as my Thai Physio Therapist.

said.

Pain & Stiffness in artificial knee-join every morning. YES! However, I try to do the 100 x "ankelpump" and "Heel-Slide" in bed before getting up.

Stairs. Always a problem for TKRs especially DOWNSTAIRS . Flexion 90 degrees needed. UPSTAIRS never a problem provided there is staircase ledge to grab.

My surgeon said after the operation ROM 70 degrees maximum due to a deformation of my distal femur. Childhood accident in 60s.

l accept that. But I still believe in strong quadriceps, back and arm muscles. So, PT and POOL is needed. EVERY WEEK AND HOME EXERCISE!

Driving is recommended. Automatic. No problem!

Finally, GRAVITY. Weight. I used to like wine and red meat a lot! Now I am a "Flexitarian" Red meat (almost) out. Instead fish and a lot of veggies, whole grain bread. nuts and plenty of water. And wine red once/twice a week and maybe more white; French Champagne if i could afford. Coffee, of course. Strong Java, no sugar!

Home exercise, PT, "walk & swim in the pool" Diet and Coffee.

Best regards,

Bangkok-Johnny

I am 17 months post btkr. I was very discouraged at my one year mark because one knee was giving me a tight band feeling and not healing like the other. I thought that was going to be as good as it gets but even months after the one year mark, I can tell a big improvement. Actually every month still gets better. There are some days I don't even notice my knees, but also some days the right one will give me a problem. Hang in there. As a fellow btkr, you will keep improving every month. My surgeon has done over 6k knee replacements and told me he has never seen both knees heal the same way. Good luck to you, Patty