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Knee Replacement

Posted , 9 users are following.

pamelab
pamelab

I had a total knee replacement 3 weeks ago and I know it is early days, but I went to see the physiotherapist a few days ago and she said that I have to work at getting my knee straight, which I am doing as best I can, but it is very painful. I am concerned that my knee will be permanently bent if I don't do the excercises as given. Does anyone have any advice on the best excercises to do for the best results. Thank you. Pamela

1 like, 18 replies

18 Replies

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  • Oldfatguy1
    Oldfatguy1 pamelab

    Posted

    Ice, elevate go slow and steady. As long as it's moving a little it will continue to heal. Don't be impatient as it will take time. Knee problems don't go away by abusing ourselves, they go away slowly and sometimes you can do harm by forcing things.

    Remember ice and no heat for awhile

  • Oldfatguy1
    Oldfatguy1 pamelab

    Posted

    I noticed you didn't mention if she gave you specific exercises. Incidentally you are awfully early in the journey. Use the heel slides that are basics and just try and extend . I could give you more but I thing they would be a little much at this point. Have they removed the stitches or staples yet. Keep us informed and others will give you a ton of tip s and help.

    • pamelab
      pamelab Oldfatguy1

      Posted

      Thank you. I have been given specific exercises, but the physio has told me that I need to get my leg straight, so I will just continue with what I have been told to do, I will see the physio again next week, so I will find out if I have improved.
    • lors23
      lors23 Oldfatguy1

      Posted

      Hey

      Its good to see you are still on the forum advising people. I had my left knee replaced in 2016 after having both my hips replaced the year before. I remember asking some advice and you were kind enough to help.

      Well l am 6 days post op for my right knee. After the op this time l never had the severe pain like l did with 1st and l was up and walking about no problem the next 4 days then l was home.

      I was fine the first day home then the bruising started coming out and it started swelling. I have been icing it and elevating it but the pain is agony. Its like delayed since first knee op. I just hope the pain calms down soon. I know l have to go through it but it its weird how its not the same as 1st one. But being at home in tears cause l cant handle the pain is hard. Today has been better the pain is still there like toothache but worse. Its not nice. I hate it.

      Laura

    • Oldfatguy1
      Oldfatguy1 lors23

      Posted

      Laura, this seems to be a common thread. You'll probably remember I've had a number of surgeries on the same leg and even with, the recovery has been strangely different in many ways.

      Glad to see this one has you moving quickly and in less pain.

    • Oldfatguy1
      Oldfatguy1 lors23

      Posted

      I interrupted myself....one of the problems with the early recovery, we decide we are going t o make up for lost time and start trying to run before we are really walking. I guess if you would slow down and just because you feel like the battle is won , overdoing it the enemy. Just remember, this is a process and you can't outrun or bypass the steps. I would just stop everything but the necessities for 24 to 36 hours and just medicate and rest, real rest. See what that does for you. Good luck and let me hear from you.

      Due to my wife's severely deteriorating health in not on here much during the day. She us in an acute rehab center and I spend most of my days looking about her welfare.

    • lors23
      lors23 Oldfatguy1

      Posted

      Sorry to hear about your wife. I just lost my mum 2 months ago to cancer and am still greiving. I think when l am crying during this pain l am crying out for mum. I am 44 and she always was there if l was going through any of this.Its hard trying to go through that and be ill youself. So l understand competley. I put my knee replacement off to go to the hospice everyday and it was hard but my mum came first.
    • Oldfatguy1
      Oldfatguy1 lors23

      Posted

      Sorry to hear about your loss. It's so hard to separate one pain from the other. I am in terrific pain and preparing for back surgery due to severe stenosis in 4 vertebra. She has been galling due to the Parkinson's and instead of calling med act I picked her up. Although she isn't a big person and I outweigh her by 80 lbs or more, I'm too old to be picking her off the floor.

  • brent77382
    brent77382 pamelab

    Posted

    What oldfatguy says is so right and yes it really early days so don’t stress too much,one thing is don’t sleep with a pillow underneath the knee and I found this helped me straighten mine it’s a bit unorthodox but works an oven glove placed over the knee with a little weight in each side(even soup tins) have your leg

    on a chair or coffee table as straight as you can first.But 3 weeks in is so early mind so don’t push to hard.

    • Snoozy69
      Snoozy69 brent77382

      Posted

      Yes I just rest my foot on our coffee table and put the oven glove over the knee with a tin of beans in each end works a treat my leg is just as straight as my good one I'm 8 weeks post op 

    • brent77382
      brent77382 Snoozy69

      Posted

      The oven glove certainly works snoozy,a lad at work had a TKR two months before me and he told me to do it,my reaction when he told me was ‘give ower’your having me on, but fair play it does the trick.
    • pamelab
      pamelab brent77382

      Posted

      Thank you. When I was in hospital, I was told not to put a pillow under my knee. The oven glove is a good idea.
  • CHICO_MARX
    CHICO_MARX pamelab

    Posted

    Here's what you can do at home in addition to PT...

    https://patient.info/forums/discuss/tkr-rom-work-at-home-620053

    After you get your ROM back, you have to rebuild all your quads, glutes and core...the musculature to support the knee.  Without this, you'll possibly have a limp and have no strength to climb stairs.  Takes months...

    https://patient.info/forums/discuss/post-tkr-exercising-565527

    Time, work, patience...all part of a full recovery.

    • pamelab
      pamelab CHICO_MARX

      Posted

      Thank you for the information, but I am a long way from doing the exercises suggested. I am unable to bend my knee enough to use an exercise bike atm.
  • sarah87162
    sarah87162 pamelab

    Posted

    The physiotherapist should advise you which exercises to do.

    A good one is to sit on the bed and try lifting your leg off the bed. This will strengthen your muscles.

    Let me know how you get on

    Sarah xx

    • pamelab
      pamelab sarah87162

      Posted

      Thank you. I am continuing with the exercises which the physio advised me to do and my leg is a bit straighter, it is very slow progress and I think I was expecting too much too soon.
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