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Had a total knee replacement 6 months age..My knee still swells and gets stiff after standing or walking a 20 minutes or more..Biking 10 to 15 miles..Leg press with effective knee 15lbs..Can squat buy hurts uneffective knee. Coming down stairs is still an issue..Doctors tell me it can take a year but I think they are bullsh*ting me. Walking and stiffness and swelling is my biggest problem..Has anyone experienced this and did improve by the year end..
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jen04209 Flozo
Posted
mary12001 Flozo
Posted
I'm 10months post op but going upstaris is problematic for me. I can come down ok. Walking and stiffness is still a problem for me also and i have been told it can take up to two years. Can you believe it? Its not what the brochure said before I had it done.
CHICO_MARX Flozo
Posted
Swelling always means you're pushing the knee too far. Back off...find your pain point (7 miles?), lock that in and increase gradually. You CANNOT push a knee recovery like you can do to a hip or shoulder (I've had them all). Knee is very different. Slow and easy progress.
I thought I was done at 8 months...silly me. I'm at 10 months and still not done. Remember, any "timetable" is a construct of your mind; it has nothing to do with your actual recovery time. Be Zen: "I'll be better when I'm better." Expecting anything just leads you down the wrong path. Do the work, stay strong. It will be over when it's over. And, yes...issues can last 12-18 months.
Flozo CHICO_MARX
Posted
Hi Chico..your funny...Its amazing prior to having surgery all I heard was "your in great shape..you will breeze through this" So naturally I expected maybe 4 to 6 weeks recovery time..NOT..lol I'm back to work as a Nurse doing 12 hour shift..This sucks my leg gets stiff and tight but if I stay ontop of strecthing its bearable..I admit I do see positive changes but I'm starting to think I was lied too. Will this knee ever feel normal?..I'm trying to alter my workouts..cut back on my bike miles but increased resistance to work on strength. My doctor knows my workouts and doesnt believe this is a problem but as you and I know...He never had a knee replacement..lol...I'll keep what you recommended in mind..Thanks..It sounds like you had a love for hockey.
CHICO_MARX Flozo
Posted
Hockey? Yup...but a love that will go unrequited for the rest of my life. It's out of the question now with the hip and knee replacements plus the fused back. It would be insane of me to even try.
Regardless of "shape", only a minute handful of people "breeze through this". Very rare but I've talked to some who kicked it in a matter of weeks. Then there are those 2 years out still with issues. Both tail ends of the "bell curve" while most of us sit in the middle, taking a year to recover. My goal is to have the knee so integrated at 18 months that I don't even know it's there. Don't know if that will ever happen but I'll do the work to make the goal at least possible.
That's the real trick: Doing the work. People expect this to get better by itself and it doesn't. Gotta work at it. Find your limit, stabilize, go further. Every day is a chance to change your life and get stronger...never waste that time. You have to have the mental toughness to reclaim your life. Except in some rare cases of major leg and bone problems where limited recovery is all that can be hoped for, the rest of us can really do this. Remember...
"Never give up. Never surrender." - Tim Allen, Galaxy Quest
janice77150 Flozo
Posted
Oldfatguy1 Flozo
Posted
A year or more is accurate. You are pushing the envelope. Work up to these things. I think you are trying to be the bubonic man and that isn't the purpose of a tor. Slow, steady and gentle. Beating the he** out of those legs arent going to make bthem heal faster...just the opposite, you're slowing progress. This opinion from a guy that's been through 5 complete rehabs and 11 surgeries plus radiation.
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