How do you do your exercise?

Hello Peter

good question i am down in the dumps because of this new pain and noise from my knee. I have always tried to complete my exercises even in a reduced form but this has floored me. I usually try to add a little extra each day e.g a cm further on the lifts, or a bit extra on the bend. Not aggressively though, gentle persistence. At nearly 7 weeks when i read that others are driving or back at work it depresses me more than inspires me as i am still struggling so.

I am now 14 weeks 3 days and I went back to work properly on January 5th and frankly by the end of the day the only thing I won't to do is ice and elevate! I do go on my static bike for five minutes or so if I feel that my knee is stiffening up, but every day stuff such as walking, driving, going up and down stairs, cleaning  cooking, walking the dog etc seems to take up my time and my knee is getting exercise by normal use. I do go for the odd swim if I have time! I can now kneel fairly comfortably,  get in and out of the car without moving the seat, climb a step ladder, etc so I think I'm doing fairly well.

Hi Peter. I exercise twice a day and I am 24'weeks. I do about 40 mins a time which includes 20 mins on the peddle machine. During the first 8 to 10 weeks I pushed the pain to the limit but learnt that that just caused more problems. I hurt my back and did very little exercise for nearly 2 weeks. My leg progress went backwards. It was very stiff again and the exercises were excruciating for a couple of weeks. I find that if I massage the knee with bio oil before exercise it helps immensely. I don't push to the limit now, just as far as I feel is ok for me. Hope this answers some of your questions.x

My therapist has always pushed to the level of being close to but not in pain. Slow, steady, do them correctly and don't rush. Take pain meds far enough in advance to keep pain in check before you start, ice immediately after. Get fully hydrated before, during and after. I have always done one full set plus a 20 min stretching session every other day and stretching plus what I considered light workout on the odd days. I have always seen my therapist 2 x's weekly where he added new excercise and added weights where applicable. The odd days were mainly used for bend and straightening and the other days, strength and mobility added. Not sure this works with your program but its done pretty good for me. I use a stationary bike for stretching but not for pedaling. Instead of full rotation, I push to the pedal to the top, stop and apply pressure for the maximum stretch, then reverse doing the same holding for a count of 10 each time. BTW, you shouldn't feel like there is such thing as a silly question on this forum. I am now in my 4th full rehab and one partial and I am continually getting new ideas from folks on here as well as my therapist

Hi Peter, excersises? I started doing the ones given by the pain clinic 2months before my op, 5times a day, nothing too strenuous, after op I had  a 97bend and 2weeks after 120 bend and flexions good. I only had to have 2 physio sessions and was discharged . Post op i did them when I could stand the pain. Somedays I didn't do them at all. I will be 6months next week, do excersise maybe 3times a week. Can walk without aids but am still getting a lot of pain in knee, it is defiantly worse after I have excersises . I am nowhere near feeling physically and emotionally well. So should I have done more, its so hard to tell. I think the body needs a long,long time to fully heal and we all heal at different speeds. I develope new aches and pains every day, so maybe its saying to me rest for a while and give me a chance . Hope this helps Peter 

Hi peter I try to exercise twice a day and small at eight weeks.  I try to walk every day and am using a stick.   I have 90 bend and am not driving yet.  I have physio once a week.   My Ben was really bad before op so anything is a bonus.  I am a believer in resting, not e Dr ising too much as from what I have read you can overdo it.  I believe the body has time to heal and that you should do as it dictates to you.  I do panics times when I hear about what others can do but we are all different and heal differently.  My leg feels so tight sometimes but I thank god I sm sleeping better and am not in the pain I was before the op and walk much further than I ever could before.

Thank you so much everyone for the replies. These exercises are such a vital part of the recovery process I thought it good to see how others at different stages approach them.

It seems as though the odd person exercises little, and achieves their full ROM pretty quickly, but I think for the vast majority it is a long, hard and frustrating  process.

I'm doing my exercises 3X per day with stretching in between. Have also added 5min on the exercise bike twice per day. It's the practice of my surgeons rehab team to push the exercises to the max and then some. That’s what I have been doing but I'm stopping the "then some" part. I like the way Oldfatguy put it, pushed to the level of being close to but not in pain. Think I will try that for sure.

I figured that seeing the variety of approaches people take would help others (at all levels) to avoid some pitfalls and maybe pick up some new ideas to help them along.

 

Thanks again everyone

Hi Peter, I use to do the exercises twice a day before I went back to work, leg raises, stretches etc, lunges and cycling for 100 turns. However the physio advised me not to do exercises if I had a busy day doing other things e.g housework, long walk. I am now back at work and do them once a day as well as normal daily activities.  Not sure about the bend but I can do most  things again now.  A hit like Glendale below.  Only slight problem I  have is kneeling but that is because my knee is still swollen.  I am not too worried by the puffiness because even when I had a arthroscopy  the swelling took several months to go down

Hi Peter

I do my exercises as and when i feel like it. Always ensuring a little is done each day. Elevating and icing often. Massaging once a day. It's not a race so we shouldn't push to hard. Just a little each day. I have hydro twice a week

I found these steps from a UK website a good guide to stick to :

Looking after your new knee

Continue to take any prescribed painkillers or anti-inflammatories to help manage any pain and swelling

Use your walking aids but aim to gradually decrease the amount you rely on them as your leg feels stronger

Keep up your exercises to help prevent stiffness and do not force your knee

Do not sit with your legs crossed for six weeks after your operation

Do not put a pillow underneath your knee when sleeping as this can result in a permanently bent knee

Avoid twisting at your knee

Wear supportive outdoor shoes

Do not kneel on your operated knee until your surgeon says you can

Raise your leg when sitting and use ice packs to help with any swelling