Posted , 8 users are following.
Morning all,
I had my TKR on the 12th Jan. I have started back at my yoga classes 3 times a week but taking it easy. Can someone tell me a little about kneeling. I have been doing basic kneeling poses nothing strong or vigorous. I do kneel on a pillow, there is slight discomfort from the round area but nothing alarming. Is kneeling ok. I have been signed off by my surgeon so can’t ask him.
Thank you x
0 likes, 19 replies
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mary90 Guest
Posted
Hi Louise,
I'm just a couple of weeks ahead of you and have also returned to Pilates but being careful. My surgeon said kneeling would be fine once all the swelling had gone. I do still have some swelling around my operated knee so he suggested putting the pillow under the shin rather than the knee itself which takes the pressure off. It seems to help.
Guest mary90
Posted
Hi Mary,
Thank for this. I do still have swelling but it’s not stiff swelling if that makes sense. I will try the pillow under the shins. Great that you have returned to your Pilates class, I have missed the activit the most during the last few months. Starting to feel like myself now I’ve got some independence back 😃
Louise
brent77382 Guest
Posted
CHICO_MARX Guest
Posted
Kneeling cannot hurt the knee...it's metal. What you feel is nerve discomfort. It gets better in time...a long time. Old timers say that it goes away...I don't believe them. I think there will be some level of permanent nerve discomfort. In the house I use a 3"-4" pad; outside, a pair of padded tactical (SWAT) kneepads for gardening. Never kneel on cement, tile, hardwood floors, etc. as they cause the most pain. Like I said, it will decrease over years but probably never completely go away.
Guest CHICO_MARX
Posted
brent77382 CHICO_MARX
Posted
recovery up to date I don’t want to push my luck at this early stage.
CHICO_MARX brent77382
Posted
Hmmmm....never thought that some people would also have the kneecap replaced!!! What's that like????
george29264 brent77382
Posted
Hi Brent, Mary and Louise,
My bilateral TKR was Jan 4. I too am a textbook recovery. All the elements were in my favor. Chico is right in that kneeling is OK. To help me kneel for stretching I use 2 gardening pads under knees and yoga blocks under my rear end to hold most of my body weight. This allows me to stretch incrementally (lowering blocks 1” @ a time) for ROM on quads. I gained 16° bend in one week doing this. It hurts but works. Remember to ice!! Good luck.
CHICO_MARX george29264
Posted
Quick note to everyone. The goal is to increase your bent ROM from the minimum 120 to something beyond that so you're comfortable in most any situation. A 140 bend puts you into "athlete" range and I'm not sure you want to go that far. Touching your heel to your butt is a yoga-like 161 degrees.
The point is, none of us know the physical range and limitations of these mechanical devices. Going beyond 140 could do more harm than good and might actually lead to device failure or decreased longevity from 25 years to ???. I just don't know and have seen no information on this. Does anyone know about the limitations of the artificial knee?
For now, I don't take any changes. I'm at 133 two-years post-op and just fine with that.
PS: Gonna try George's exercise to keep my bend good...
george29264 CHICO_MARX
Posted
Wow Chico,
No one told me the bend degree levels. The yoga blocks got me from 125° to 141° with little effort. The stretch sessions last 15 minutes (3xs a day.) After adjusting height of blocks to maximum comfort tightness on quads, it takes 2 minutes for quads to relax and let go as your full weight is on blocks. Then I read. My extended is -1° and 0° So nothing to do but maintain there. The 141° is better than I had before TKR. My hobby is mountaineering so that range is better for it.
With this said I admit it will be a while before I will have long distance back soon. My bones tell me quickly and with no qualms that I need to stop, rest and ice. I cannot train for bone mending. Thanks for the “handrail” advise. I need to know my parameters. It’s has only been 80 days and PT dropped me for lack of anything new to teach me except to warn me of my impetuosity.
CHICO_MARX george29264
Posted
I have tried really hard to find out the actual physical limits of these devices with no luck. Anywhere between 125 and 135 assures an active, pain-free life. Pushing it past 140? I just can't find out if doing that will either break or reduce the life of the implant...just don't know. Until I did, I would refrain from going any further.
Start with your doc and find out the manufacturer and model of your implant. Maybe the manufacturer will divulge the desired information...maybe not. I do know that an artificial knee was designed to give people a good quality of life...I don't think it was ever designed to replace the full functioning of an original knee, especially when taken to its physical limits. I could be completely wrong but I would want to see the specs on the device in writing before I pushed it.
Do the research...be careful.
CHICO_MARX george29264
Posted
WOOHOO... But maybe not...
Seems the feds published a study of a "rotating-platform posterior-stabilized high-flexion prosthesis"...the PFC Sigma RP-F prosthesis from DePuy Orthopedics, Inc., Warsaw, IN, USA. The study is from 2010...
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2926366/
The Good: 46% of patients were able to sit on their heels (+161).
The Bad: This applies ONLY...repeat ONLY...to people with that very special "high-flexion" device. If you don't have one of them, I would still do the research before attempting anything past 141. Ask your doc what he put in your leg.
jenny80029 Guest
Posted
Lovely yoga!
I kneel no problem . I use knee pads or something soft. I am an artist who likes painting big, so I often kneel when painting on the floor.
I use the floats I used to use for my water exercises under the knee, or knee pads. Now at 12 months I don't use anything but the mat if doing sun salutation as not on knees for long then.
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.
I am being cautious as I am overweight and I dont want to over load it.
My child pose is more like an adapted on fours with a bit of leaning backwards, not because of lack of bend but because I like to use my elbows to take some of the weight.
I do a lot of yoga in the pool if it's something harder to do out of water!
But kneeling or not, it may vary depending what the surgeon has done, what type of knee you have and many other factors.
CHICO_MARX jenny80029
Posted
Guest jenny80029
Posted
I am training to be a yoga teacher so want to get as much range back as I can but do know I’ll have limitations.
Louise x
CHICO_MARX Guest
Posted
See my "Quick Note", above. You may not ever reach...or may not want to reach...the butt to heel ROM of 161. Could damage the implant. I don't know. You should do the research before you commit to that path. None of us know the physical limitations of these mechanical devices. Don't hurt yourself!!!