Lifting leg after TKR
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Dear All my first time on here and I need your suggestions please. I am 15 days post TKR ( left). I had bad reaction to general and morphine and spent the first three days being sick. Eventually stopped and was let home despite only 75% bend and not being able to lift leg. I have been really really anxious since coming home and when I attended my first formal physio session I only had a 65% bend and still can't lift my leg. I am doing my physio three times a day and using ice etc. Besides myself with anxiety and crying all the time. Any suggestions to improve my spirits, raise my leg and increase bend please? Thanks Susanne
1 like, 111 replies
davidjk22 susiemah
Posted
It's only 15 days since you had major surgery . Very painful surgery , a bit like having your leg broken in two places , and your ligaments scrambled . It will get better with time and lots of physio . Pain managment is important , pain relief before physio helps , easier to do if you are not in agony . I was off work for 6 months with each knee . It's now 19½ years since my left knee and 17½ years since my left , almost 20 years with no problems and still going strong . 75% bend after 2 weeks is good , keep up the physio and it will improve , bend is important but so is getting the leg straight . Good luck and in 20 years time you will be as glad as I am about having the surgery .
susiemah davidjk22
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Thanks David. I am due to have the second one done in July but I think I may need to delay until I feel mentally stronger. My imagination is my greatest enemy. It's good to hear your story and thank you for sharing.
chris00938 susiemah
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I'd suggest not putting this off until you've given yourself a chance to rethink in a couple of months because I suspect you might feel quite differently by then and be SO pleased you've got that one booked in for then:-)))
susiemah chris00938
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chris00938 susiemah
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Absolutely - and you can find each knee gives you a different experience. I sailed through my first one and am hoping the second might be even half as good as that, but we don't know. People who have had both done at the same time seem to find one is harder than the other, so next time you might sail through it! And just think - by October or something like that you might be walking around with two new strong healthy knees! Maybe, even before that! I wanted my second done as soon as possible after the first so the recovery would overlap as much as possible but my first one is fine now (8 weeks post op) so I'm desperate for the other one to be done!
Duckfan susiemah
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Wow, you're in early recovery. My doctor stressed in the first six weeks to get plenty of rest and work on the range of motion. Chico Marx has a posts that tell you what to expect, it really will help you.
Dont worry about the tears either. Perfectly normal. I still burst into tears for no good reason at 10 weeks. I broke down and cried at PT the other day and just knew my rom would be 70 because I still felt so swollen. It had improved to 98 so all,that crying was for nothing.
Youll feel good one day and hurt the next. Please do what the doctors ask. Heel slides and leg exercises. All the work they want you to do will pay off. Then give yourself a break and elevate, ice and put on a good movie, take a nap, read, whatever gives you a break. It WILL get better.
susiemah Duckfan
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jan77947 susiemah
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I have had two TKRs in the last three months. I too was very sick and the crash teams attended me twice as I passed out. Neither time could I raise my leg until at least 2 weeks Post op. This is a major op. You will get depressed. I am still fighting the depression 21/2 weeks post second op. You will be fine do your exercises as best you can. Don't expect too much. It is down to determination and patience, both of which I am trying hard with. You will succeed. I am about 3 days ahead of you and I know that I will get there. It is hard but from my first experience, I know that there is light at the end of the tunnel. Keep going, I am encouraging both of us by writing this.
susiemah jan77947
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jenny80029 susiemah
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Are you going to to have any other visits from a physio? Does your hospital have a discharge help line or similar which you could use? Try not to worry. It took four weeks for me to lift my leg. It's not uncommon.
susiemah jenny80029
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Hi Jenny I have to go once a week to a session. I have only been once and I was rubbish. I was considering paying for another physio to come out and help me but can't really afford it. I would find the money if I knew a really good physio. I might do some research today. Thanks
chris00938 susiemah
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My hospital treatment didn't include a physio at all! We were just given sheets of exercises to do before and after the op, and that worked for me. We were able to phone the physio department at any point if we wanted to though. I don't know what you've been told, but if you do the knee raising slides on the bed, stick a tray under your foot, and if you can't lift your knee unaided, use your hands to lift it - I used my hands on the second and third and possibly fourth day to help the bend when I was on the bed. If you're doing the slides from the chair, and your foot is on carpet, then use the tray again and use the other leg to help push the operated one back. These exercises are on youtube if you don't know what I mean. They are the most important ones, and straight leg raises - even if you can't lift your leg, you'll be using the muscle to try, I'd have thought, so it will be beneficial. But you WILL get there, so don't panic and you will see progress:-))))
jenny80029 susiemah
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Are you in the UK or somewhere else? I ask because it seems to make a difference with PT... in UK we seem a bit more laid back! It will make a difference having a good one, for sure. It's very hard doing the exercises especially in the first four weeks. I was, and still am rather anaemic and even doing one heel slide had me exhausted. I have written about my experiences up until about two weeks post op on my blog. It's VERY long, too long, but it kept me sane in the first few weeks as I needed something for my mind to focus on. The most important thing is EVERYONE has their own journey and we vary a lot in how we respond to such a massive surgical procedure. It sounds like you are doing very well. Just keep icing, elevating, and exercising as best you can. Try really hard not to compare yourself to others... it is hard not to, but as the swelling goes down (I am at seven weeks now, and I have very minimal swelling) the bend will be easier. Swelling kind of stops a bend... think of a hosepipe with lots of water in it! As the swelling goes down it will be easier.
susiemah jenny80029
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chris00938 susiemah
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That is EXACTLY what my incision looked like - sort of corrugated and very lumpy. Just keep massaging the scar with whatever you're using (some use bio oil and I'm using emu oil) and it will flatten. Mine has now but it took about seven and a half weeks when I suddenly noticed it was flat! Just keep icing and elevating:-))))
jenny80029 susiemah
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Laura3333 susiemah
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I didn't massage either of mine, the scar will flatten out anyway on it's own.
susiemah Laura3333
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I can't bring myself to even look at it. It's what my husband has told me. I am not vain just squeamish. I need to look tonight. Thanks for your suggestions and my friend who is a district nurse if coming later to check all is ok. Thanks everyone and all your comments have really helped me feel better.
chris00938 susiemah
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