Mastering Post-TKR Stairs
Posted , 27 users are following.
Going Up...
- Go to a stair.
- Hold on to the handrail!!
- Put the foot of your BAD leg on the step.
- Pull yourself up to the step.
- Bring up your other foot.
- Put the foot of your bad leg back down on the floor.
- Balance on that leg while you bring your other foot down.
- Repeat...a lot.
A few other thoughts regarding "up"...
1. You'll probably need to hold on to a handrail at the beginning. The goal is to do it by yourself without holding on to the rail for balance.
2. You will have a tendency at the beginning to crouch a bit and "spring off" with your good leg. Don't...that's cheating. The whole point is to build strength in the quadricep of your bad leg. Success is using the strength of that leg alone to get you to the next step.
3. This is a basic up and down exercise. As you progress, go to the next step...and then the next...with the bad leg first building your strength. Finally, go up a flight of stairs normally with alternating legs...and then without holding on to anything.
Going Down...
- Go to a stair.
- Hold on to the handrail.
- Put the foot of your GOOD leg on the lower step.
- Bend your knee and bring the foot of your bad leg down.
- Do the same all the way down.
- Repeat...a lot.
A few other thoughts regarding "down"...
1. You will have a tendency to not bend the bad leg but to "swing it around" to get to the lower step. Don't do this. Concentrate on bending your leg, achieving good ROM to get your bad leg down to the next step. Keep your leg IN LINE and not swinging it out to the side.
2. Once you get stronger, lead with your bad leg and balance on it while bringing your good leg down. This will rely on your stronger quads.
3. You'd better hold on to a handrail while doing this...probably for a long time. Don't trust the new knee completely until your quads are really strong and you feel that you have your balance back.
TKR CHALLENGE...
Go up the stairs TWO AT A TIME!!!!!! Yes, this will take you a year or more to achieve...At nine months p/o and almost 69 years old, I'm not close to doing this on a whole flight of stairs although I can do the first double (but I still cheat by pulling on the handrail a bit...very annoying...gotta try harder). Goals are meant to push us to become better. This one's mine. Will it be yours???
3 likes, 57 replies
lesley_63511 CHICO_MARX
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Berylboos lesley_63511
Posted
tneel317 lesley_63511
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clive45466 CHICO_MARX
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Your input is correct I only did my stairs on my bum for the first 6 weeks as my knee pain was severe and my handrail is on my weaker arm so I felt safer just sitting.
CHICO_MARX
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clive45466 CHICO_MARX
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As I said I agree with you but it worked for me, any type of exercise caused so much more pain in the first 6 weeks. Also if your stairs do not have a handrail on both sides it could be safer.
Berylboos CHICO_MARX
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lesley_63511 Berylboos
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Thanks Beryl....yes I'm doing great...just a few minor issues I'll be sorting out with my surgeon next week. Have a lovely Christmas and an awesome new year.🎅 🎄😊
2young4this CHICO_MARX
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robyn81044 CHICO_MARX
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Tips for Bilateral ??
CHICO_MARX robyn81044
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AmeriGlide. They're the ones with that electric chair thingie that goes up a staircase on rails screwed into the wall. LOL!!!
Sorry...I have no idea. I can't even comprehend how youzeguyz handle a BTKR when we all sit around moaning about only one knee. You are ALL heroes in my book. After having one done, I can't imagine having both operated on at the same time!!!
ihavenonickname CHICO_MARX
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robyn81044 CHICO_MARX
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Lol i dont think of myself as a hero Chico, I was ill informed before my Op, totally didn't know to expect anything like this, if I had of known yes then I would be a hero for having had it done!
shari_48634 CHICO_MARX
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Garet CHICO_MARX
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Hi, How many weeks after your operation were you able to start doing stairs?
I fractured patella 11 weeks ago, and I don't know when I should start walking stairs again.
Berylboos Garet
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CHICO_MARX Garet
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I started PT 3-4 weeks post op. After a few weeks, they started me doing the stair exercise. This takes a lot of repetitive work. Do not expect to walk normally up and down stairs for a long while. There's been a lot of disagreement on this thread about bad leg or good leg first. I was taught bad leg first in PT as that builds strength in your dead quadricep. Some people have another opinion.
For your situation, consult with your PT and/or doc about starting some stair exercises when they think you are healed enough to do so. Take it very slow and don't expect too much too soon. Stairs are a huge challenge to all of us.