Mastering stairs P O TKR
Posted , 6 users are following.
Hi everybody, I'm from Cornwall , UK . I'm 64 & 5 weeks p o L TKR ( RTKR Jan 18 ). Most of us visit this site because we have a worry or two that what we're experiencing after our ops is not normal & so looking for some reassurance. i have done this many times & have been greatly comforted by advise i have received from fellow sufferers ( especially Chico_Marx ). Anyway for once i just wanted to share something positive ! Here goes.... for some years, i have not been able to master stairs alternately, whether going up or down, inside or more embarrassingly outside, always one one, two two, three three & so on. After i had my first TKR I thought I'd be ok, but because they straightened my leg also, I was then left with one leg longer than the other & limping around like a wind-broken snail ! (Cornish saying) Now I have had my other knee sorted & leg also straightened (I'm upright now, yay ! ) Ican now climb the stairs alternately ! I don't know if other parts of the world give the same PT advise, but in the UK we're told ...UP...good(leg first) go to heaven....DOWN....bad (leg first) go to hell....I have always done that, but as my leg is less painful now, i decided to swap that around to work those muscles. Worked a treat ! I shall certainly be up & down regularly now. Hope I haven't bored you with this long-winded tale, but I was just bursting to share my good news with someone ! Good luck to us all with our recoveries. Bye bye. xx
1 like, 13 replies
CHICO_MARX JunieR
Posted
Funny that this has been a HUGELY controversial topic on the Forum. Literally half of us were told good leg first while the other half were instructed to use the bad leg first...
Stairs
I was taught to use the good one first and it makes all the sense in the world. How can you use the bad one when all the muscles, especially the quad, are dead...D-E-D...dead. Makes no sense. I did it the way I was told, rebuilt all the musculature (MANDATORY) and was climbing steps alternately TWO AT A TIME at 14 months!!! Once the muscles in the TKR leg are rebuilt, then you can work the bad leg first until it is fully able to do the job. Case closed.
JunieR CHICO_MARX
Posted
I agree, although perhaps I'm being a bit hasty after only 5 weeks,changing it around, if you get my meaning ? but i feel that the exercises i have been given, which i have been doing religiously, seem to be only tickling the surface. I dont feel as if they are doing a lot. By putting the bad leg first with the stairs, its not causing massive pain,but i can feel that I'm working it more. Shall continue with this I think. Seeing the consultant 2nd Jan so hoping he will arrange some PT to change around the exercises. Thanks Chico. x
Cathysf JunieR
Posted
Hi there! I'm from San Luis Obispo, California, USA. It is always fun to hear GOOD NEWS! Happy you are doing so well! I had a left TKR 18 months ago. i am doing well now but it was certainly a slow process. (CHICO-MARX was correct in sharing for most of us it takes about a year) I need the right leg done...but i am a bit fearful! I am 66 & can not take pain pills as they make me quite sick. But it is nice to know there is a hopeful future! Keep up the stair climbing and enjoy your new ability to move standing tall & proud! ❤
JunieR Cathysf
Posted
Thank you so much Cathysf, I must say though that I think this second knee has been easier in as much that, i knew what to expect second time around & have been a lot calmer, not worrying about the least little twinge, thinking that something was wrong all the time ! Bite the bullet, if you can & get it done, its not easy, but think about the eventual pain free future. God bless & good luck. x
CHICO_MARX Cathysf
Posted
My right knee will need to be replaced too but I'm having zero pain with it here in Texas vs. New Jersey. Doc has already told me that I'm beyond cortisone and Synvisc so the TKR is the next step. WRONG!!!!!!!
COOLIEF (Cooled Radiofrequency Ablation) is a 15-minute, FDA-approved procedure done under sedation that deadens the nerves around a joint (knee, hip, elbow, whatever...) that cause the pain signal to travel to the brain. Most people get a year's worth of relief (some as long as two) and it can be repeated...and repeated...and... You get the idea.
Check the COOLIEF website for more information and to locate a certified doc near you. I will absolutely try this before I do a second TKR. Just sayin'...
Cathysf CHICO_MARX
Posted
Thanks for the information! I will do anything to put off having another replacement right now. The fact that you are having no pain with the COOLIEF is amazing. i will check into it!
jean02698 JunieR
Posted
CONGRATS....to hear good news
JunieR jean02698
Posted
Thank you Jeano
jane41470 JunieR
Posted
well done. You must be feeling wonderful! i am 7 months post tkr and doing ok but wanted to congratulate you. My physio, as well as my rheumatic aunt in uk always said " good to heaven, bad to hell". exactly so. And my surgeon at my 5 week check-up told me to use our stairs (17 steps) for exercise, not just necessity, so i do. i really need to do my left knee, but my husband might well need a hip replacement so waiting to hear on that first. He's 73, I'm 72. And i love that Cornish snail expression.
JunieR jane41470
Posted
Thanks Jane, yes we we're the same, I had to wait for my husband to have his hip done before my other knee... we like to take turns ! Haha. x
jane41470 JunieR
Posted
yeh, he and i are beginning to feel like a pair of old crocks. Good luck to you and your husband.
lynda49844 JunieR
Posted
Great to hear such positive news. I'm in Surrey, UK and had my LTKR in January 2019. Like you I've been off balalance (caused lots of back pain) and am having RTKR 20 January 2020. I wish my recovery to be as good as yours, but your news has given me hope. Thank you! I wish you every success with the rest of your recovery. Have a lovely Christmas.
JunieR lynda49844
Posted
Thank you Linda, a positive mind works wonders. Good luck with your op , God bless & you have a lovely Christmas too. x