Please help; information on stairs after total knee replacement
Posted , 12 users are following.
I must have a total right knee replacement soon. I was told that last summer when I had some pain off and on. When I saw the specialist, he pointed out how the lower part of my right leg, below the knee, was bowing out. At the time he wouldn't do surgery until I lost weight. I was 253 at the time and needed to get down to 225. I am now 229. I am now having more bouts of pain coming and going. I have had pain and swelling twice the last two months.
My concern is that I have stairs I climb to get into our apartment; 8 steps, a wide landing, then 8 more steps. The steps are not narrow and not a high incline. How will I manage doing that after surgery? No, I don’t have someone I could stay with either. However, I live with my hubby and daughter who is 34 years old. I would never be alone so getting things done in the apartment would not be the problem. I am 65 years old, retired and don’t work. Any suggestions on what they most likely will do with me getting into my home. I will try to post here too a photo of the stairs to my apartment which is on the top floor. ** FYI. I don't have any stairs to climb inside my apartment. Thanks, Candy 
0 likes, 35 replies
tricia1954 loara71
Posted
Hi Candy. You will be fine with steps. I had a partial knee replacement 5 days ago for the same reason so much pain I couldn't walk and swelling and my knee bowed by 13 degrees. I also had the other lKnee done 8 months ago. In an ideal world I would have liked to be back to full strength first but it wasn't to be. When you come out of hospital they should have shown you how to go up and downstairs. I have thirteen temps which are steep and narrow and take some climbing at the best of times, but I have managed both times. I had the operation on Tuesday and came home on Thursday when I had to climb the stairs. Just take your time. You will need at least one crutch or walking cane. I have crutches this time because my other knee isn't to full strength but last time had just two sticks.
the technique I was taught is as follows
going up. Hold the hand rail with one hand and a crutch in the other, lead with your good leg then follow with your bad leg and then your stick.
going down. Hold the hand rail with one hand and a crutch in the other, this time move your hand down the handrail and lead with your stick, then your bad leg and finally your good leg, as that has to bend a lot.
this has worked for me although it doesn't build any strength so there is an argument for doing it the other way round as some people do.
im sure you will be fine and its good that you don't need to climb stairs inside (as I do ).
it is a brutal operation and you really need to be quite fit to get through it, which is odd as most people have this as a last resort and are not fit. However you will see from this site there are lots of helpful people who have gone through it and with hard work it can be a success. Hence my second one!
loara71 tricia1954
Posted
cherry75260 loara71
Posted
Hi Loara,
Wow, you have quite a 'mountain' to climb, but you can do it. Have you discused this with your surgeon as sometimes they can keep you in a rehab facility until you are strong enough to climb those stairs. Just take your time, remember, up with the good, down with the bad and have someone at your side. Good luck and let us know how it goes.
Many blessings,
Cherry🍒
loara71 cherry75260
Posted
Cherry, thank you for replying to my post. BTW, Cherry was my sister's name. She she passed away 2 years ago. If she were alive I could have asked her what to expect too. She had both knees replaced.
Pibpaula loara71
Posted
loara71 Pibpaula
Posted
lyn32416 loara71
Posted
Hi love. My darling sister had 18 stairs to climb and a bath to step over into. She did it. So can you. The first few weeks are challenging. Great that you've lost the weight. Keep going. You've got a chance at a more active life. Grab it! My bilaterals are 2 years old and I'm not slowing down! Takes time and effort. Just do it. xxx
loara71 lyn32416
Posted
Hi Lyn,
Yes, I plan to keep loosing my weight. It has been tough since I can't exercise as much as I want. However, I do watch carefully what I eat. thanks for your reply.
sue64229 loara71
Posted
i had bilateral tkr’s 2 yrs ago and live up 14 steps, on my own. Like people have said, they don’t normally let you leave hospital without having some physio including steps. I was very apprehensive but surprisingly ok. I took my time going up. I was able to walk the steps normally, something I hadn’t done in years. Going down the steps is a bit more difficult. I still tend to do one at a time, holding on the the rail. I can walk normally if need be but old habits die hard. I am 61.
please don’t worry, you will be fine. Listen to the physio and take your time. Best wishes. Xx
loara71 sue64229
Posted
Yes, I know how hard it is to go down steps over going up steps. So heck, at least it will easier for me to go up the stairs to my apartment when I first return home. thanks for your reply too
marilyn10235 loara71
Posted
You will be fine! The ward physiotherapist will show you how to climb & descend stairs! They will not let you be discharged until you can do stairs if you have stairs at home. Take it slowly & carefully, it isn't too difficult.
I have 14 steps upstairs at my house, luckily I have a downstairs loo, but the bedroom is upstairs.
I have had my 2nd TKR just before Christmas & 17 months from TKR no.1.
You can do this!
Marilyn
XX
loara71 marilyn10235
Posted
CHICO_MARX loara71
Posted
Here's the program for stairs...
https://patient.info/forums/discuss/mastering-post-tkr-stairs-552728
...but to do this, you must first regain the strength in your dead quads, glutes and core...
https://patient.info/forums/discuss/post-tkr-exercising-565527
You will probably have everything back to normal within the year. You cannot push the knee. This takes time, work and patience. First PT for the ROM, then the strength rebuild, then the stairs as you get stronger.
loara71 CHICO_MARX
Posted
trees1234 loara71
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loara71 trees1234
Posted
CHICO_MARX trees1234
Posted
Sorry that I have to disagree. I put that discussion out there on stairs the way I was taught and it got a very divided reaction with people saying they were taught the opposite. Doesn't seem to be a variation by country, just the technique a PT was taught.
For me, I was taught "up with the bad". This makes total sense from the rehab side. When you go up with the bad, you are making your dead quad do the lifting effort. This activity strengthens the quad over time since you are forcing the quad/glute/core muscle group to overcome the atrophy and start doing the work it was intended to do.
If you go up with the good leg, you are merely dragging the bad one behind you which doesn't do anything to strengthen that leg. Approaching this from a pure physics standpoint, I cannot see how this helps rehab a dead quad. Although she's not a PT, I talked to my daughter who has been a personal trainer for 16 years and has been certified by the American College of Sports Medicine. He agrees with the "up with the bad" approach too.
It's up to you as, like I said, my stairs discussion has promoted some arguments for both sides of the issue. People are very passionate about what they have been taught by their own PT. All I know is that, at 14 months, I was going up stairs TWO AT A TIME and down with no problem. Remember, the goal is to go up and down with alternating legs (regardless of which one goes first) without holding onto anything...in other words, like a normal person. However you get there, just do the work necessary. It's the last major obstacle in a full recovery. ROM is only part 1. Part 2 is regaining that leg strength and part 3 is the stairs. Gotta be totally committed to the full recovery.