Question after TKR
Posted , 3 users are following.
Hello
I am just over 8 weeks since TKR. I have had 0 extension since day one. I struggled with flexion due to previous operations. I'm now up to 90 and life is more comfortable. Pain has eased off and I'm getting around more. I still have lots of swelling but Physio not concerned.
However, I am unable to lay face down and pull leg towards bottom. It just won't go higher than around 40 degrees. If I try to hold it there and then push into it, I get pain in knee. This it the only pain I am currently experiencing. Has anyone has this? I'm not seeing physio for another 2 weeks and unsure whether to push this or not. Prior to operation I could bend knee right to bottom with no problem
thank you
0 likes, 5 replies
CHICO_MARX victoria21411
Posted
First of all... Touching your heel to your butt would require a flexion of 161...that ain't gonna happen. PT and the docs shoot for 120 bent...we always try to achieve a bit more. Took me 10 weeks of PT @ 2X/week plus the home exercises to get from +84 to +123. At 22 months, I'm like +133. Over 140 and you're getting into "athlete zone". Not only don't you need that to live a normal life but I'm pretty sure you might be straining the limits of the physical device and possibly shorten its life. I have no stats on that but everyone I ever talked to cautions about it.
Your max bend will come in time. There is a delicate balance between the pain of advancement and the pain of going beyond a reasonable limit at your point of recovery. Just like trying to walk too far in one day. The key is swelling. If the knee swells, you did to much. If not, gradually increase. Here are some extra home exercises...
https://patient.info/forums/discuss/tkr-rom-work-at-home-620053
...and then remember you have to rebuild the strength in your atrophied quads, glutes and core...
https://patient.info/forums/discuss/post-tkr-exercising-565527
Good luck...
victoria21411 CHICO_MARX
Posted
Thank you for your advice. I have hyper mobility so have always had more flexibility than I should have.
I will check out the exercises now. I'm heading back to gym tomorrow but will take it easy. Glad you mentioned straining the limits of device. I have had to have a special hinged joint and have been advised that I need to be careful about
overdoing it as it will not last as long as a normal knee replacement.
I feel so much better than I have in a long time. The arthritic pain is gone and the awful pain that was there after the operation is gone so I am keen to move forward but I know that I shouldn't push things too far.
I did lots of work in gym, prior to the OP and I am sad to see how much loss there has been in the quads. I know it will take lots of work but I love a challenge!
thank you again for the advice. You give such a great deal to the forum.
CHICO_MARX victoria21411
Posted
I have also been very fortunate. 45+ years of hockey have left me with a lot of muscle memory in my legs. I was climbing two steps at a time at 14 months without holding onto anything. PT guys were shocked when I showed up for PT following a spine fusion one year after the TKR. Blew right past it. Once you get past a TKR there's nothing left to conquer...well, maybe brain surgery...
jenny80029 victoria21411
Posted
Be careful though!
CHICO_MARX jenny80029
Posted