Stairs and Tkr

Posted , 8 users are following.

i am 20 weeks post tkr. ROM and extension are good and I can walk several miles easily. However, stairs are still an issue. I can go up using a handrail but going down is difficult and slow. I would like to be able to navigate stairs without a handrail. I have been working hard on this. Am I being impatient? Any advice?

thank you,

Judy

0 likes, 12 replies

12 Replies

  • Posted

    Is that 20 weeks after your op.

    I am just over4 weeks but it's not the walking except maybe in the morning when I feel a bit wonky but it's the pain and swelling.

    I take Ibuprofen and codeine still along with paracetamol but I'm awake on and off throughout the night so I'm really tired and out of sorts because of lack of proper sleep.

    Will I ever be right again?

    The only good thing is the arthritis in that knee has gone

    • Posted

      Hi Mary it's early days yet. Just keep taking medication, rest a lot and try to raise your knee above heart to help with swelling , also lots of ice. I still have to ice and put my legs up and I'm nearly 13 weeks post surgery. The main thing is to realise recovery can't be rushed, do your stretching exercises at least 3 times a day and you will start to feel better. I was like you and it's only been the last couple of weeks when things have got better. Best wishes Jannette
    • Posted

      Use ice several times a day usually no more than 10 minutes.  Better than taking pain medication.  I use ice after every workout ice is your friend. 

      Ive taken sleep medication for several years for insomnia.  

  • Posted

    Hi Judy I am 13 weeks post surgery and the physio told me that I probably won't be able to come down stairs for months yet. It's the last thing to get back. So it's another thing we have to be patient with. It's only been the last couple of weeks that I have began to feel there is a light at the end of the tunnel. I didn't realise how painful and hard the recovery is. I have just began to sleep a bit better too. When I get over this I have to have my right knee done, it's not something I am looking forward to. Best wishes Jannette
    • Posted

      They should have started you on steps the second week of PT. our bedroom is upstairs was able to go up and down stairs with no problem. 
    • Posted

      Hi John ,I was shown how to go up and down with crutches but it's when you have to go up and down without that's the problem.I can go up easily but coming down is difficult, I have to come down one step at a time ,I cannot walk down normally, but my physiotherapist said that is the hardest and can take several months..Best wishes Jannette
  • Posted

    Thank you, Janet. I will keep working on stairs and trust that the painfully slow progress is acceptable. I did not anticipate how much work this would be!

    judy

    • Posted

      I know I didn't either. It's not the surgery its the recovery. I can't wait to wake up and not think of my knee! Still when I think of how I was at the beginning, I am so much better now. Best wishes Jannette
  • Posted

    Hi Judy

    I am at the exact same stage as you and almost in the exact same position. You are slightly better off than me as I don't think I can walk miles easily, but I have the same problem going downstairs.  With a handrail it is ok, without its a no-no.  I do Aqua and I love that and think it helps but had no idea this would be such a long drawn out process.

    I'm sure this is going to take the best part of a year.

    good luck.

    liz x 

  • Posted

    Hi Judy!

    I am almost nine months and five months from my two TKRs. Going UP stairs requires me to concentrate so that I use my muscles, knees, feet etc. properly. My physical therapist worked hard to make sure that I would not put excess strain on my new knees by walking in strange ways like I HAD been doing due to compensating for VERY damaged arthritic knees for many years. Concentrating is getting easier, but I DO have to take time to THINK ABOUT how to move properly.

    Going DOWN remains tricky, and I STILL do the step/together...step/together method.

    I ALWAYS use the railing, and take my time. I do NOT want any falls!

    I am practicing daily. Let me know how YOU are doing!

    I have also been working very hard on straightening. I can now keep up with my very tall and long-legged family once again! My gait is improved, and I am excited that the snow seems to be DONE and I can resume my beloved WALKING, gardening, and just feeling normal again!

    Wishing us BOTH continued success with STAIRS!!!!!🙌😁☺😊🙌

  • Posted

    My revision TKR was on the 27th Oct last year - so similar in weeks to you. I too, can go upstairs holding onto the rail (my home is a 3 storey one) - I can't come down unless it's the step at a time, which is very tiring. I went a year waiting for the revision with such pain, that I think I have to re-train my brain! I stand at the top to come down & the flipping leg just won't go one at a time!

    When I go upstairs, although I'm holding on, I still feel quite a "pull" in the mechanics area! On my attempts to come downstairs one at a time (I make myself do it once a day) - it really pulls. I still can't walk more than a mile without it swelling, nor can I stand for long - it's all so frustrating! Having said that - it is SO much better this time around, I guess I just want to run before I can walk as the saying goes!

  • Posted

    Hi Veronica/Judy

    i got my TKR the day before you and I am just the same as you.  Going upstairs as the day progresses is not too bad, but going down, I also stand St the top willing the blooming leg to work properly.  Occasionally it does, but more often not.

    i think we are all in much the same situation so perhaps we're doing better than we think.

    i was at my Physio yesterday and she said I'm doing well but not there yet, just not got the strength in the quads yet and until that happens, she says I won't be safe on the stairs.  In saying that most people she sees seem to be ahead of me and that is so frustrating.  I so want to be able to just not think about my knee.  It rules my life at the moment and I guess you are the same.

    i want to be able to stand in the kitchen preparing a meal without having to stop and have a rest in between.

    i want to go for a walk for an hour without feeling pain.

    i want to go up and downstairs like a normal person.

    I don't think this is a lot to want, do you.

    take care ladies, we will hopefully get there.

    Liz

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