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Still on two crutches 9 weeks post TKR

Posted , 7 users are following.

Nextoneplease
Nextoneplease

Hi all

i am 9 weeks post TKR and knee exercises are going well. Bend is 107 and no problem with straight leg. I'm still doing all the prescribed exercises daily.

But.....I still can't walk outside without crutches. Am in UK so took myself off to a good private physio, who says the problem is that my hip muscles (glutes) are very weak as I have had so little exercise for so long. I've been crawling up stairs, unable to get into a bath etc for about ten years. He says the resulting weakness will take some time to overcome.....but that with time and effort, I will be able to do it.

Meanwhile, I can't get to the corner of the road to post a letter, to the hairdressers, anything that involves using a bus, so I am still heavily dependent on my husband. I feel like I'm under house arrest sad

Has anyone else had this? And if so, how long did it take to get walking again?

Many thanks

1 like, 22 replies

22 Replies

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  • chrishappy
    chrishappy Nextoneplease

    Posted

    Hi, you just like me after my first tkr. I was still using crutches and sticks at 9 mths for the exact same reason as you. My glutes were so weak and I felt my progress had come to a standstill. I too went to a private physio and they gave me some great exercises to do but said it takes time. I'm now 12 mths on from first tkr and 1 week on from second, I've found the exercises are really helping both knees,and I realise that this is going to take time but I keep doing the exercise as they are my passport to freedom!! Chin up we all have low times but each day gets better
    • Nextoneplease
      Nextoneplease chrishappy

      Posted

      Thanks for this, chrishappy smile

      I was prepared for the pain, exercises etc for TKR, but hadn't realised just how bad my walking had got! You say you were using crutches at 9 months.....is that a typo? When were you able to stop using them? Before you had the other TKR, I mean?

      I just feel I can't plan to do anything, and I certainly feel much more handicapped than I did before the op.....but that's mainly because I'm actually facing up to the situation, I think.

      Thanks again 

    • chrishappy
      chrishappy Nextoneplease

      Posted

      Hi don't think my case was typical at all,i slowly stopped the crutches and sticks, firstly round the house, then round the garden.outside was more difficult as learning to walk normally after years of shuffling took up far more energy,I just dropped frm crutches to sticks then down to one stick. I had the problem of my other knee that needed replacing too as it was growing deformed. All I can say is that it will get better and it's only early days for you. Be gentle with yourself and dont worry too much. You will soon be dancing round again.keep trying a d keep smiling x
    • Nextoneplease
      Nextoneplease chrishappy

      Posted

      Oh Chris, you brought a lump to my throat there - I would so love to dance, even just a bit! 

      If your case wasn't typical, then neither is mine....I really feel it will take me a long time to get off these crutches and sticks. My walking was and is dreadful - I'd taken to going everywhere possible by car, and avoiding anywhere else, for far too many years. It was about ten years ago that I gave up even 'for seniors' keep fit, and over the years I've become expert at finding reasons why it was better for me to stay at home while others went out.

      Now is the time of reckoning! Heel to toe, heel to toe, here we go smile

      Thanks again

    • chrishappy
      chrishappy Nextoneplease

      Posted

      Our recovery is in our hands, so if we stay positive, do our exercises, eat healthily, look after our mental wellbeing, keep hydrated as dehydrated muscle and tissue don't respond well to exercise, we should be on target to do that dance by Christmas time 😃 one day at a time you can do this x
    • Nextoneplease
      Nextoneplease chrishappy

      Posted

      You're right Chris smile I need to regard this recovery almost as a full time job (aka 'project me' lol ) and then yes, hopefully we'll both be on the dance floor come Christmas !!

      Thanks for your support

  • grandmaDylan
    grandmaDylan Nextoneplease

    Posted

    I am waiting for the first of my tkr's and I also feel like I'm pretty much housebound. I saw an nhs physio yesterday who was shocked at the state of my knee's (he actually cringed when he felt my knees bend) he said that there was nothing he could do with them but he could help with strengthening my thigh muscles.

    I know that my thigh muscles are really poor because like you I have been in so much pain and don't walk up stairs etc. He said that if I can strengthen them I will be in a much better situation post op. I am desperate for my first tkr as I can barely walk due to the pain but also worried when I read about people who are post op who are still in severe pain. I hope things start to improve for you soon.

    • Nextoneplease
      Nextoneplease grandmaDylan

      Posted

      Thanks grandmaDylan smile

      Both the Physio and the surgeon winced at the state of my knee, too! For years my gp had been telling me to take paracetamol and walk (as if I could!!) so it was really bad by the time of the op. 

      If it helps you, my knee itself is much better 9 weeks post op.....it's the rest of me that's worn out and decrepit! sad Only the exercises will help, I think.

      Good luck, I am sure the op will help you in the long run smile 

  • anne07663
    anne07663 Nextoneplease

    Posted

    After my first one, I was very nervous to let go of the walker. Almost 3 weeks befor the cane. Just try using two canes and that puts some weight bearing on your legs. Stand as much as you can, every chance you get. Do straight leg raises to strengthen your thighs. Don't be discouraged, it will get there. 
    • Nextoneplease
      Nextoneplease anne07663

      Posted

      Thank you Anne, I will keep at it.....just felt low about it all today. We are the only ones who can help ourselves, really, aren't we?  The op is the starting point, the exercises can only build on that smile
    • Nextoneplease
      Nextoneplease

      Posted

      Sorry, forgot to say that it's the Physio who has told me to keep with the crutches as I'm not strong enough without them 
  • grandmaDylan
    grandmaDylan Nextoneplease

    Posted

    I told the physio that I've just got back from a holiday in Croatia. We spent 4 days in dubrovnik and unfortunately our apartment though being just outside the city walls it took 180 steps and a steep hill to get to it and the same back! He was horrified and said that it was the worst thing I could have done. He told me to walk as little as possible until my op. I'm feeling quite low in mood because it could be 6 months til I get to the top of the waiting list.
    • Nextoneplease
      Nextoneplease grandmaDylan

      Posted

      I took advice and walked as little as possible too. It was good for my knees but not my hips, back or general fitness.

      As a compromise, would you be able to do leg strengthening exercises like squats, straight leg raises, and scissor raises? Your physio would show you.....I did some and they did help.....I just didn't do enough! Couldn't, really. The length of the waiting list is a disgrace IMO.

    • moandrieu
      moandrieu grandmaDylan

      Posted

      I get why there is a concern for your walking, but as we've read, there is a down side to not moving! 5 months prior to my surgery (I went in for a bilateral TKR and got them both changed out at the same time) I wasn't able to bend my left leg as I walked. My mom and aunt (she'd had her's replaced) were very concerned that my limping along would create a problem in how I walked after the surgery. I decided to go to a pool for exercise and one of the things I did was walk in the water. Every time I got in I'd have to really concentrate on how to walk normally without dragging my leg, but what a difference it made. Praying you can find a way to make it work for you.
  • moandrieu
    moandrieu Nextoneplease

    Posted

    Sounds like you've had some really good feedback. I'm so sorry that all this has happened. Is there a pool you can get into? I was in a dire place as I waited for my surgery (I just didn't have the time or help - I was working in India and no family was nearby), and the limping along made my hip and back hurt until I finally realized I couldn't wait any longer and found people who would fly out to help me. But if I hadn't managed to get into a pool a few days a week, I imagine it would have been a worse place. But I would think it would be helpful now too. The ability to move your hurting bones in that water without all the pain is amazing. Just don't give up, keep doing the exercises you can and work yourself a little harder each day. You need to be willing to push beyond what feels like your limit - but in a good way. You'll be so happy you did.
    • Nextoneplease
      Nextoneplease moandrieu

      Posted

      oh that pool sounds great, moandrieu! Sadly I live in a rural area and don't know of any nearby.....but I'm on the hunt now. There has to be some relief from all this, somehow. I agree also that I need to push myself, which I am doing.

      Its my husband and family I feel for as much as anything.....they thought, as I did, that I'd be back in action much sooner. This affects the whole family really sad

    • Nextoneplease
      Nextoneplease

      Posted

      In fact, we have a few days away booked for a weeks time, and I just wish I could look forward to it. I never imagined that I wouldn't be able to walk at least a few hundred yards along the beach.....and that like grandmaDylan I'd be dreading every flight of stairs......
    • moandrieu
      moandrieu Nextoneplease

      Posted

      You sound like a very caring person. I'm praying you find a pool that you can use a couple times a week. I'm sure your family understands and wants what's best for you. I think most everyone on here will agree that we thought we'd be back in action sooner than we were. I know I thought my new knees would be just as good as the ones I was born with before they went south. That wasn't the case, but they have been better than the ones that were removed. 20 months later and there is still considerable numbness...part of the new normal. Everyone kept saying I was too young to have it done, so I waited. I waited 9 years until I turned 50. Now I'm wondering why on earth I didn't listen to my body and why I chose to suffer so much longer than I needed to. All that I missed out on. It's now time for us to start living life!
    • grandmaDylan
      grandmaDylan moandrieu

      Posted

      My orthopaedic surgeon who I initially saw privately in February this year said that on xray my left leg looked far worse than my right although the right was more painful. Since then I've had to wait for an mri scan then wait for an appointment to see my surgeon to discuss the results. I am finally seeing himnext Thursday. Since seeing him in February I have gone downhill fast. The scan showed a meniscus tear in my right knee but my left knee is now pretty much as painful as my right now. You said that you'd had bilateral knee replacements, would you recommend doing thisas I just want to get on with my life as soon as possible? I don't know whether my surgeon ever does bilateral if I ask him about it.
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