Swelling and stiffness

Thanks Chico. I agree I don't need to bend my knee too far lol I am a little worried as when I was discharged from PT second week in January I was 120 bend and I had gotten to 125 a couple of times. Since leaving PT I don't know what my bend is now. I know physio was disappointed somewhat getting g beyond 120 was so difficult but I think I can go deeper now.

I do find I have to do heal slides still keep is still stubborn to bend a lot on its own. But I am managing pretty well. Can walk a lot. Going down stairs still an issue a bit if I do it properly. I am hoping all this becomes easier over the next few months. See doc in Aug 

Thanks so much for reply

Here's the program that I used.  Combination of my PT, 2-years experience and my incredible pro-daughter...

https://patient.info/forums/discuss/tkr-rom-work-at-home-620053

https://patient.info/forums/discuss/post-tkr-exercising-565527

https://patient.info/forums/discuss/mastering-post-tkr-stairs-552728

The one on stairs generated a lot of controversy.  Seems some people, regardless of country, were taught "up with the good" while a whole bunch of us were taught "up with the bad".  The former makes no sense as you're just dragging the bad leg behind you where the latter challenges your bad quad to get stronger.  All I can say is that, at 14 months, I was climbing up stairs two at a time without holding onto anything...

Know that work at the gym or even the work in the At Home discussion, numbers 1 and 2, will help increase your ROM over time.  It's very asymptotic...huge gains up front and then the % decreases over time...a flattened top-end curve (asymptote) instead of a continually, eternally increasing linear gain.  Sooner or later, you reach a limit where increased work yields little or no gain (point of diminishing returns where the effort expended exceeds the benefits received).  At Home #3 will absolutely straighten the leg...gravity..all by itself...is a killer.

For almost everyone, getting somewhat past the minimum of 120 is a great goal.  IMHO 125-135 will last you for life.  Very leery of going past 140.  The effect on pushing the implant that far is known only to the manufacturers.  Not even the docs have studied the limits.  I hear there are some "performance knees" out now that push those boundaries but none have been implanted for 25 years so there is still no data.  I have no intention of trying them out.

Walking again with virtually no pain instead of being in a wheelchair in pain is just fine by me...  Thank you God and science.  Youzeguyz make a great team!!! 

PS:  IT'S JUST A NUMBER!!!!!  Nothing to get hung up on.  Ever notice how they take the measurement?  Docs and PTs have this little plastic thingie (goiniometer) that they lay against the side of your knee.  No calibration, no objective starting point...and the "final number" is just eyeballed.  That's it.  Doc told me that if you lined up 10 excellent MD and PT pros and got them to measure you, you'd get 10 different sets of numbers.  Almost laughable in this day and age.  Virtually medieval.  So don't go by "the number"...go by how your knee feels and reacts to your daily life.  Need more flexion?  Work on it at the gym.  OK?

I was taught by Physio for my knees and my wife also after a hip replacement that ‘the good go to heaven and the bad go to hell’ It makes sense as in each situation the good leg is doing the work. This applies to going up and down using one crutch. It always worked for me.

Agree with Numbers are just that. If you get 120 that is good enough for everyday life....no good for Olympic gymnastics but ok for kneeling in the garden I’ve got that far with both ops and very happy.

That's where we had the debate.  Some people were taught one way, a lot of us were taught the other.  I have no idea how or why this is the case but people seem to be very passionate about the particular way they were taught.  In the end, if you can go up and down stairs like a normal person again at your one-year mark, who the hell cares.  If it works for you, do it.  If both work, then there is no right or wrong way.

But that was the debate point...if you use the good leg to go up and just drag the bad leg, you are not forcing the bad one to get stronger by working that dead quad.  To many of us, that's what makes no sense.  Again...it really doesn't matter.  If it worked for you, that's great.  The other method worked perfectly for me.  Going up steps two at a time at 14 months?  I'm happy...

Thanks so much for the info. I know I am better off having had the surgery and will keep working on it. I appreciate your mention of its just a number. I remember at PT they were so hung up on that number and not that helpful getting there. I basically checked in and they told me the routine and away I went. They came at the end to take measurement. Almost all if that focused solely on bend NOT straightening. I found your information helpful and needful to work on straightening. So in short have come along way but have a long way to go. 

Thanks again so much 😘

Mmm - good point re stairs - stairs are all 'hell' for me...I still can't do stairs in the normal fashion after 4 1/2 months! Am still doing one at a time, still walking with a stick and still in a reasonable amount of pain but there has been progress there since the op of course - I forget sometimes just how bad it was in the beginning. TBH I am frightened to try stairs properly in the event I really hurt myself again as I seem to be two steps forward 3 step back in my recovery. Last time I hurt it badly getting into a car and it took 2 weeks to recover from just that and put everything else behind. I live on my own and struggle as it is....crikey it is a long haul eh....your posts are very encouraging though but - as many people are saying - I thought I'd be much further down the recovery line by now ......It is mainly lateral movement/turning the knee I struggle with and not sure that is because I had my leg straightened too but whatever, I can't do sideways movement - which is why I get so much pain trying to move in bed! And I am not planning to do the 'twist 'just yet - not until my dancing days are back but don't want to wait a year !!! lol x

I "don't want to wait a year !!!"  But it's not your call...it's the knee that controls your recovery.  It's done when it's done, regardless of any timetables you have in your head.  You have to give the knee time to heal properly and fully, you have to do the ROM and muscle rebuild work so you can walk and climb stairs correctly, and you have to have the patience to walk this path one step at a time.  That's it...no magic, no secret.  Just clear your head of all expectations and think "time, work and patience".  I did what I had to and was doing 11,000+ steps (~ 5 miles) with no issues at 8 months and by 14 months, I was going up steps two at a time...no problem.  Time, work, patience.  It's all coming...just follow the plan...

I "don't want to wait a year !!!"  But it's not your call...it's the knee that controls your recovery.  It's done when it's done, regardless of any timetables you have in your head.  You have to give the knee time to heal properly and fully, you have to do the ROM and muscle rebuild work so you can walk and climb stairs correctly, and you have to have the patience to walk this path one step at a time.  That's it...no magic, no secret.  Just clear your head of all expectations and think "time, work and patience".  I did what I had to and was doing 11,000+ steps (~ 5 miles) with no issues at 8 months and by 14 months, I was going up steps two at a time...no problem.  Time, work, patience.  It's all coming...just follow the plan...

Oh Ok - she says with her hands on her hips - if you say so......lol......I do know really but it takes someoone with a real head on their shoulders who's been through it to make you see sence.....as hard as it is to acccept the facts......Thanks Chico....my TKR Guru....lol x

It is VERY hard to accept...for everyone.  I had to give up playing hockey after 45 years...that was really tough.  I should be playing goal in an over 70 league!!!  Never gonna happen...  Gotta readjust priorities...all of us.  My hip doc told me I could go back to hockey but the replacement would last only 3 years instead of 25.  Same with the knee...  Give up some stuff and live a long, pain-free life or go back to your favorite activity and have another op in a few years.  PS: The second is NEVER as tight and good as the first one.  Everyone has to make their own choices...