TKR 6 wks ago off to the THR forum next

Get as strong as you can as quickly as you can.  I've had both done but in reverse order seven years apart.  IMHO, the differences:

- TKR recovery is insanely painful; THR not so much.  Done with the pain in a few weeks.

- TKR recovery cannot be pushed...overwork the knee and it swells.  Hip is completely different.  You can really push the hip...REALLY push it.

- TKR has all that scar tissue buildup while this is (probably?) not true with the hip.  It was never mentioned to me all those years ago and there was no direct PT to "break down" anything.  

- Both recoveries included PT that focused on range of motion; both recoveries REQUIRE rebuilding of quad, glute and core strength.

- For the TKR, my doc kept me away from water for six weeks; for the hip, I was in a therapy pool within two.

- At almost a year post-TKR, my knee is pretty good although my strengthening program is on hold due to my upcoming spinal stenosis surgery.  When I had the hip done, I was back at work eight weeks post-op as if nothing had happened.

How did that occur?  

- Four days in the hospital

- Six days in rehab

- Got home and ignored the doc's stricture on driving (rehab/gym/therapy pool center was less than a mile from home)

- Rehab 2x/week

- Therapy pool and gym FIVE HOURS A DAY, SIX DAYS A WEEK

- Went from 5-pound leg curls back to 70 plus leg pressing 230 pounds in six weeks...WITH THE BAD HIP SIDE ONLY! Yes, with the hip, they completely cut and therefore atrophy your quads.  Worst part of the op.

OK...so I'm a rehab freak (four knee scopes bilateral, two shoulder scopes bilateral, back fusion L3-S1, right hip replacement and now the left TKR).  My rehab times are typically 1/2 (and sometimes 1/3) of what the docs expect.  I ALWAYS bounce back quickly because I put the work into it.  That's why the TKR is so frustrating for people like me since we CANNOT push the knee replacement like we can do with hips, shoulders, knee scopes, etc. 

Just know that the hip is very different from the knee.  You CAN push it and recover very quickly if you set a goal and stick to a plan.  Then again, you can choose to be like a guy I met in hip rehab, sitting there waiting for the PT with his cane.  I asked him how long it had been since his surgery.  "A year", he replied.  The man will never walk without a cane again whereas I got back to normal in six weeks.

Yes, it's a choice.  Beat it or let it beat you.  Don't be on the losing side...

Well done Clive & all the best for THR.

Any ideas as to when it will be?

Good luck

Marilyn

XX

Excellent Clive, well done!:-)))))  It's quite wonderful being turned into the bionic man, isn't it (or bionic woman in my case!)