Tkr recovery

Buy a pair of crocs, they are life savers. They may look ugly, but wearing them outdoors is like walking on a cushion, it eases the impact of your foot to the ground.  By now you have most most probably finished or near to the end of your "allotted" physio.  That's fine. You are most probably due to see your consultant, if not, ring his/her secretary and make an appointment.  Put your mind at rest. If they say there is nothing wrong (after the examination) then speak with your doctor, get some decent pain meds + night meds to help you sleep.  You need to work on your quad muscles and in turn work on the tendons/ligaments.  No lunges, no running, swimming is ok; but nothing that will cause your knee to twist.  Cycling is brilliant, if you cant get your leg all the way round, try putting the saddle as high as possible (so just your toes are on the pedal) and the gear as light as possible (You need the rotation not the strength) and push of with your good leg and allow your bad leg to go along for the ride. If that does not work, go half way round and stop, then go backwards, do this for a while and you should find that you can go all the way round.  The aim is to get your knee used to bending and straightening first as that becomes easier; change to a higher gear, keep at it until it becomes really easy and then change again.  By now you may be able to lower the seat a bit (dont do all this in one go), between the lowering and the gear change you will be able to increase your muscle strength. Practice heel and toe walking indoors, raising onto your toes as you follow through that will stop you waddling (looks rather silly when you do it in the street!!!)

There are thousands of ways to exercise and everyone else on here will tell your theirs, so by the end of it you will be really spoilt for choice.

If you start getting lower back pain on one side, it's because you are walking differently, gentle stretching (bending forwards) will help (Chiropracter if you are desperate).

Sleeping... take the meds.  When you wake in the night, try not to turn on lights, get up and walk around, toss and turn.  Stay still, let the pain wash over you, then as it dissipates, move into a more comfortable position.  May take a little time to get used to, but it does work.  Lavender on your pillow and essential oils help as well.  The trick is to figure out what works for you, get creative, doesn't matter if it's off the wall and downright crazy, the important thing is that it works.  Everything you are experiencing is normal.  You have to be realistic and know that it can take up to a year to heal. Do not get drepressed, even when you think the pain will never go. It will.  Kepp a mental (or physical) journal and note down every improvement (and the backward ones too).  As you look back you will see there are differences.  Even the minutest ones; pat yourself on the back, do a mental skip. If others laugh at you; do you really care....

Good luck

 

Hi Tracey!

Are you walking long distances?

Did this pain just start recently?

Are you maybe overdoing it without resting?

I'm almost a year post-op with my first knee and seven months in with my second. When I overdo things I will get a friendly reminder from my left knee to COOL IT and REST. Right knee is a trooper and is always up for ANYTHING. Left knee is very JEALOUS!

If the pain continues, it probably would be helpful to see your doctor to get a new X-RAYS. Something may have shifted inside. Others have mentioned this. If the x-ray shows all is OK it could just be overuse of the leg and more rest, stretching etc. might help.

I get spurts of healing pains in areas where apparently the nerves are "waking up"! It lasts a few hours or even a few days, and then it goes away. I have been very amazed at the length of time that the healing process has taken. Of course when you THINK about all that the surgery entails, I guess we SHOULD NOT expect healing to all happen overnight!

Let us know how things go for you!😊

I hope you will get answers from your doctor that will lead you to understanding what is going on with your discomfort in walking.

Hi, Tracey, I'm about the same recovery time as you (Feb. 4). I agree, walking around the house ok but get out and try to walk the mall, walk the dog ( now that's some fun!) even do the whole grocery store and I'm pooped. For sure good sound shoes help stabilize. (No more flip flops for me - 😒) I think it may be case of rebuilding our endurance. I try to push a little farther, take those full heel strides, then slow down, rest a bit or find a bench. Walking uneven ground is whole other challenge as I still don't feel completely stable when hiking. I will use a walking stick ( mine has a compass on it too!) to navigate around and over trippy obstacles. Some days I feel the appliances are more "clunky" than others. I swear I can hear it, but my husband says I'm imagining it. Ha! What does he know? So that's a bit unnerving and kind of uncomfortable. I don't believe there's anything wrong..just part of the process. Patience.