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Unable to straighten

Posted , 7 users are following.

suzidownunder
suzidownunder

Hi

Does anyone have any foolproof ways of straightening the leg after TKR? 

I'm 5 week. +4  days and still walking like a chicken! 

Bend is good about 120 but straight is stuck @ 10 

I've tried all the recommended physio plus a few i made up and I'm still having problems.

i have 6 flights of stairs to get down which is ok (don't like the clicking my knee makes though) and then a hobble along the roa. With  cane. I long to walk properly now! 

the top of my knee seems to be stopping the knee straightening when standing (that's where the tightness is) 

wheni  walk the knee is unbearably tight despite icing, heat  and massage. Glad for any ideas as i need to get OUT! rolleyes

0 likes, 21 replies

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  • jean95756
    jean95756 suzidownunder

    Posted

    Hi suzi

    thats been my problem  getting the  leg straight 

    I'm 14 weeks post op and I think I've finally got there

    i' do done it by laying on my stomach on the bed and dangling my legs from the knee down over the end of the bed.

    gravity pulls the leg down and it hurts like hell... I could only do it for a few minutes at first then built it up to 5 mins...I still have to slide off the bed to stand afterwards but I'm walking a lot better now 

    hope that helps 

    Jean 

    • suzidownunder
      suzidownunder jean95756

      Posted

      Thanks Jean 

      I'm going to try that now witha  few games of candy crush on my phone to distract me! Lol

      i just feel if i could get that '0'degrees I'd be home and dry! 

      smile 

    • tracey71146
      tracey71146 suzidownunder

      Posted

      Hi Suzi

      Jean is right the hanging your leg off the bed does hurt but is good for straightening - I am 16+1 now and just about their but I continue to do it twice a day as my knee feels so flipping tight still.

      Resting it on a chair in front of you is good too and you can use oven gloves with tins in the pockets to help press the knee down.

      Also resting your foot to just up by your ankles on a pile of pillows gives a good stretch.

      Good luck, you will get there even if this feels like a never ending journey!

  • jean95756
    jean95756 suzidownunder

    Posted

    I also bought a little pedal exerciser from Amazon ....it's not a bike  just the pedals they are about £20 and worth every penny you can pedal while watching telly etc...
    • suzidownunder
      suzidownunder jean95756

      Posted

      That sounds good i might look into that too

      the journey we take on is far worse than we imagine isn't it and no one else seems to realise just how k involved it all is but it is lovely to get up and down stairs. Stand etc workout pain. Once the tightness goes and i can straighten I'll be happy! 

      (written with my legs hanging off the bed as advised +putting my good foot on my operative from time to time for added weight!) :D

  • candace55
    candace55 suzidownunder

    Posted

    The exercise that Jean said is awesome for straightening. Also, if you are sitting with your leg extended in front of you, put something on your knee to push it down. I get my puppy to lay down and put his head on my knee. You can also just take your palm of your hand and apply slight pressure. Every little bit helps. I am 2 degrees  off from being back to normal and I am 8 weeks out.

     

    • suzidownunder
      suzidownunder candace55

      Posted

      Thanks smile  my goldfish won't be much good for pressure but I'll find something! 

      Some great ideas on here. Such a helpful forum! 

      I just bought some Lioton gel which i saw mentioned on another thread here. Early days but seems to be helping a bit with the stiffness! 

  • diana90984
    diana90984 suzidownunder

    Posted

    I wish you well but my knee was replaced 3 July. I did all the Physio including a 'knee school' hydrotherapy walking pedalling lying on my stomach and finally 3 weeks in plaster fom thigh to knee. Am now 5 weeks down the road again and still having problems but keeping up with daily exercises and visits to the Physio. However a muscle relaxant from the doc has vastly improved the pain, so Christmas is back on! Good luck and keep cheerful.
    • suzidownunder
      suzidownunder diana90984

      Posted

      Wow that's a  long journey! I really hope you're coming to the end of it now! I think only the people on here and those others that have had a TKR  can truly understand ! 

      I was plagued with muscle spasms above the knee  every night but started on magnesium and they are now very  mild. 

      I'm hoping hydro therapy will do the trick. I can walk quite well with a stick now but feel like a chicken  because my knee is bent. Lol smile 

      Funny enough i should have had my TKR back in July but had to put it off because of a spider bite! 

      I keep thinking i would be better  now if it hadn't  been for that. rolleyes

       

    • britta217
      britta217 diana90984

      Posted

      hi diana -- in plaster? for 3 weeks? OMG, was that to aid the stretch or the bend or something completely different? i have never heard of having to go down this road to recover! i had to have mine manually bent under anesthetic 2 weeks ago as my bend was rubbish at 90 but now have to work even hard to keep up the present bend of 115. it is quite exhausting! good for you for bringing christmas back on the menu. enjoy!!

    • diana90984
      diana90984 britta217

      Posted

      It was to straighten it as apparently I have extremely tight hamstrings that pinged back whilst having me leg manipulated under anaesthetic so they whacked on the plaster. Extension much better now only 5 degrees instead of 15 but have had to work at getting the bend back to 120. Have just spent 2 hours Christmas shopping so definitely getting there.

      By the way the tendon thing is all my own fault as I was quite sporty in my youth - should have played snooker like my brother!

    • britta217
      britta217 diana90984

      Posted

      hmmm ... no idea why my bend goes back unless i exercise like a fiend. definitely NOT because i was sporty in my younger years, that's for sure! am rubbish at snooker too so not sure what my excuse is ;-) next time i see my surgeon i will ask him if we do that here in switzerland too. i am guessing not as i have never heard of it but you never stop learning!
  • diana90984
    diana90984 suzidownunder

    Posted

    Assume you're in Oz so you should be getting better weather than we are. Makes the 20 min walk a little less attractive here but at least it's clear and cold. Going to start a specialist Pilates class in January as well.

    Haven't tried magnesium but off to the health food shop Asap now I can drive again.

    Sympathy over spider bite I had one in Oz, not a good experience!

    • suzidownunder
      suzidownunder diana90984

      Posted

      Spider bite was annoying.. Left me with a slight dent and a swollen ankle that won't go down! 

      Having been using the lioton gel all after noon and it does help a bit - doesn't feel so stiff and swollen. 

      But hey every day is something new one way or the other. 

      Started to get worried about straightening the leg but then I've been doing sort of lunges . Where i step foreward with good leg and bend the knee then keeping my operative leg as straight as possible behind me and my foot flat in the ground i put force against the knee. I think it's actually working. It's a hamstring stretch! 

      Another day over here in sunny oz! 

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