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Hi all i posted about walking badly and struggling with walking 12 wks after tkr and had some lovely helpful comments! Well its a couple of wks later and im now using a cane instead of crutch and my technique has improved massively! I had my last physio sessin last wk and the physio said when im walking im waddling and have a limp because im dropping each leg as i step because my core tum and bum muscles arent strong enough! It can cause pulling down the outside of your legs! Which it does! Im back at work next wk and really want to not have to use my cane! Has anyone else been told this or know of it being a prob with walking! Im doing loads of bum and tum tightening! Thanks
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Nextoneplease debbie171066
Posted
Glad you're getting so much better.
No, no one has told me about core strength / muscles, but it does make sense to me. Before this TKR I was trying to improve my core strength a big and you really do notice the difference for overall mobility.
Keep doing those bum n tum exercises and all the best for your return to work
debbie171066 Nextoneplease
Posted
Im so nervous about going back to work but needs must i havent been paid for last 2 wks and this wk my sick pay has run out! So being careful with my pennys! Thank you im sure it will be ok and i have some good friends at work!
cheryl90571 debbie171066
Posted
Learning how to walk correctly after having walked strangely for a number of years prior to surgery was a big challenge for me. Because it hurts to walk on arthritic knees, we all compensate whatever way we can to walk. It must happen gradually as our pain increases.
Following TKRs we are actually fighting TWO battles...1) learning to walk on knees that just had surgery and 2) learning to walk properly again after years of walking on diseased knees to compensate for severe pain.
When I voiced my concern to my physical therapist that it was taking so long for me to "get it right", she told me that I had probably been walking differently for a number of YEARS and was working to overcome THAT as well as my surgical procedures. It was a HUGE eye-opener for me and gave me more patience as I tried to work on getting my walk to look and feel more normal.
The things that helped me the most with my walking were: 1) balancing exercises where I would stand on one foot for a count of 30 and then relax then repeat two more times. Over the weeks she would give me different rubber disks to step on to make the balance sessions more challenging. This helped me practice being stable as I walked and developed sure-footed abilities that I was now regaining after many years! 2) practice touching my heel down first then rolling my foot to my toes as I took each step. I REALLY had to concentrate on this because I hadn't been walking smoothly in years! 3) straightening my legs by putting them on my ottoman when I sat to watch TV or read. I CONTINUE to do this to practice having straight legs which make walking SO MUCH easier and also make each step look more normal!
I hope this will help you! Going back to work will be challenging, but you will do well if you keep practicing and especially stay safe without falling. Practice at home so you will feel confidence. Take your time changing direction while you are at work so you will feel stable and not fall.
Let us know how things go, OK?
YOU CAN DO THIS!😉
debbie171066 cheryl90571
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pam92068 debbie171066
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pam
debbie171066 pam92068
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