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When can we stop doing exercises

Posted , 8 users are following.

betty07083
betty07083

I have a question for those of you past the 13 weeks mark. When can we stop doing the leg/knee exercises that we did after coming home from hospital & physical therapy? I'm 13 weeks post op now and want to know if walking and biking are all I need to do now? I walk 30-45 minutes and ride the bike 30 minutes every day. Is that enough now?

Thanks!

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  • jennifer86104
    jennifer86104 betty07083

    Posted

    Hi Betty, good to hear how you're doing. Well, by the sound of it. I still do the exercises but not all of them 3 times a day. I sort of spread them out. The physio has given me 2 to do to strengthen my weak hamstring and I find them quite tiring so I'm cutting down a bit on the others. I also try a 20/25 min walk and often do a bit of shopping too. I'm not so good on the bike though but should try a bit harder I think. I find I still get tired easily and still get stiffness and some pain from this flipping hamstring when I walk. I wonder too whether to ease up a bit with the exercises so would be interested to hear others' views too. Jen (13 weeks) 
    • betty07083
      betty07083 jennifer86104

      Posted

      Hi Jennifer,

      Well I keep hearing how important walking and biking is, so I'm focusing more on that now rather than the other exercises I was doing ( otherwise I'd spend my entire day just exercising!) I was a walker before TKR so it was easy for me to get back into it. 

      I have no pain when walking but still have some stiffness - what I do notice though is how tired and heavy my legs feel. I feel like taking a nap when I get home! I guess it's from my leg muscles being weak - I don't know, but I know I have to force myself to keep it up so I can get stronger.

      Always nice to see your posts. I feel we have a lot in common smile

      Take care & I know your hamstring will be strong again soon!

  • johnros
    johnros betty07083

    Posted

    I'm only at five weeks yet but I think we can stop them as soon as we feel the knee is strong enough and we are free from problems.

    personally, I think I will keep the booklet with the exercises in for future reference if it plays up but will ease the exercises back when I get back to my "normal" level of fitness and can once again pull a ten hour shift at work, on my feet for most of it.

    i shall start going back to the gym whenever the physics let me, doing cycling and swimming to build it up. I might even try the rowing machine if I can to get it flexing better.

    • betty07083
      betty07083 johnros

      Posted

      That is sound advice - I admire your ambition, already eager to get to the gym and do all those exercises! Having to stand on your feet for nearly ten hours though - wow - good luck with your healing process!
  • lynn08926
    lynn08926 betty07083

    Posted

    Hi.  I always do a set of exercises before I get up in the morning,,otherwise the day runs away with me.  I do try to fit in another set at some point during the day, but I'm not always successful.

    I do go on my peddling machine several times a day as I still feel my knee stiffens from time to time.

    Unfortunately, as I have to get knee number 2 sorted, walking any distance is out of the question.

    Like Jennifer, I still tire easily and the knee still feels heavy.  I can well understand that it takes one to two years to recover.

    Lynn 17 weeks

    • betty07083
      betty07083 lynn08926

      Posted

      Oh that's right Lynn, you have your other knee to contend with, so of course that would limit your walking, etc. 

      That's a good idea to do a set before getting on with your day. Which exercises do you still do? I was sent home with about ten different ones ( some include balance) so that's why I decided to focus on walking and the bike, or I'd be doing them all day.

      I guess the quad sets are still important in straightening the leg. Those are good and easy to do in bed.

      You leave soon for your trip - are you feeling confidant about it?

      Good to hear from you too!

    • lynn08926
      lynn08926 betty07083

      Posted

      First I do straight leg raises X10 each leg. Then I have a large foam roller I bend a stretch my knee over X10. Then X10 knee slides.

      Over onto my tum (not a pretty sight) and bend my knee backwards for 30. I then put my othernfoot behind that foot and nudge the knee further for 10.  I hate the feeling of bending my knee behind me; always hurts.

      Yep, off to the US on 23rd November for Thanksgiving.  Still get wobbly moments, but they soon pass.  Can't wait to see my daughter.

       

    • betty07083
      betty07083 lynn08926

      Posted

      I also do the first three you mentioned but have never had to do the ones lying on my stomach. Yes, those are good ones to keep up, to keep the leg straightened.

      How long will you be in the U.S.? Hope long enough to make that long trip worthwhile!

      Does your daughter get back to the UK often, now that she's married to a real live cowboy smile

      Take care of yourself my friend 

    • lynn08926
      lynn08926 betty07083

      Posted

      The one lying on my stomach is to help my bend which has never been great, but doesn't stop me doing anything other than getting on the floor with my grandchildren, which I do miss.  But it will improve.  Not sure why so many people get hung up about achieving a 110 degree bend at 4/5 weeks!

      My daughter comes over every couple of years.  Next March, in fact.  She has so many animals it is difficult to find anyone to mind them while she's away.

      She's coming over to meet her newest nephew, born last February.

    • betty07083
      betty07083

      Posted

      Oops sent to soon! You should be about 2 months along with your second TKR when your daughter comes to visit, so you can have lots of fun with her! Hopefully by the second one you will be a pro at it smile

    • lynn08926
      lynn08926 betty07083

      Posted

      Nope, not having it done until March, 2014.  Not letting anything interfere with her visit and a second knee most certainly would.

      keep in touch.

      Lynn 17 weeks

    • betty07083
      betty07083 lynn08926

      Posted

      Hi Lynn,

      I was just reading your post again & realized you said that you did straight leg raises on each leg. Do you do each leg on all your exercises? I've only been exercising the TKR leg - is it to straighten your other knee before your surgery?

      I'm also wondering, being that you are a few weeks ahead of me, does your TKR knee ever ache during the night? So many people have said how they could not sleep in the early weeks, but I was just the opposite. I slept better than I ever had the first several weeks, but around the 12th week my old sleeping habits returned - waking up numerous times during the night and now I can't get comfortable and my knee aches no matter what position I'm lying in. Maybe because our weather has turned chilly? It's happening every night now. I almost feel like taking a pain pill before I go to bed, but that would be taking a step backward I think. 

      Anyway, just wondered if anyone else experiences this at 13 weeks or longer.

    • lynn08926
      lynn08926 betty07083

      Posted

      Hi Betty,

      I just do straight leg raises with both legs to help strengthen the knee that needs operating.

      Funnily enough, I did have a few weeks of disturbed sleep after having slept really quite well.  Can't be sure exactly when, but not so long ago.  Woke myself up yelling out a couple of times when I turned over.

    • betty07083
      betty07083 lynn08926

      Posted

      Guess it's all part of this continuing journey. I've been feeling achy in other joints too and it dawned on me that just because I had TKR doesn't mean arthritis is gone in other parts of my body. I'm feeling it more in my foot, ankle & shin, and kept thinking it was from TKR, but it's probably arthritis there too! So easy to blame everything on TKR. Maybe it's the change in our weather that has my joints upset!

      Thanks Lynn

    • jennifer86104
      jennifer86104 betty07083

      Posted

      Can't really say the knee wakes me at night, Betty, but I do still take 2 cocodamol at night. Whether they help or not I'm not sure but reluctant to give them up just in case. I also take paracetamol twice or three times during the day. I get woken up by my other hip though if I've slept on the wrong side! As you say, the TKR doesn't cure the arthritis elsewhere.

      i must tell you how chuffed I'm feeling. I've been for two 20 min walks today, the 2nd one to our local pub with my husband. Had a beer, then caught a bus part of the way back. I'm still getting the hamstring pain but the knee itself is more flexible so decided to walk through the pain and hope that I'm strengthening the muscle at the same time! It was so much better than being at home doing the exercises 😊 

      Hope you get a better night's sleep. If I were you I'd try the painkillers for a couple of nights. Jen x

    • betty07083
      betty07083 jennifer86104

      Posted

      That's great  Jennifer, on your two walks!!! How fun walking to the pub for dinner! I wish we had restaurants close enough to walk smile

      I just got back from a 30 minute walk around my neighborhood and now on my way to my last physical therapy session. I'm going to miss my therapist, as weird as that sounds, but I guess I've graduated, ha.

      I am going to take a pain pill tonight. It may even help me sleep! I wake up so much during the night! 

      Have a good evening Jen, as I start my day smile

      Betty

    • lynn08926
      lynn08926 betty07083

      Posted

      From personal experience, the U.S is not pedestrian friendly, is it?  Only occasionally see anyone walking or running!
    • jennifer86104
      jennifer86104 betty07083

      Posted

      No, we didn't eat - just had a quick beer! (They serve meals as well though so, yes, we are quite lucky) 

      A 30 minute walk is good. Hope your last physio goes well and you get a good night's sleep tonight. I should sleep well after all the walking and the beer 😊 Jen x

    • betty07083
      betty07083 lynn08926

      Posted

      Depends on where you live, but in California it is very "bike friendly" with bike lanes alongside car lanes ( which is not for the faint of heart in my opinion, ha) and lots of walking paths. They are trying to promote a healthy lifestyle here & it seems everyone either walks, jogs or rides a bike. Personally I walk around our neighborhood which has sidewalks.

      We are so spread out though, that it's too far to walk to shops or restaurants, unless you lived in a small town or village.

      Well if I had waited a day, I would have answered my own question. I had my last physical therapy session and she told me to continue the leg lifts & other exercises we've all been doing, for at least another 3 months. Basically they should be continued for 6 months post op. Don't have to do all of them in one day, a few each day.

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