Exercise after TKR , how often ?

pegleg

Had my TKR 4 weeks ago and now the swelling has gone down a lot more I feel more able to do the exercises and really concentrate on getting it straight and an even better bend , just wondering how often you all did your exercises during the day ? Don't want to overdo it but not sure how frequently to do them ? , don't have any pain apart from pulling behind my knee and the muscles in my thigh but just take paracetamol when needed . xx

JuliaHod12

Hi Pegleg

I was advised to do at least 2 sessions of exercise each day to begin with and then do something at least once every hour.....ie switch sitting position, go for a short walk, do some bending etc etc.

I guess the motto is to do a little and often to maintain movement, just enough to feel the muscles working a bit harder, but not to the extent that you are exhausted each time.

slowly, slowly catchee monkey! ;-) xx

pegleg

Tee Hee , I do them 4-5 times a day but feel I maybe should be doing more , I'll try that then , thank you ! xx

barbara12

Hi Pegleg
Sorry I cant help, but you are doing so well, you keep up the good work, and keep us updated x

pegleg

Aww , thank you so much , I will xx

marrianne

I have to be honest and admit that apart from when the physio made me ,I havent done any structured exercise as such ,to hot to sickly miserable terribly tired depressed ,house upside down ,well you name it ,now 4th week at last lovely standup baths useing jug and lots of lovely bath stuff ,careful to avoid scar still sore ,eating properly again ,well reduced appitite but maybe no bad thing ,finnaly walking in the garden a couple of trips out ,later ,I feel more like it ,house work animals stairs garden ironing feel 5/10 minutes bending stretching and lots on the top of the bed when I remember to uncross my ankles will do me now ,but Peg and everyone we are all different ,and I hope I dont come to regret it later .......Marrianne

pegleg

The thing is we are all different and really its not until I woke up on Sun and the swelling had gone down a lot that I began to feel more positive about things , I haven't really pushed myself because my Mum's friend told me that its not until the swelling has gone down and your at about 6 weeks post op that you can really start to make progress with the bending . My physio was quite negative last time I went so when I go next week I wanted to show her a real difference and that I am doing my exercises . You sound like your doing fine , I keep telling myself we've had major surgery , we're allowed to feel rubbish at times and we WILL get there in our own sweet time xx

elnafinn

I did my physio exercises often as instructed and was a good girl with that. I am quite disciplined by nature always finding a good hour every day to do stretching exercises so can get pretty used to a routine. I also did lots of elevating of the leg and icing each time after exercising and when resting (had both knees done 2 years apart) We are all different. If there is lots of pain and discomfort for a goodly time after exercising I would not do so much. I would add that from experience of having both knees done, exercising early on post op does help immensely with mobility of the leg and knee though. I feel it is a verypersonal thing of how little or much we do post op.I had a lot of pain so was not keen to go out walking so was "scolded" by the physio and I was glad she did so then I persevered much more with that side of things. It all passed in the end as things do and I am very pleased I had both knees done. It is a major op though and it is difficult to remember that at the time.

You are doing well, peg. I am sure you are doing what is right for you. I remember you had a bad physio session last time. Carry on as you are and you will be ok.

Elna x

SteveBurns

We are all different - I have a very painful tendon between the knee cap and lower leg bone that hurts like the most severe pain I have experienced whenever I try to get a good bend.

Everyone else at my physio group has no pain at all just stiffness so when the Physio does her leg bending pushing its only me that hurts.

I still do what I can - leg on bottom stair, leg up in the air while sitting and letting gravity do the bending, etc.

Just do what you can, I'm sure we will all get there but at our own pace

loovechocolate

We are all different I’m 16 weeks now and last week I posted no pain and sleeping ha ha this week I have pain and not sleeping properly again, but I know why did some gardening on Saturday had some swelling and didn’t rest enough, silly me. Re how often to exercise I did /do mine on and off during the day no real structure except when I go to the loo I do a stair stretch before I come back into the lounge lol well it’s a plan lol, we are having some work done on the house which has made life a little difficult at times but we’ll all solider on and get to the finish line

Helenbothknees

Sounds like we're all different. I was told to exercise 3-5 times a day, but if I do more than 3 my legs start to swell up a lot. My knees bend brilliantly and I can walk without crutches, but I'm still in quite a lot of pain over five weeks after TKR, and I have to still take the max dose of codeine plus paracetamol. But things seem to be gradually improving, so I reckon I'm doing what's right for me.

diamond

Peg did your physio not give you a exercise sheet explaining exercises and advising how often to do them?Hope you have a better session this time with her,maybe she was having a off day last time.I try to exercise three times a day.Good Luck you are doing fine.x

pegleg

Yes she gave me an exercise sheet and a few more to try as well and I do them 3-4 times a day , just wondered if you have to step them up a bit as the weeks go by ? , I find if I do them too much , like every couple of hours it swells, so I've gone back to my 3-4 times and elevate and ice in between. Think , in the back of my mind , that I'm worried she will be funny with me again and she will expect a massive difference but I can only do what my knee and swelling lets me so hey ho I'm not going to let it get to me x

elnafinn

To my way of thinking Peg, you are listening to your knee and doing every thing right. Please do not let her speak to you again in the tone and matter of your last visit should she do so. Stand up for yourself, she may be the physio but the new knee is yours and you know much more about your own knee and how it is reacting than she does. You two should be working as a team in the time you are in with the physio.

Elna x

Helenbothknees

I agree wholeheartedly with Elna. I too was wondering if I should be doing more, not because anyone has told me to, but because I'm desperately anxious to recover as much as possible as quickly as possible (once a high-achiever, always a high-achiever, I think ). But, like you, I find my knees won't let me. As I said earlier, if I try to do more than three exercise sessions a day, my knees swell up, and even my upper leg muscles complain so much that I have trouble with stairs and stuff. I slightly increase things if I feel up to it, eg 12 repetitions instead of 10, but that's about all. And it seems to be working. I haven't had a physio tell me so (my physio appointment today was cancelled yet again!), but I can tell, as very, very gradually I can do more. I think we need to trust ourselves, and as Elna so aptly put it, listen to our knees. And I agree, DON'T let the physio push you around - it's your knee and your life and your taxes which pay her salary!