Total knee replacement

darsben1 wrote:
I worked with Orthopedic surgeons in the OR for years and saw the people after surgery during follow up visits.
The ones who recovered the quickest where the ones who did the physical therapy EVERY DAY multiple times per day. The ones who did the worst where the ones who just went through the motions on the 2-3 times per week they saw the therapist.
Yes there will be discomfort. That is what the pain pills are for it lessens the discomfort so you can do the therapy.
I saw people back to normal after 6-8 weeks and guys who permanently were worse because they did not do therapy.

Good advice. I had TKR in 2011. Woke up from surgery and realized that I had some surgical pain but nothing like the pain before surgery. I was off all pain meds by the time I left the hospital.

Before I left the hospital I had to climb and descend three stairs with the aid of a hand rail, walk the hall in my walker and shower myself.

Other than the bum knee I was in good shape and normal weight. I made rehab my job. Due to my bad knee I had been using hiking poles for years. I put rubber tips on the metal spikes and used them in the house which let me ditch the walker door in one week. I was walking a mile per day within a little over two weeks. I was dismissed from rehab and released by the doctor in seven weeks. At ten weeks, I was hiking the Superstition Mountains in Arizona. It immediately became my good knee.

Attitude plays a huge role in recovery. You don't have to be an old mountain goat like me. Just be determined and optimistic.

We see and know so many who are struggling with knee problems. They wear braces and take meds. Some don't do any kind of exercise because of this easy correctable surgery. Your knees will not get better and will just get worse as you age. You'll be using a cane, walker or even a wheelchair.

One friend was born knock-kneed and putting him in corrective shoes wasn't done at that time. When we met him he was constantly in pain. He had both knees replaced when he was 70 years old and now walks straight, rides a bike and hikes without pain.

I'd highly recommend knee replacement. It is so common nowadays there's no reason to be in constant pain.

I also had a shoulder replacement.

As stated above, I'm out there playing pickleball daily and hiking. I could never do those things a couple of years ago.

Daughter had first TKR in early Feb and the second 6 weeks later. She full times and came to stay with me during and post surgery. She had her last ortho appointment on April 20th am and we both left with our respective MHs that afternoon. We've traveled together for the past 1.5 months primarily because she tows a jeep with manual tranny and since her clutch knee was the last one, she wanted to wait a little longer before driving the toad. She's now comfortable with the jeep and so we'll probably part company in another week or two.

She rehabbed religiously and still does on her own. While in the OBX, she bought and had shipped to her a recumbent folding trike (recumbent due to other issues) with a motor assist so she can pedal around to her heart's content and use the assist if there is either gravel or grass conditions that are to much for her or if she needs help on a hill. In the early weeks of travel, we often stopped in a church parking lot or similar after an hour or two of travel so she could take a 15 min. power nap.

6 weeks (had to wait to drive) after replacement I drove to Az and hiked the Chiricahua mountains. No trouble with getting into fiver. For those thinking about knee replacement. DO YOUR EXERCISES. follow dr's orders do your therapy and suffer threw the pain. It won't kill you, although it feels like it. Two friends would rather use pain killers than not and ended up hooked and one still isn't walking right and the other one got so consipated from pain killers it shut down his guts, had to have surgery to remove some intestines, never left hospital alive. And he was in pretty good health before knee surgery.

rkentzel wrote:
I am having mine replaced at the end of the month going to be hard sitting in the house with that MH just sitting there waiting on us.

Don't just sit in the house, do your exercises, especially the range of motion.

I am having mine replaced at the end of the month going to be hard sitting in the house with that MH just sitting there waiting on us.

I had it done to both knees. First time my recovery was slow because as one poster said I was afraid that I would damage the new knee, not so. The second one I recovered alot faster because I was agreesive in my workouts and did more of them. The key is to loosen up the muscles.

Moved from General RV'ing forum.

coolbreeze01 wrote:
Helps to hear from folks that have survived the procedure. Good luck.

The surgery is a piece of cake! They will have you walking the next morning just few steps at first. The P.T. rehab plan is the critical part and also the most benifical and you just have to gut it out and expect some pain but it does not last long. It will be about a year before you are back to what you would consider normal.

At our hospital you are only in one night then 4-6 weeks of physical therapy 3x/week and twice more during the day at home.

Also, the latest is just giving a spinal, not general anesthesia. You're semi-awake but don't feel anything. :)

Things have certainly changed. Pretty soon it will be outpatient surgery!