Week #4 of my therapy on my knee

fancicoffee13

fancicoffee13

Senior Member
Location
Texas
It didn't progress as well. Still trying to bend the knee more, but not able to get passed the pain. I took some pain meds (tramadol) and it helped me to bend it more while numb to the pain. I am trying so hard. Walking without assistance is going well. I have had a lot of pain to get passed, and pain can tire you, make you have irritation, and just want to rest for awhile. Anyone else deal with this in a way that would help me?
 

Sorry you are experiencing such pain and not progressing as well. I've never dealt with it but my brother is dealing with it now too. I think for 8 mos. now and having lots of pain. They said they did the surgery right but some take longer to heal.
 
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I'm sorry you are dealing with pain,but I suggest you keep a positive attitude as each day goes by. I know you are hurting,with some people it takes longer to heal,try and not concentrate on the pain all the time.You need to find something else to concentrate on ,the pain will subside trust me
I'm a life long walker,it did take me awhile not to walk as fast as I did before the surgery.
I tried every day to take 1-2 short walks,when the knee felt really stiff&sore I would elevate&ice it
After rehab,PT sessions were over,my therapist gave me exercises to do every day for the knee.
15 yrs later,its the 1st thing I do when I get out of bed,its part of my daily routine
I hope what I've said has helped you in a small way Sue
 

Never had a surgery like that, but I'm sorry you're having so much pain. Hoping it subsides soon for you. I agree with Moviequeen to try and keep a positive attitude, the mind and body are very much connected.
 
Having to recover from a complete cervical spine rebuild I can say with certainty there is zero doubt, pain is debilitating & be irritable.

The closest I can come to relating to knee surgery recovery is when my son had surgery on his knee. The doctor recommended a board shaped like an upside down V to be able to loop his leg over while laying on his back. Relaxed he could flex the knee..

I bought a 6ft. by 6" pine board & kept cutting it until he was comfortable with the height & support. Next was to glue foam padding so the board didn't irritate the bare skin as he flexed the knee.

Flexing the joint without putting body weight down pressure on the joint helped him recover pretty fast. That and probably more about being a teen
 
Stick with the therapy. My 15 year old total bilateral replacements still work like a charm. Far better than the much younger shoulder joint replacement. I wear the 8 in. scars down the front of each knee like badges of courage.

Even tho I was not really a drinker, I found that a nice stiff shot of Jack Daniels just before workout time worked better than pain meds to relax everything. My therapist said it was fine but you should clear with yours before trying.

By the way, I'm 86
 
One thing may I suggest,don't take your Tramadol every time you feel pain in your knee.Its a narcotic and you could easily become addicted.even though,it is used to treat severe pain
I was given Lortab which also is a narcotic& addictive,I only took it a couple times after my surgery.I dealt with the pain. I suggest you ask your doctor how much you should take
I'm a retired pharm tech,my job was delivering narcotics like the ones above to nursing units at local hospital for 27 yrs Sue
 
moviequeen1 said:
One thing may I suggest,don't take your Tramadol every time you feel pain in your knee.Its a narcotic and you could easily become addicted.even though,it is used to treat severe pain
I was given Lortab which also is a narcotic& addictive,I only took it a couple times after my surgery.I dealt with the pain. I suggest you ask your doctor how much you should take
I'm a retired pharm tech,my job was delivering narcotics like the ones above to nursing units at local hospital for 27 yrs Sue
Click to expand...
I stopped the tramadol for that reason, too easy to become dependent on it. I take one 650 mg Tylenol once in awhile. I am mainly working on the exercises, icing, and just getting past the pain to reach 120 degrees of full motion. Thank you.
 
moviequeen1 said:
I'm sorry you are dealing with pain,but I suggest you keep a positive attitude as each day goes by. I know you are hurting,with some people it takes longer to heal,try and not concentrate on the pain all the time.You need to find something else to concentrate on ,the pain will subside trust me
I'm a life long walker,it did take me awhile not to walk as fast as I did before the surgery.
I tried every day to take 1-2 short walks,when the knee felt really stiff&sore I would elevate&ice it
After rehab,PT sessions were over,my therapist gave me exercises to do every day for the knee.
15 yrs later,its the 1st thing I do when I get out of bed,its part of my daily routine
I hope what I've said has helped you in a small way Sue
Click to expand...
My therapist said that some people said one week they would come in and say how all the pain is now gone and can now exercise freely and not be so focused on getting past the pain. That is what is holding me back. She has new exercises for me, she pushes me beyond where I say I can go. So, she says quit expecting the pain, if it isn't there, keep pushing. So, I do.
 
moviequeen1 said:
One thing may I suggest,don't take your Tramadol every time you feel pain in your knee.Its a narcotic and you could easily become addicted.even though,it is used to treat severe pain
I was given Lortab which also is a narcotic& addictive,I only took it a couple times after my surgery.I dealt with the pain. I suggest you ask your doctor how much you should take
I'm a retired pharm tech,my job was delivering narcotics like the ones above to nursing units at local hospital for 27 yrs Sue
Click to expand...
Movie queen I was thinking the same thing how about some non-narcotic medications to help her?
 
Hi Lc, whenever my partial right knee is stiff or sore,I take 1 tablet of Aleve at night which helps.
Its a NSAID,non steriod anti-inflammatory drug,over the counter
Some people take Advil,Motrin which is in same category as Aleve
 
Hi fancicoffee
what you described with your therapy is exactly what I went through
My therapist also told me the goal is to get to 120 degrees of full motion. In the beginning I didn't think I would ever get there,keeping a positive attitude really helped.I did feel sorry for myself for a day or two early on,but quickly snapped out of it,pushed through the pain,doing the exercises
You are doing well,keep up the good work because you will feel 1,000 times better when you can bend the knee all the way back without any pain Sue
 
moviequeen1 said:
Hi Lc, whenever my partial right knee is stiff or sore,I take 1 tablet of Aleve at night which helps.
Its a NSAID,non steriod anti-inflammatory drug,over the counter
Some people take Advil,Motrin which is in same category as Aleve
Click to expand...
Yes when my osteoarthritis becomes unbearable I’ll take an Advil or two I hesitate taking anything but boy sometimes I just have too
 
Ruthanne said:
Sorry you are experiencing such pain and not progressing as well. I've never dealt with it but my brother is dealing with it now too. I think for 8 mos. now and having lots of pain. They said they did the surgery right but some take longer to heal.
Click to expand...
I was afraid I wasn't going to measure up to the required numbers of the degrees on the bend of the knee, but she worked with me-through the pain-and I made it to 101 degrees on the bend of the knee and 5 for how flat the back of the knee was. Now if I can just hold on to that through Friday, I will get an extension of PT. These PT people seem to know how to work certain exercises to get to the numbers. This is my 6th week. I will see what my doctor says also this week. Prayers help a lot also!
 
moviequeen1 said:
Hi fancicoffee
what you described with your therapy is exactly what I went through
My therapist also told me the goal is to get to 120 degrees of full motion. In the beginning I didn't think I would ever get there,keeping a positive attitude really helped.I did feel sorry for myself for a day or two early on,but quickly snapped out of it,pushed through the pain,doing the exercises
You are doing well,keep up the good work because you will feel 1,000 times better when you can bend the knee all the way back without any pain Sue
Click to expand...
How did you manage to work through the pain? I just make myself go a little further than what I think I can, hold it and go another inch. It is painful, but I hope it pays off. The alternative sounds bad.
 
Hi Fancicoffee, great news you can bend the knee at 101 degrees,you are almost there
I just blocked out the pain and iced the knee whenever it was bothering me.
My Physical therapist was terrific, gave me lots of encouragement whenever I had my sessions which made me feel great knowing I was on the road to recovery.My knee was getting stronger every day
Each person is different in how long it takes to recover.I was off work for 3 months in summer of '04.As a life long walker,I think that also helped me.
I had family&friends saying prayers so I wasn't alone in the healing
I'll keep you in my nightly prayers Sue
 
Oh dear Fancicoffee, that has to be so depressing,
can you get "Deep Heat" where you are, there are
several versions, cream to rub on, a spray and a
different spray that is freezing, they all do the same
thing and work quicker and for longer than tablets.

When I get bad pain, in my back, I take two different
tablets, Paracetamol, then 2 hours later Ibuprofen, I
got the OK from a surgeon years ago, as long as they
are different it is better than waiting the prescribed
4 hours between tablets.

I suggest that you keep a list of what you took at what
time, so as not to get the tablets mixed up and take too
many of one kind.

Mike.
 

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