Knee surgery..been there? done that?

[RickB.]

I so enjoy your reports and look forward to reading some new ones.
Hope you're feeling better and back on the trails soon. We, um, veterans are all pulling for you.

 

[bikehikeskifish]

I'm looking forward to reading the progress reports on your knee as much as the trip reports on your hikes...

Tim

 

[Cymbidium]

Silverfox is alive and well and walking about!

Checked in on him Wed and he is progressing well and following doctor's orders! The knee is no longer jutting in at a 45 degree angle!!

So...
I have researched several old archives on knee issues the best I could on this forum and still have a couple of questions..


Some background..I have some osteoarthritis in my knee from a couple of injuries and suffer an uneven wear pattern..which has left me somewhat bowl-legged and uncomfortable ..especially on descents..what has led me to consider surgery at this point is that my gait is messed up and occaisionally effects my hip and back on that side..

I have tried many things...stretching, strengthening, an occaisional cortizone shot, euflexxa, etc but have reached the point of the "next step" ..

 

[Silverfox]

thanks for stopping by and helping with chores Karen..the strawberries were great actually

yesterday seemed the hardest day of rehab so far..things hurt..like the good drugs from the hospital have all gotten out of system

stretching and passive motion machine being a help..gained a couple more degrees of flex last since last checked on tuesday

cabin fever setting i n a little bit..looking out the windows on these beautiful mid winter days oh well..at least my snowshoes had a good day yesterday as they were loaned out to friend who had broken one of her msrs..Mine as replacements enjoyed the Crawford Path up to Pierce and Ike on what sounded like a perfect above treeline day..ah...if snowshoes could only speak....

certainly getting strength back in some leg configurations as the excersizes are through a wider range of motion..PT just left this morning..time for some ice and perhaps a nap..my goals for the weekend are in place

 

[Trainwreck]

Silverfox:
I am glad to see you came through this procedure well. I hope you make a speedy recovery. When you are ready, we can do some 'rehab hikes' as I'm still not sure what my knee will be like this summer. (I know it isn't liking winter too much)
Stay healthy.
Sandy

 

[Skyclimber]

Hope your feeling somewhat better. Rehab is such hard work but is worth it in the end. One must do it faithfully in order to see any progress.

If it's any conciliation I know of a person who had knee replacement during his time of doing the Adirondack High Peaks and he went on to finish his goals. He was truly amazing.

As long as you work at it, anything is possible. The main thing is, "you never give up."

 

[una_dogger]

Cabin fever, eh????

I have a feeling you will be extremely well fed and well read by the time you are ready to hit the trails again!!!

You can fill me in on your book report tonight!!

 

[pks4000]

Im still in here with you.

This weekend will be sketchy so you wont be missing much (small consolation).

The forward Chrystal Ball shows a no painer hike
with no weather related stiffness ever again so stay with the rehab even tho it hurts like hell.

 

[Silverfox]

As long as you work at it, anything is possible. The main thing is, "you never give up."

thanks for sharing


Words to live by...PT gave me a goal of 90 degrees flex over the weekend and as I inch myself towards it it is quite important to remain focused on the long term goal..sometimes though, as I work my way through the 80's it feels like skin is going to explode... like I Robot or something... but i have been assured that this will not be the case..easy for them to say



back to the rack

thanks for the pizza rocket..or as Borat would say..err...what exactly would he say?

 

[Fisher Cat]

as I work my way through the 80's it feels like skin is going to explode...

Ah, I remember the feeling. That's exactly how it felt, like it would explode. If its the same case, there's a lot of scar tissue in there producing a lot of pressure. It makes you fearful to continue. Trust me, when the time comes, there's no better feeling, after what you've been through, than feeling that scar tissue tear. It feels like a million teenie-tiny fireworks going off in your knee, and then its gone. You'll be amazed after that about the range you will receive.

 

[DougPaul]

Words to live by...PT gave me a goal of 90 degrees flex over the weekend and as I inch myself towards it it is quite important to remain focused on the long term goal..sometimes though, as I work my way through the 80's it feels like skin is going to explode... like I Robot or something... but i have been assured that this will not be the case..easy for them to say

I started with 65 degrees of flex after the replacement of the femoral nail (pin in my femur--they went in through the knee joint for both initial placement and replacement) and was told that good progress would be 5 degrees of progress per week. By the end of PT I reached ~145 degrees of flex. (This means that I can get my heel to within ~5 inches of my butt.)

There was some pain, but nothing insurmountable. After I stopped taking the pain meds routinely, I continued to take them for PT visits so the PT could flex the knee as hard as she could. (Toward the end, I used to joke with her about getting one of the larger male PTs to lean harder on the knee...)

It took steady hard work, but one can get there.

Doug

 

[grumpygran]

TKR..ouch that hurts!

Was in with Silverfox today, looking out at all that fresh snow and really feeling deprived! He's doing very well and working hard at the exs. Enjoying visits from everyone and all the good food that appears all the time.
Keep it up...when you feel down just recall where you were at a week ago and you'll see how much progress each day brings.
Grumpygran

 

[Silverfox]

a brief update

A brief note for those waiting for chapter 7....the recovery

It has been 2 weeks since surgery.. at this point stretching is going well though painful..passive motion machine still in use and pushing 98 degrees on it this morning..

while sitting in chair I was able to get a 90 degree unaided flex which pleased my PT no end..thankfully that is a short set of 5 stretches for that one...

pain pretty much gone except during excersize where I am still taking the good stuff... waking up quite stiff in the morning but a few minutes of work gets things loosened up a bit..gradually switching to tylenol

using one crutch around the house..have taken those first tentative baby steps without any aid..feel fine..that may be a saturday goal..

got the okay from PT to get outside and walk..looks pretty nice out there now but may wait til someone is around
..I will have one more week of in house therapy then officially be out and about

thanks to all who have posted notes and pms during this event.. A big thanks to grumpygran, una-dogger, michealj, cymbidium, rocket, sleeveless, and Helen for stopping by with company food coffee and the paper..you guys rock

beautiful day today..Cymbidium, Helen, sleeveless, damselfly headed to Field avalon and who knows...can' wait for the report

 

[MichaelJ]

It's great to hear you're making such awesome progress!

 

[Silverfox]

the final chapter..for now

So

today was the day for the final chat with the knee doc..

things have been going well..feeling good..

but nice to hear the professional opinion regarding the next 20 years..

doc asked how I was doing..I said that I had been hiking since may with
18 4k's done this summer

he took a note..looked at the xray again

I asked about skiing

he said.. no bumps..no jumps..I laughed and said i would try to contain myself

he looked at the leg..felt around a little bit


but what about the hiking I asked

and the answer was.." resume normal activities"..

he said this with a straight face..shook my hand and said congratulations

bottem line: I have touched base with alot of people over the past 6 months regarding the pre and post opp situations for this total knee replacement..I knew knee ache and swelling..pain with every step..ice and ibuprofen..

my advice.. if you have those symptoms and are over 50..well..what are you waiting for..get moving ..the technology is there..climbing and especially descending without issue is a pretty nice thing

happy trails

 

[Mohamed Ellozy]

Congratulations on returning (officially!) to health!

 

[MichaelJ]

Excellent!
(18 4K's without prior doctor's approval ... heh-heh!)

 

[una_dogger]

well, that's good news, because I wasn't sure I'd buy the Bold and Beautiful Pass this year....but this changes things!!!

Congrats, my friend, on a job well done!

 

[rocket21]

Good job, robofox!

 

[Cymbidium]

Congrats Silver Fox. It was a long an winding road.