It is that time of the month again…time for my monthly update. As of today’s date, I am 11 months post total knee replacement. Here are some of the results:
My scar is beautifully healed. Only the top 1.5” above my knee is discolored. I like my scar and view it as a trophy. 
I took care of it while it was healing.
My bionic knee still has flexibility issues. However, I expect that and work on it regularly. My total knee replacement was not your typical one. It was trauma related, so needs a longer recuperation process. Riding an upright bicycle is the key, I have found. The flexibility is better than before my surgery, though. I can get on the exercise bike much easier than previously.
My knee is still swollen, only less than last month. Still, the swelling increases after prolonged periods of standing or exercising. No complaints.
My knee has clicked a couple of times this period. It’s more of a curiosity than concern, however.
My range of motion has increased without the accompanying pain.
I can walk more than a city block without pain. This was not so before my total knee replacement.
I can ride my upright exercise bike at a lower seat level and greater tension with much more ease than previously. The pain level has diminished, also. (I probably shouldn’t say this because Murphy’s Law follows me around, you know).
The damaged nerve, caused by my former bone spur, results in painful sleeping. Sometimes, it bothers me during the day.
I can sit comfortably in a chair. This was not possible for months after my tkr.
The overall knee pain has diminished.
I can perform various yoga, belly dancing, Tai Chi, and stretching poses without much pain. Not prior.
Stairs are still a pain in the butt. Or..knee, back, leg – and pride.
Actually, not much else is different from my tenth month update. The biggest difference is the decrease in swelling and overall level of pain.
I have taken care of pain in my nonsurgical leg by using my tkr leg more.
Hope this helps others going through the exciting recuperation from a total knee replacement.
Filed under: TKR Updates | Tagged: belly dancing, bikes, bionic knee, bone spur, damaged nerve, exercise, exercise bikes, flexibility, icing, knee clicking, knee flexibility, knee flexion, knee injury, knee surgery, knee swelling, pain, painful sleeping, range of motion, recuperation, scars, stairs, stretching, surgery scar, Tai Chi, tkr, tkr scar, total knee replacement, trauma, trauma injury, updates, upright exercise bikes, yoga
It’s good to hear that even after 11 months you are still seeing progress. I have a recumbent bike and haven’t ridden an upright since surgery. I didn’t think it would make a difference until you pointed it out. It’s tempting to go to a gym just to try. I hope you continue to have less pain. I struggle with recuperation and look forward to the point where I can say it’s worth it like you did.
I don’t have a medical background, but your recovery seems to progress well. Best of lucks.
I am about two years post-op. It took that long fully to heal. But I was impatient and tore into rehab and perhaps I overdid it. Now I can ride a bike and walk for miles and miles. I do squats in the gym, do personal training and lead a yoga class. I’m seventy years old and I am relatively pain-free.
After my TKR (left knee) I got certified in personal training since I’d always been interested in fitness. I am not a yoga adept per se but the people I train wanted one day a week for yoga and so I teach what little I know and which I have made my own.
I can’t do yoga with as much flexibility as I once had, nor can I go fully down – or lift as much – with my squatting as I could before the TKR. But given my age there are many things I can’t do as I once used to! Having the TKR was a great thing for me. Now I have to learn to pull back a bit and accept the limitations as well as the positives of my new knee.
I would do it again…. and I may have to some day. It has been a great thing for me.
hey dave,
I am 6mos post op tkr and 49 yrs old. after reading your blog i want to be just like you when i grow up. how fantastic! keep up the great job and i look forward to some healing like yours in the next months ahead.
I am up for a new knee in May. i am 64 (today) and
social dance. Will I be able to square dance and tango
and waltz? If so when?
Thank you.
Sandra
Hi Sandra,
Thanks for your comment and for visiting my blog. You’ll have to ask your medical pro about your concerns.
I only write about my experiences and do not give medical advice.
Good luck!
I can do all those things, Sandra, so I don’t see why you couldn’t. It is important to keep your weight down. I’ve read that for every ten pounds you gain overall, there is forty pounds more stress on your knee. It will probably be a year before you feel comfortable enough to feel at ease — maybe more.
Thank you, David.
Hello Suzi,
Can you provide more than advertising and anecdotal evidence about the benefits of the dynamic splint? Have any scientific studies been done? I am very skeptical about such devices.
On the website you claim : “clinical studies have demonstrated a 53% average reduction in rehabilitation time and cost with the use of Dynasplint® Systems in conjunction with physical therapy.” Where are the clinical studies? Where are the references? How can we know tha it isn’t the “physical therapy” itself that is the key in the long run?
On reviewer wrote:
“I didn’t start using it until Jan.16th. Almost 2 whole months after my knee surgery. I am very unhappy with it. I even had to quit using the straightening splint as it pulled on my hip so bad I couldn’t stand it. I feel like the flex slpint is just as bad, and I have not improved at all since I started using them. I am going to quit using the flex as they want me to use it at least 6 hours a day, and I can’t sleep with it, and don’t have that much time for it. I use it about 4 huors a day, and can hardly walk after I use it. If there was a window of time for starting this, I think mine was way too late.” [http://www.topix.com/forum/health/knee-replacement/T6R9AC4NIIIMGS7CC]
Hard work — stretching, strength-training and yoga — is the way to go. Sure, there is pain involved. But you get nothing for nothing. If it seems to good to be true then it probably isn’t true. I suspect Dynasplint is another consumer product with more to claim in theory than in fact. I would love to be proved wrong.
I am a happy knee patient — now. I did nothing except work very hard. At times the pain was excruciating.
My life’s work is not to track down research articles and prove they are bogus or anecdotal- as the one I just read about the dancer. Pray tell me, what is “a senior saint?” And how would we know what is the result of PT and rehab and what the result of the splint? It is pure marketing gibberish to claim a 53% average reduction time. It’s like saying “30% fat-free.” It’s in essence just meaningless advertising fluff.
PS: Anybody want to buy a slightly used Thompson Unloader Brace? I can sell one very cheap- 90% off my cost. Yours for $100. And I can also send anecdotal evidence about how effective it is! Reduces pain by 83%.
Thank you, David. I agree, and know…Hard work is the only way to get the proper rehabilitation after a total knee replacement. No gimmicks.
I have deleted her advertisement since they were unfounded and this blog is not the place for such things.
Thanks Ms. Booktoots. There are no shortcuts to health and fitness. No pills, no ab or thigh reducer, no magic diet. Calories in and calories out is the secret to a healthy body- and that includes knees, and hips as well. Many knee problems can be traced to too much weight on the joint over the years. The most important exercise of all? The Pushaway. As in, “Thanks, I’ve had enough,” as you push away your plate and push yourself away from the table.
Thanks for your blog.
Hi, I had my knee done three months ago, just want to know is it safe to go to the gym? I have all the symptoms of every body else, I have torn my ligament several times I must be over doing my exersice. I go on my bike for about 15 mins a day is that to much?
Gwyn
Absolutely go to the gym. How old are you? How much do you weigh?
If you have to ask about going to the gym then you should certainly get there as soon as you can. I am not a doctor but if you really did tear ligaments then something is very very wrong. I doubt that you really did tear a ligament. To do that three months after a TKR would mean you went through an enormous amount of terrible pain. You would have experienced bleeding in the knee area and not been able to continue.
I think fifteen minutes of bke riding is the minimum you should do in the gym. You should get in there and play. Strengthen your upper body as well as your leg. It is all connected you know. You should concentrate on your pushaways, accept your real limitations, and use this as an opportunity to get yourself into the best shape of your life. It won’t be easy – but you can do it.
Hi Gwyn,
Exercising is important for proper tkr rehab. I’m not a medical pro, but know that riding an upright bike is imperative in your recuperation process.
I started out with only a couple of minutes and increased time as I progressed. Start with low tension and increase that slowly, also.
And, like David said, work on your upper body.
Good luck!