One of my blog posts consisted of an exercise involving kneeling on the floor. In the blog post I stated that I could do it. After giving it some more thought, I realized that was an understatement. A heavy duty understatement. Here’s the true story….
The end of this week will be my one year post-tkr date. How hard could it be to kneel on the floor? I found it to be a curious endeavor since in theory it seems like a great way to get more flexibility in my tkr knee. So, anyways…I tried the exercise out for size.
Kneeling on the floor involved my hanging on for dear life to something with each of my hands as I SLOWLY lowered my body to the floor. It was not a pretty sight. Once my knee hit the floor, I would not call it kneeling. It was more like a dreaded bend that was begging to be stopped. So after two seconds, I did.
As I held on to the sofa with one hand, and my exercise bike with the other hand, I started to lift myself back up. Sure is good that neither of those two vices could tip over. My return to an upright position was another vision for sore eyes.
I’m glad that exercise is over. 
Filed under: exercises | Tagged: blog, blog posts, blogger, blogging, Booktoots, exercise, exercise bike, knealing, knee exercise, knee flexibility, knee flexion, knee injury, knee surgery, physical therapy, pt, tkr, total knee replacement, weblog
omg! i am so glad that you were the brave one to try this exercise. i am reading this and imagining the whole thing as you were going DOWN. too funny, but not to funny if you would of fell. hey you gave it your best shot. i am so gald that this excercise is only for the tkr people that are at 12 months post op. i have another 6 months to NOT think about doing this. take care and keep up the great writing. i love it!
I know how you feel. You were very brave to do this all by yourself.
My PT wanted me to get down on the floor. She said studies show that people who are able to get up off the floor are more satisfied with their TKR than folks who are unable to perform this exercise. She put a padded pillow on the floor and I slowly placed my unoperated knee on the pillow followed by the other one. Then I placed my hands on the massage table and pulled myself up. I thought that would be good enough but au contraire.
Next exercise was to get down on the floor AGAIN on all fours and using my legs pull myself up into an upright position. This did not happen! I ended up dragging my carcass over to the pillow and table and hauling my body up. End of that exercise.
What did I learn? Don’t ever get on the floor unless I absolutely have to and I can’t imagine what would cause me to do so at this point. The other thing I learned is if I must get down on the floor, make sure I have a muscle-bound man in the house; make that a young and strong muscled man in the house.
So if anything falls on the floor under something, it’ll stay there a while until I can get an able-bodied soul to get it. (smile)
Wow, I can see we don’t all have the same flexibility! I have been on my knees for over 3 months now and I’m 7 months since surgery. I started when I wanted to do bridges on the carpet in our living room. First few times, I would go off the sofa from a sitting situation and then get on my knees when I needed to get back up. It wasn’t pretty and it was a little uncomfortable. I had a total hip replacement on the opposite side of my tkr last March. I don’t know if I would have tried to go on my knees if a friend of mine who had tkr a month earlier wasn’t already on her knees. Now I go down on my knees and get up much easier. I still don’t have the strength to get up using the tkr knee though, I use the other foot to get up so my tkr knee is still on the carpet when I get up. Can’t say there is much pain in my knee when I get up this way though. Don’t give up, it will come along one day.
I forgot to tell you that I use a piano bench, a dining room chair, a sofa, or a sofa chair to get up, can’t get up on my own otherwise although I did get up a couple of times without a chair. Don’t give up, you will be able to do it eventually! (Sleepless in Minnesota)
I’m not trying the floor….at least for a very long time! I just got the nerve a couple weeks ago to try using the jacuzzi bathtub…..I can get in and sit down okay…..but have to have my hubby come and help me get out….I’ve had 2 bubble baths so far and they were HEAVENLY…….lol…..can’t wait for summer to get here so I can swim again……
hey debi, i’m with you on that. i need to try a bubble bath sometime. it sounds great. but i guess i should wait until my hubby is home incase i can’t get up too. i would hate to be in the tub ALL DAY. lol . i’m just thinking that the only ones that are having fun with the recovery of our tkr, are the ones that are helping us out of the bubble baths and showers! haha. summer can’t come soon enough for me either. since my surgeries i love my pool. take care.
I am 6 weeks post op for my tkr. My doctor has told me I should never kneel again, as it compromises the prosthesis. Is this “kneeling” exercise something that your therapists have advised?
Thanks,
Karen
I hope you don’t mind me gate crashing your party, but haven’t personally had a TKR. However, my mother, who is 85 had one on the 18th April. I’m a nurse and have been taking care of her post operative rehabilitation, hands on in the first week and by distance since then. As she was signed off by her surgeon to fly and drive last week, I arranged for her to come to stay with me in a Mediteranean seaside location, where I have been practising yoga with my teacher Melanie Willsher for 3 weeks. When she arrived, Mum’s leg was noticeably swollen and discoloured, she complained of pain. She said that she was scared of kneeling and hadn’t yet been on the floor. Melanie spent an hour with her in her studio, teaching her exercises to reduce swelling, and increase flexibility and mobility. And as all the exercises were done lying on the back, she also taught her to stand up from the floor. Immediately after the class, the swelling and pain had disappeared. This lasted for two full days. Most imortantly, we went to the beach afterwards and Mum laid down on the beach for a snooze and then got up spontaneaoulsy without even thinking about it.
I really would recommend yoga to all of you, who are scared to get on the floor or kneel.
Best wishes for rapid rehabilitation to you all
Yoga, huh? I have never been able to do Yoga before……not sure I would be any better at it now, probably due to my weight more than age. I salute those who are lithe and nimble……
Swimming seems to be doing me a million worlds of good the past couple of weeks, so I will swim non stop until Labor Day, then whine for weeks after that when we shut down the pool.
When I get filthy rich (lol) I will have an indoor heated pool!
And now, I must go pull some weeds…..without kneeling on the ground!
Debi
Hi All,
I had my TKR on the 6th April 09 released from hospital on the 10th April 09.
My question is; The outside of my operation ‘cut’ has still not really come back to life ie still partly numb–is this common amongst you fellow sufferers and if so how do I get the full feeling back?
Regards Dennis D
ps I’m 75 years of age
Hi Dennis, if you are talking about the outer side of your knee area, then yes, it may stay numb forever……due to some nerve they cut during surgery…..as my swelling has gone down, mine is less numb than at first, but a definite numbness as compared to my other knee.
Also, your knee in generally will feel much warmer to the touch because it is healing from the inside out…..regular exercise is the key to recovery….I am at eight months post op…..
Debi
Dear Dennis,
I’m replying partially in my capacity as a nurse, and partially from how I’ve observed my mother’s healing. Numbness often persists for varying amounts of time after any incision, depending on which nerves are incised on the path through the skin layers, as nerves tissue is the longest to heal in the body. It’s nothing to worry about, and although sensitivity could take up to a year to return fully, it usually does return. Other indicators of the state of nerve healing include swelling and difference in colour compared to the other.
The way I countered this aspect in my mother’s case was to apply massages to the area around the wound and by reflexology to the feet, two to three times a day. When I left I taught my father to do the wound massage. I use a 10% blend of an essential oil of her choice and a base oil of sesame. Other oils which have a high penetration factor and thus nourish the deeper skin layers include apricot, carmeline and hemp. Find a reflexologist locally and treat yourself to a weekly massage.
And always remember….GOOD DIET and lots of fluids!!
best wishes
Karen
Karen, thank you for mentioning reflexology. People kept telling me to go get a massage but it wasn’t my body that was hurting. I started massaging with vitamin E and coco butter on the knee and found that to help. But my ankle was also aching and had my husband massage it. I found out there is a reflexologist just a few houses up the road and was highly recommended. Again that you for posting.
Hi Dennis,
Thanks for visiting my blog!
My incision area is still numb. I am 17 months post tkr and there is a 1″ radius around my entire scar that has no feeling.
It’s funny, but I never gave it a thought until I was responding to your comment.
Debi is right…exercise is the key to recovery.
Hope this helps.
i had a tkr on my left knee.on 23rd july
sitting and standing and even walking is fun. nights are horrible. cant seem to find a comfortable position to sleep. can s/o help
Dear Shreelekha,
It would be very unusual for you not to still be experiencing pain and discomfort, especially at night, only 3 weeks post op.
I would imagine that your physician has prescribed analgesics for you to take at your discretion, and I would advise you to try and balance the daily dose of analgesics so as to take account of when the pain peaks. If you have the greatest pain at night, take your last intake of pain killers just before you go to bed so that they will be giving you maximum effect throughout the night. Don’t be frightened to take pain killers for as long as you need them, as the need will diminiish as the healing takes effect.
Also, if you have a cold pack, apply when you go to bed to help you get off to sleep.
It should take about 6 weeks for the debilitating nd imobilising effects of pain and swelling to recede. Stick with it, it will get better!
Hi Shreelekha,
We understand about the sleeping discomfort. I’ve written various posts about that subject. Search through this site for more info.
Good luck! It does get easier, just takes time.
The above comments on TKR were very helpful. It seems we all recover in different periods of time. It is 20 weeks since my op. and can only bend to about 80 degrees – the leg is still numb but improving. I find sleeping with a little pillow between my legs is comfortable. Before the op I was dragging my leg now I can almost walk normally. Still need exercises.
Hey Booktoots, your twelve-month kneeling exercise reminds me of a night when I somehow forgot about my tkr in getting into bed. A momentary lapse of memory – otherwise known as a senior moment perhaps? Instead of my technique of sitting on the side of the bed and swinging my legs up and outwards onto the bed, I did what I often used to do – that is I tried to get up by kneeling with one leg – yes that’s right, the tkr one! Immediately I did it I could feel it was all wrong and somehow turned the whole thing into a roll to protect my knee. You should have seen the look on my husband’s face as I did this weird commando roll onto the bed! But more amazing I think would have been to see the look on MY face as I did it. You have to laugh ……
lol…I have caught myself almost doing the same thing….because my bed is so tall, it’s easier to climb in than to sit on and turn….
This has been very informative for me. Had my tkr in feb and was wondering about the numbness and pain I get every so often in bed behind the knee.
I am over 4 months post op, can anyone tell me how long the tight band round the knee lasts please??
Hi Ann,
Thanks for leaving your comment. The front of my knee is still tight on a daily basis. It loosens up after exercise, however. Hope this helps.
Keep in touch and good luck!
Thanks for reply. My knee is at its best (if you can call it that) first thing in the morning. I can walk about without my sticks….. Then it starts to tighten and get very painful….. I do my excercises 3to4 times a day. Had xray today and its OK…. Doctor can’t explain why I am in a lot of pain……just says some people can take a year to feel ok……and 5% dont get any better…….. feeling very down with it all……Sorry to moan.
Hi Ann,
You’re feeling down is totally understandable at four months post tkr.
This just shows how we’re all different in some way. My knee is tightest first thing in the morning. Then, it loosens as the day goes on.
Don’t let your doctor convince you that you’re in the five percent that won’t get any better. Due diligence on your part will pay off.
Good luck!