Hot Diggity's knee replacement thread

I don't know what it is about the cold for me, but even after a rough day struggling to walk with my cane I feel better at night. Having forty degree temperature swings from noon to midnight means I get up and go for walks in the middle of the night.

Over the last three nights I've gone 200 yards, first with my cane, and the next night carrying the cane. Tonight I went closer to 500 yards and felt like I could've done more. I'll keep adding distance without support and see how it goes.

I did a lot of work on my feet today. Then I went fishing. Managed to snap off a lure in a tree branch, but it fell into the creek and I got it back.

Coming back down the creek bank I stepped on a branch that just happened to lift up behind me and poke me right in the toe of my right shoe. Trouble was, I was trying to bring the right foot forward at the time and the stick prevented it.

Fortunately I was able to do an awkward hop on my left leg and get the right foot free. I'm thinking that a backpack for my fishing gear and a set of hikers poles might be good fall prevention for me any time I go off road.

 

Took the shorter, more agile mountain bike out today and did a ten mile loop on the Greenway.

Knee only tightened up as I was walking the bike around the memorial, but a little stretch fixed it up.

Better every day.

 

Today's unpleasant discovery was a bit of a surprise.

The new knee works perfectly for walking, climbing stairs, and even kneeling on a pad. It's a wonder piece of mechanical engineering, but with the exercises I've been doing it's a one trick pony.

Like the backhoe, the knee works fine on one plane.


If you lay the backhoe on it's side, it will be straining to hold up its own weight on pivots that aren't designed to work on that axis. This is exactly how the knee feels. In bed I can slide it around against the other leg. Stretching out the leg off the side of a narrow sofa it was instantly obvious that I have to work on strength in this area if possible.

 

1 July 2023. About seven months out from surgery. I've tested the limits of what the new knee can do, and have adapted to those limitations.

One limitation that I thought I had was running. I tried a few steps at work and felt like I might be limited to a slow jog.

That all changed when I got back on the beach and could feel the sand with my bare feet. Once I found the sand with just the right moisture I took off at a full sprint and did pretty close to my old distance of seventy yards in forty steps. I was amazed at how winded I got on the first sprint and took a full minute to recover between each of three laps.

I know that I'd found the rubber track at the Base gym with running shoes on at least as low impact as the beach, and I won't have to walk 3/4 of a mile to find a clear stretch of beach on holiday weekends.

I'm just overjoyed that I can still sprint, and felt absolutely natural doing it. This will get me back to my old fitness routine and is a huge morale boost!

 

My best friend gets a new knee on the 20th. Gets the next one in 90 days because they are so bad. Any short term advice?

 

Have had both knees replace --first one babied it for weeks big mistake. 2nd knee day after surgery got up and moved around didn't baby it went to rehab did what the said to do. Recovery much faster than first knee

 

I did the physical therapy right up until I went back to work. I had many nice young lady therapists and all were excellent at pushing me along toward a faster recovery. Back at work I get plenty of bending and stretching, and I've been adding more bike and walking. Now I can run at the gym until all the tourists leave the beach again in September. Then I'll run in the sand as long as it's above 45 degrees. It seems like the sand is less forgiving when your feet are cold. The gym is always the same temperature.

 

Best advice for the knee is to get moving as soon as you can and keep moving as often as you can. I also had to adapt a lot of things due to the mechanical limits of the knee. I have low stools all around the work shop and 2" thick pads to sit and kneel on. This will be essential with both knees done because there's not enough flex to do a full squat. Adjustable round medical stools are great. Super light and easy to adjust. When I have to crawl at the range I've found that my old knee pads were enough. Just can't put the new knee down on a hard surface. Feels really unpleasant.

 

I'm at about a year and a half on my knee replacement, and I still can't get on my knee . And it starts to hurt somewhere after 90 degrees bend. I started working on bending the knee early the morning after surgery,, while the pain blockers was still in my system .

 

I got way more flex, far faster than they expected. I got past 120 degrees about the time I was able to ride my bike, and I'm mechanically limited to about 135 degrees. That's about where the old busted knee would bend, so I'm okay with that.

Both my jobs involve a lot of crawling, kneeling and squeezing into spaces that I shouldn't be able to fit into.

I worry what will happen to the knee if I get squashed beyond it's limit, but try not to think about it and just enjoy everything that I can do.

 

Finding the limits of the new knee feels just like this.

 

I'm Baaack!!! Did my sprints, 6 x 70 yards, this evening and walked about a mile down the beach.

I feel like this is a good sign that I'm back to normal. Now I just need to eat right, keep up my sprints and other exercises and I'm hoping to be able to wear all my favorite clothes again

 

Ha, Sasquatch has been on your beach for romantic walks at night.
Recovery is looking good man, Congrats!

 

What is your time from knife to normal?

 

It'll never me normal to the point where I forget I even had the joint replaced like I have with the hip replacement. With the knee from knife to running full speed was 9 months.

 

Same it took about 6-9 months for both to recover, they will never be the same as pre knee problems but they sure are better than what they were bone on bone was killing me and my legs looked like I just got off a horse ----nice and straight now. Knelling still hurts a bit and I guess that won't change. My buddy just had hi right knee down on Thursday needs the other done s well.