Knee Replacement, Week Five
Yesterday (Saturday) marked one month since the knee replacement. Hard to believe, especially with the slow recovery. At my best, I've only been able to achieve 84º flexion. I really hoped to be at 95º. I've been working harder on my exercises, but the progress is still slow. On Thursday, I found some good exercises in a book written by a physical therapist called Fast Track Your Knee Replacement Recovery. Three of them are easily done while lying down on the bed, and they can be done anytime, no equipment needed. They are building strength in the quad muscles AND causing a gentle stretch over the surface of the knee, which is where it is sooooooooo tight (and where the pain occurs when I overdo the stretch). Another stretch I'm doing uses a chair as a "lever" to easily stretch the same area. The good part of this is that the stretches and the bend they cause are NOT supposed to be intense enough to cause pain-- only to the point of some discomfort.
I also found a good, supportive online forum where I can read other people's stories and experiences and ask questions if I want to. The activity on this forum is high with new posts and comments every day. There are 4 or 5 of us on the forum who had a knee replacement on the same day! It's called BoneSmart. As I read, I keep finding elevation and ice emphasized over and over. Ice, I know about; but elevation (i.e., with knee higher than heart) is not something I've been doing, so I've added that to the routine whenever I ice and sleep. I plan on reading more of the forum tonight to try and get a handle on whether or not I should have the right knee done, as planned, on Nov. 14 (three weeks from this past Thursday... or 2-1/2 weeks from now). I feel like I'm walking well enough to see myself walking normally by that time. However, I need to get my knee much stronger and more stable with weight-bearing because it'll have to support me after the right knee is done.
Two very helpful websites on knee replacement recovery: My Knee Guide and Very Well Health.
As it turned out this past Friday, I did not go to the Homecoming game. I did see Kay briefly that afternoon when she dropped by to pick up her Grace scrapbooks. She was very talkative, as though nothing had changed.
More to follow...
I also found a good, supportive online forum where I can read other people's stories and experiences and ask questions if I want to. The activity on this forum is high with new posts and comments every day. There are 4 or 5 of us on the forum who had a knee replacement on the same day! It's called BoneSmart. As I read, I keep finding elevation and ice emphasized over and over. Ice, I know about; but elevation (i.e., with knee higher than heart) is not something I've been doing, so I've added that to the routine whenever I ice and sleep. I plan on reading more of the forum tonight to try and get a handle on whether or not I should have the right knee done, as planned, on Nov. 14 (three weeks from this past Thursday... or 2-1/2 weeks from now). I feel like I'm walking well enough to see myself walking normally by that time. However, I need to get my knee much stronger and more stable with weight-bearing because it'll have to support me after the right knee is done.
Two very helpful websites on knee replacement recovery: My Knee Guide and Very Well Health.
As it turned out this past Friday, I did not go to the Homecoming game. I did see Kay briefly that afternoon when she dropped by to pick up her Grace scrapbooks. She was very talkative, as though nothing had changed.
More to follow...