Case Summary  |  Deanna's post operative treatment

In July I woke up and coudn't walk on my left knee. Cortisone shot didn't help, and an MRI revealed I needed a TKR which I had on Sept. 25th 2009. I experienced very little postoperative pain with the exception of nurses aids that didn't have a clue as to what they were doing. In home therapy resulted in a 75 degree bend and I've been doing outpatient therapy for 2 weeks and my bend has increased to 95 degrees....but not without a degree of discomfort inspite of the pain meds..but it's an improvement. I've recently been experiencing shin discomfort but nothing that will inhibit my recovery...I hope. Taking pain meds is the only way to keep the discomfort down and your therapy successful. They are the only way I get through my therapy. I must be lucky, because my therapy team is fantastic. At the end of my session they were stretching and bending my knee while my leg was hanging off a table. I was told I was "cheating" because I kept lifting my hip off the table and leaning. I told them I had sciatica and it was really hurting me through my hip and lower back. Now they lay me down, stretch and manipulate my knee on my back. The stretching part is more difficult this way for me in regards to the discomfort, but my sciatica doesn't interfer with my progress. Last time they took a measurement I was at a 95 degree bend. I'm diligent about doing bending exercises at home daily between therapy sessions and have learned when I need my pain meds and when I don't. Essentially I have been on my own since the 4th day after surgery and for me found that since I needed to do daily things for myself I became stronger faster than if I had someone do them for me. I know this isn't necessarily true for all, but for me it worked. They also informed me it would take about a year before I would lose the feeling that there is something foreign in my leg. I got that information also from a woman I know who had both of her knees done.