Good for you Larry - best wishes for a speedy recovery!
I had a total knee on my
totaled right knee laugh-2x: ) in Jan. 2019 and while the first 10 days or so were pretty tough, I worked my butt off on the exercises, cut off the meds after day 8-11 or so, and kept bashing away until I had 145 deg. of flex and OEM strength, flexibility and
no pain. The key is to do your exercises relentlessly, endlessly, and
ad nauseum—and the whole procedure will pay off. I can now charge up and down stairs, climb ladders, kneel on the ground, and for the first time since I injured it in a fall at age 14, I have no pain in my right knee. I can ride a bicycle and even skate (roller or ice) which, at age 66, ain't too shabby IMO.
The best time for a knee job is the dead of winter as you
must not slip and fall in the first week or two and should have nothing else to do except your physio and exercises - at every available opportunity. If you are considering a knee replacement, my advice is to
do it as it will change your life - but only if you do the exercises, relentlessly etc. etc. I didn't bother with swimming pools - just do the following:
- sit on your bum, wrap a belt around your ankle and pull your foot as hard as you can stand (ideally until your heel hits your bum) - 20 reps ~ 10 times /day.
- stand next to a kitchen counter and hold onto it - and then using your ankles, rise up on the balls of your feet - and do that about 30-40 times ~10 times / day.
- sit on the floor with your heel pressed down, drape a 1-2 lb bag of sugar over your ankle and flex your knee to raise your heel off the floor ~ 10 reps 5-10 times / day.
- twice a week, I went to the physiotherapist who would massage my knee and put me on a stationary bike for 20-30 minutes.
My doc told me that I could pull
as hard as I liked on my ankle to
force the knee to bend and I
could not / would not dislodge or break anything. The only way I could damage the new knee installation would be to put my weight on it - and twist my upper body. That could turn out to be very bad.
By 2-3 weeks I could climb stairs and walk around quite well, by five weeks I could drive a car, and by the end of March (about 8-9 weeks post-surgery) when the crummy weather cleared off (
Canada ya know) I could get on my bikes and ride without any difficulties.
Cheers and all the best,
Pete