As I approach the one year mark on my second partial knee replacement, I have to say I couldn't be happier. I can now get onto my hands and knees - (Carefully and gently!!) And that facilitates my yoga practice. It is wonderful to once again do Cat/Dog and Lunges.
I find that the medial replacement is much more forgiving in this area.
I can do just about everything I want to. The only area that is not quite where I want it to be is carrying anything...even as little as 5 pounds...up or down stairs. And sitting for very long in a chair is still the biggest challenge! I can do it, but my knees will definitely not be happy the next day.
I promise a more complete update as I approach 1 year on my second knee..
Wednesday, September 17, 2014
Friday, May 16, 2014
Life has it's ups and downs..
Once again, everything was going so well...and then....Bang!!
Just a quick post today: my right knee has been feeling so awesome and normal, that I forget it is only 5 months old. It has come along so much more quickly than the left knee. I attribute that to multiple factors: it wasn't as bad to start with, I knew how to rehab it more effectively, there was no infection of stitches, the other leg is full-strength and supports it well.
So what did I do? Several possibilities, but the bottom line is I DID TOO MUCH!! So my knee talked back, and now it is hurting, and I am sitting again. The funny thing is how suddenly it came on: one minute it was fine, and then I placed my foot on a step, and had excruciating pain next to the scar, and couldn't put any weight on it. After a few hours of it getting worse not better, I put in a call to my doctor and saw him the next morning.
Diagnosis: Tendonitis.
Prognosis: It will heal.
Treatment: Rest, ice, heat, elevation, wrapping if desired, pain pills if desired. Preventative plan: Stop doing too much!!
Sigh. Well. The good news is that it is not a big deal. It will get better. Now I have an excuse to sit and get more paperwork and maybe a bit of sewing done. Life rolls on.
More good news: in the 5 months since this knee was repaired, I have finally been able to lose some weight: about a pound a month. That's not a super lot, but the only change has been the extra bits of energy I expend daily because I am moving more all the time. Nice.
Just a quick post today: my right knee has been feeling so awesome and normal, that I forget it is only 5 months old. It has come along so much more quickly than the left knee. I attribute that to multiple factors: it wasn't as bad to start with, I knew how to rehab it more effectively, there was no infection of stitches, the other leg is full-strength and supports it well.
So what did I do? Several possibilities, but the bottom line is I DID TOO MUCH!! So my knee talked back, and now it is hurting, and I am sitting again. The funny thing is how suddenly it came on: one minute it was fine, and then I placed my foot on a step, and had excruciating pain next to the scar, and couldn't put any weight on it. After a few hours of it getting worse not better, I put in a call to my doctor and saw him the next morning.
Diagnosis: Tendonitis.
Prognosis: It will heal.
Treatment: Rest, ice, heat, elevation, wrapping if desired, pain pills if desired. Preventative plan: Stop doing too much!!
Sigh. Well. The good news is that it is not a big deal. It will get better. Now I have an excuse to sit and get more paperwork and maybe a bit of sewing done. Life rolls on.
More good news: in the 5 months since this knee was repaired, I have finally been able to lose some weight: about a pound a month. That's not a super lot, but the only change has been the extra bits of energy I expend daily because I am moving more all the time. Nice.
Monday, May 5, 2014
April 15, 2014 Happy Knee Re-Birth-Day to me!!
Greetings readers! It has been a full year since my first partial knee MakoPlasty replacement. What a wonderful experience this has turned out to be. I feel better than I have in many years, and now that the second knee has been repaired, my activity level is increasing in such a way that my weight has finally begun to drop off.
At this point, the little scars on my shin and one of the ones on my thigh have disappeared. The main scar is much diminished, but who cares?! I am happy to show them off because they mean I can walk, run, jump. Although I don't do much to the latter two..by choice. I want this knee to last the rest of my life, and considering the longevity in my family, that could be another 37 years! (I'm 63, you do the math.)
My right knee, which is only 4 months old, is coming along much more quickly than the left one did. I have to remind myself that it has only been FOUR months!
I am not sure why the right knee seems to be healing so much more quickly. Here are my guesses:
1. It wasn't so as bad to start with - 80% collapse as opposed to bone-on-bone.
2. The left knee is strong and supports me fully.
3. The alignment in better, because it had not gotten as bad.
4. The right was medial, and the left was lateral.
I discovered a few days ago that I can carefully, (on a padded surface), settle myself onto hands and knees and do "cat/dog" Yoga poses. Lovely!! I have really missed my regular yoga practice. I never really stopped doing Yoga, but found the inability to get on my knees quite frustrating.
At this point, the little scars on my shin and one of the ones on my thigh have disappeared. The main scar is much diminished, but who cares?! I am happy to show them off because they mean I can walk, run, jump. Although I don't do much to the latter two..by choice. I want this knee to last the rest of my life, and considering the longevity in my family, that could be another 37 years! (I'm 63, you do the math.)
My right knee, which is only 4 months old, is coming along much more quickly than the left one did. I have to remind myself that it has only been FOUR months!
I am not sure why the right knee seems to be healing so much more quickly. Here are my guesses:
1. It wasn't so as bad to start with - 80% collapse as opposed to bone-on-bone.
2. The left knee is strong and supports me fully.
3. The alignment in better, because it had not gotten as bad.
4. The right was medial, and the left was lateral.
I discovered a few days ago that I can carefully, (on a padded surface), settle myself onto hands and knees and do "cat/dog" Yoga poses. Lovely!! I have really missed my regular yoga practice. I never really stopped doing Yoga, but found the inability to get on my knees quite frustrating.
Thursday, March 13, 2014
It's been a rough few weeks - and then - WONDERFULNESS!
Shortly after my last post, I came down with the wicked flu that is going around, so spent another 3 1/2 weeks doing almost nothing. It was terribly frustrating, because I had just begun to really re-build my muscles, and get back into normal activities.
Now that my health is back to normal I find myself filled with a level of energy that I have not felt for 5-6 years. It is so wonderful to feel so good! I am also losing weight...finally! I can only say that it has to be the increased movement, in little bits here and there.
I still find that I need to take time to sit with my legs extended at hip level. My second (right) knee still doesn't care to be sitting in a chair for very long.
Last week in my line dance class I found myself bending my knees when we were doing a waltz. I didn't have to think about it, it just happened. So lovely.
My surgeon mentioned that one nice thing about a partial knee (as opposed to a full replacement) is that it feels more normal. I do notice quite a bit of numbness on the lateral (outer) side of the left knee, but the right knee, which was a medial replacement, hardly has any numbness. It doesn't bother me, but it feels weird if I bump it.
This could very well be the conclusion of this blog. It has been quite a journey: a year ago I was in so much pain - walking with a cane because my left leg was so unstable. It was repaired on April 15, 2013. At that time, my right knee also hurt, but it wasn't giving out under me, locking and then releasing with a sharp stab of pain.
As the left knee healed, the right one continued to hurt...never as bad as the left one had, but ALL the time! Then one day I was sitting at a stop sign..I eased off the brake to creep forward for a better view...and when I pressed on the brake again I had a sharp pain that made me want to release the brake. That was when I knew my right knee needed to be repaired, too. So November 25 saw me back at the hospital, greeted by nurses that remembered me.
Today I walk, play with the dog, dance, run up and down stairs with ease. I LOVE my Mako-Plasty knees!! I will be always grateful to the surgeon, nurses, assistants, and the hospital that made this possible.
And once again I remind my readers: This is my personal experience. I am sharing it to offer insight for anyone who is suffering with osteoarthritis and looking for solutions. I was more fit and more active than the average 60-year-old American at the beginning of this journey, so perhaps my recovery and success are affected by that. If you are on this same path/journey, I wish you success and wonderfulness.
Now that my health is back to normal I find myself filled with a level of energy that I have not felt for 5-6 years. It is so wonderful to feel so good! I am also losing weight...finally! I can only say that it has to be the increased movement, in little bits here and there.
I still find that I need to take time to sit with my legs extended at hip level. My second (right) knee still doesn't care to be sitting in a chair for very long.
Last week in my line dance class I found myself bending my knees when we were doing a waltz. I didn't have to think about it, it just happened. So lovely.
My surgeon mentioned that one nice thing about a partial knee (as opposed to a full replacement) is that it feels more normal. I do notice quite a bit of numbness on the lateral (outer) side of the left knee, but the right knee, which was a medial replacement, hardly has any numbness. It doesn't bother me, but it feels weird if I bump it.
This could very well be the conclusion of this blog. It has been quite a journey: a year ago I was in so much pain - walking with a cane because my left leg was so unstable. It was repaired on April 15, 2013. At that time, my right knee also hurt, but it wasn't giving out under me, locking and then releasing with a sharp stab of pain.
As the left knee healed, the right one continued to hurt...never as bad as the left one had, but ALL the time! Then one day I was sitting at a stop sign..I eased off the brake to creep forward for a better view...and when I pressed on the brake again I had a sharp pain that made me want to release the brake. That was when I knew my right knee needed to be repaired, too. So November 25 saw me back at the hospital, greeted by nurses that remembered me.
Today I walk, play with the dog, dance, run up and down stairs with ease. I LOVE my Mako-Plasty knees!! I will be always grateful to the surgeon, nurses, assistants, and the hospital that made this possible.
And once again I remind my readers: This is my personal experience. I am sharing it to offer insight for anyone who is suffering with osteoarthritis and looking for solutions. I was more fit and more active than the average 60-year-old American at the beginning of this journey, so perhaps my recovery and success are affected by that. If you are on this same path/journey, I wish you success and wonderfulness.
Thursday, January 23, 2014
Once again, knee replacement = improved flute technique!
If you play, or have played, a wind instrument, or have had voice lessons this will not be a surprise to you. It's not a surprise to me....but it is a new discovery. It isn't quite the same as the last time when the improvement was sudden and unexpected.
My physical therapist taught me a technique which she calls her "internal brace." As I am working on that technique I discover if I can do it at the beginning of a longer passage, I can sustain my air longer. Totally cool.
It is a hard thing to describe in text, and I will make an attempt on my flute blog, but here's a brief effort:
My physical therapist taught me a technique which she calls her "internal brace." As I am working on that technique I discover if I can do it at the beginning of a longer passage, I can sustain my air longer. Totally cool.
It is a hard thing to describe in text, and I will make an attempt on my flute blog, but here's a brief effort:
- Place your thumbs just in front of your hip bones
- Point the fingers down and press in with your index finger
- Take a breath and expand this area, without pushing your gut out
- Breathe in and out while maintaining the pressure
- With practice it can become automatic
Good luck!
8 weeks, and things are looking up!
I think the pain in the back if my knee is finally gone! I have been focusing on stretching that area. My therapist had explained to me that the spot where it hurts is actually part of the hamstrings, and is tight. This strikes me as weird, because I have very flexible hamstrings after years of teaching yoga. The hamstring group of muscles affect two joints: the hip and the knee. What I have discovered is that the part near my hip is very flexible, but the part near my knee is not.
I have used self-massage to soften and stretch this area, and it has not been uncomfortable in the last few days. However, a new frustration has developed: pain medial to the incision. Sometimes it is severe enough that I cannot straighten the leg to walk. Arrggh! After having this happen 2-3 times, I finally decided that it is brought on when I sit where my knees are too deeply bent, such as our couch, or the porch steps, and some chairs. The spot that hurts is the place where the doctor explained they go through the joint capsule, and it just takes time to fully heal..months.
The hardest thing right now Is that my energy is much improved, making it hard to rest as much as I should. However, once I figured out that this "new" pain was being caused when I sit without elevating my legs, I took a day and spent it sitting on the day-bed, where I have spent most of my days since my surgery. It felt much better after that.
In the past 2 weeks I have taught line dance twice..it feels so normal, so nice to dance and not have pain, or feel unstable. I went to Zumba Gold last week, and that was fine. Next week, I will substitute teach the Zumba Gold class.
I still find the most difficult movement is to straighten my leg after having the knee bent. "Heel slides" are still impossible to do when I am lying down. If I sit up, I can do them. I expect that once the joint capsule is fully healed I will be able to do this exercise. Until then, there are plenty of other things I can do.
I have used self-massage to soften and stretch this area, and it has not been uncomfortable in the last few days. However, a new frustration has developed: pain medial to the incision. Sometimes it is severe enough that I cannot straighten the leg to walk. Arrggh! After having this happen 2-3 times, I finally decided that it is brought on when I sit where my knees are too deeply bent, such as our couch, or the porch steps, and some chairs. The spot that hurts is the place where the doctor explained they go through the joint capsule, and it just takes time to fully heal..months.
The hardest thing right now Is that my energy is much improved, making it hard to rest as much as I should. However, once I figured out that this "new" pain was being caused when I sit without elevating my legs, I took a day and spent it sitting on the day-bed, where I have spent most of my days since my surgery. It felt much better after that.
In the past 2 weeks I have taught line dance twice..it feels so normal, so nice to dance and not have pain, or feel unstable. I went to Zumba Gold last week, and that was fine. Next week, I will substitute teach the Zumba Gold class.
I still find the most difficult movement is to straighten my leg after having the knee bent. "Heel slides" are still impossible to do when I am lying down. If I sit up, I can do them. I expect that once the joint capsule is fully healed I will be able to do this exercise. Until then, there are plenty of other things I can do.
Sunday, January 19, 2014
My Six-Week Check-up
Six weeks. I am so very tired of sitting, and eager to start getting back to my normal activities. I have some worries, though, and am glad to have time to sit down and discuss them with my doctor. He takes a positive, practical approach and that soothes my worries.
My left knee, the one that is now 7 months post-surgery, has started making grinding noises as I go up the stairs..I fear it will deteriorate and I will end up needing a full knee replacement. My doctor's answer: "Don't worry about it! Living with arthritis means we adjust our behavior to avoid pain. Is there a way to keep it from grinding?" Answer that I have discovered if I lean forward a bit more, and put more of the lift come from the glutes it doesn't grind. He tells me to keep doing that.
Next worry: the pain behind my knee as come back. It is worse after sitting in a chair, and when we go for a walk, it hurts at the beginning, then goes away, and comes back again as I become fatigued. He tells me he wants me to get on a stationary bike. Ugh. I will do it, but it don't want to. I ask if I can swim, or get in a hot tub, and he says yes, that may help, too.
With my fitness background I want to go "all-out" and ask when I can do that. He grins and says "Never. You have to listen to your body, and be reasonable in exercising." OK. I can do that. One thing I have learned in this process is the importance of mindful exercise. My doctor's favorite statement on exercise is "if it hurts, don't do it." Wise advice.
Now I begin my own physical therapy program. I am on my own to rebuild my strength. I have almost full flexion in my knee. I fatigue very quickly. In a few days I will teach my Lind dance class for the first time in 6 weeks. I am excited, and a bit nervous.
My left knee, the one that is now 7 months post-surgery, has started making grinding noises as I go up the stairs..I fear it will deteriorate and I will end up needing a full knee replacement. My doctor's answer: "Don't worry about it! Living with arthritis means we adjust our behavior to avoid pain. Is there a way to keep it from grinding?" Answer that I have discovered if I lean forward a bit more, and put more of the lift come from the glutes it doesn't grind. He tells me to keep doing that.
Next worry: the pain behind my knee as come back. It is worse after sitting in a chair, and when we go for a walk, it hurts at the beginning, then goes away, and comes back again as I become fatigued. He tells me he wants me to get on a stationary bike. Ugh. I will do it, but it don't want to. I ask if I can swim, or get in a hot tub, and he says yes, that may help, too.
With my fitness background I want to go "all-out" and ask when I can do that. He grins and says "Never. You have to listen to your body, and be reasonable in exercising." OK. I can do that. One thing I have learned in this process is the importance of mindful exercise. My doctor's favorite statement on exercise is "if it hurts, don't do it." Wise advice.
Now I begin my own physical therapy program. I am on my own to rebuild my strength. I have almost full flexion in my knee. I fatigue very quickly. In a few days I will teach my Lind dance class for the first time in 6 weeks. I am excited, and a bit nervous.
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