Another thing Marie of Booktoots's Weblog posted was Don’t Stop Exercising After A TKR. I'm still going through physical therapy, and may go through it for another 2-3 months. I should be able to walk around the building next door maybe around 3 months if not sooner with the assistance of a cane. I can see her point in saying that we shouldn't stop exercising. Walking is probably the best thing to do after this and even way afterwards. I had arthroscopies some years ago, and was a delivery driver around that time. That meant a lot of walking and using steps. That probably helped me out in getting back to walking quickly.
My doing water walking and using the hot tub at the local rec center before the second surgery most likely did a great job in my being able to walk further than I did the first time and head on home. After the first surgery, I couldn't even go far out of the hospital room and went on to a rehab facility for 3 weeks.
Either way, one thing that's been recommended by doctors and therapists is a heating pad. Wrap it around your thigh in a way that even the knee joint will get the benefit of warmth. Use a medium heat setting for about 30 minutes, then start doing stretches and other exercises. Using a hot tub or similar can have the same benefits. Electric blankets may sound like a good idea, but they most likely won't do as good a job as the pads. The ones measuring 12 x 24 are an excellent size. I use the medium setting for 20-30 minutes. This would be the second setting in a 3- or 4- setting control. Any higher and burns may occur in the surgical area.
I'm still not quite there in terms of pedaling a bike. I tried at therapy, but wasn't able to do the full cycle on a stationary. I'll try again, this time adjusting the seat higher.
Related post - Post-Knee Surgery Exercises.
I'm using a leg press during therapy, using 60 pounds, doing 3 sets of 15 repetitions. Check with your therapist if you're allowed to do this and what to use.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Stairs and the knees
Booktoots's Weblog had an interesting posting on A Possible Stairs Maneuver for TKR Folk. Stairs are a concern for those with knee issues including post-surgery recovery. We know that the knees, hips, and ankles/feet are the most-used joints when using the stairs. It's a major help if the stairwell has railings. Some of us may never be able to take the steps two or three at a time.
What do you do with the wall if there is one on one side and the railing is on the other? Sure, we'll use it to steady ourselves, but after a bit of time, all that touching adds up to become black handmarks and streaks. A good scrubbing with a cleaning agent works wonders.
Marie's post mentioned an email from someone who was going down the steps backwards, but she wasn't able to do so. For some of us with knee replacements, it's a most logical method since our new knees may not be able to go downstairs the normal way at first. I've been using this method since my knee issues started. After I returned from a wedding my sister said that she was impressed by the way I "flew down the steps backwards."
There are hazards to this. Being familiar with your own steps works. If you miss a step, three things can happen. You'll hit the next stop down and nothing will happen, it will hurt, or fall painfully down the remainder of the steps. An alternative would be sidestepping down, a slow method. Work with a therapist on this to develop methods that will work for you.
What do you do with the wall if there is one on one side and the railing is on the other? Sure, we'll use it to steady ourselves, but after a bit of time, all that touching adds up to become black handmarks and streaks. A good scrubbing with a cleaning agent works wonders.
Marie's post mentioned an email from someone who was going down the steps backwards, but she wasn't able to do so. For some of us with knee replacements, it's a most logical method since our new knees may not be able to go downstairs the normal way at first. I've been using this method since my knee issues started. After I returned from a wedding my sister said that she was impressed by the way I "flew down the steps backwards."
There are hazards to this. Being familiar with your own steps works. If you miss a step, three things can happen. You'll hit the next stop down and nothing will happen, it will hurt, or fall painfully down the remainder of the steps. An alternative would be sidestepping down, a slow method. Work with a therapist on this to develop methods that will work for you.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Can You Smell Me Now?
The person who cleaned the office refrigerator had allergies and had nasal surgery, didn't smell a thing.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/05/13/foul.refrigerator/
Weird Al Yankovic's Like A Surgeon came to mind when I asked Sherlock Steve about it. He related the story of how he had to clean the refrigerator at work, putting on protective clothing and gloves.
Just leaving food in there piling up is pretty much asking for it.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/05/13/foul.refrigerator/
Weird Al Yankovic's Like A Surgeon came to mind when I asked Sherlock Steve about it. He related the story of how he had to clean the refrigerator at work, putting on protective clothing and gloves.
Just leaving food in there piling up is pretty much asking for it.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Upcoming 2010 Census
Reading Sherlock Steve's Use Caution with 2010 Census Workers!, I had the feeling this was going to happen sooner or later. They're brazenly going from email to doing it in broad daylight, especially in this age when some people have security cams on their front porch, guard dogs, weapons, etc. But some are still going to do it in email and in fake websites.
He's right when he says never invite them into the house. Perfect opportunity for a home invasion, burglary, and murder to happen. Ask yourself *WHY* these people need your financial and SSN info when all they're doing is counting people.
Here's a little more info from the Census site;
Are You In A Survey?
In the Household Surveys tab, there's "Is This Person a Census Bureau emploee?" and "Is this a legitimate phone call?" Important info there.
He's right when he says never invite them into the house. Perfect opportunity for a home invasion, burglary, and murder to happen. Ask yourself *WHY* these people need your financial and SSN info when all they're doing is counting people.
Here's a little more info from the Census site;
Are You In A Survey?
In the Household Surveys tab, there's "Is This Person a Census Bureau emploee?" and "Is this a legitimate phone call?" Important info there.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
The Beltway Sniper Execution
Back in 2002, it was a time of fear, with people reducing their activities or making themselves less of a target for the sniper. As time went by, I noticed he was hitting one target per county. Malvo and Muhammad's biggest mistake was stopping at a rest area to sleep, and it took an alert trucker and some other people to box them in and call the police. This, fortunately, stopped the shootings.
CNN had a story on Muhammad's execution.
Had the police not ignored the reports of a Chevy Caprice and focused on the white box trucks at first, the spree could have ended sooner. It was noticeable with people making fast tracks to their car or the store as well as sitting in their cars while pumping gas. There was even a gas station owner who found the largest tarp he could find and hung it from the roof above the pumps thus shielding his customers from being the next target.
When the sniper hit the FBI analyst, I had the feeling the FBI would take it personally. Seems they did. I was elsewhere 5 miles away finishing up on a bowling game and preparing to head home. Fortunately, I was stuck in the the beginning part of the backups, but it got much worse not long afterwards. I've been to the area where that shot was made. Law enforcement bottlenecked the traffic on the highway I was on, throttling it down from about 3-4 lanes to one. They did this to other major roadways. Many agents had automatic weapons other than their usual service weapons. Just about every highway exit had at least one law enforcement vehicle and agent standing there.
Out at the Newseum, they had a replica of the car used for the shootings, but this one didn't have the hole in the trunk the original car had. This hole allowed them to place their deadly shots. They also had the Unabomber's cabin on display as well. They may still be there today.
Personally, I'm glad they've removed both suspects from society...
CNN had a story on Muhammad's execution.
Had the police not ignored the reports of a Chevy Caprice and focused on the white box trucks at first, the spree could have ended sooner. It was noticeable with people making fast tracks to their car or the store as well as sitting in their cars while pumping gas. There was even a gas station owner who found the largest tarp he could find and hung it from the roof above the pumps thus shielding his customers from being the next target.
When the sniper hit the FBI analyst, I had the feeling the FBI would take it personally. Seems they did. I was elsewhere 5 miles away finishing up on a bowling game and preparing to head home. Fortunately, I was stuck in the the beginning part of the backups, but it got much worse not long afterwards. I've been to the area where that shot was made. Law enforcement bottlenecked the traffic on the highway I was on, throttling it down from about 3-4 lanes to one. They did this to other major roadways. Many agents had automatic weapons other than their usual service weapons. Just about every highway exit had at least one law enforcement vehicle and agent standing there.
Out at the Newseum, they had a replica of the car used for the shootings, but this one didn't have the hole in the trunk the original car had. This hole allowed them to place their deadly shots. They also had the Unabomber's cabin on display as well. They may still be there today.
Personally, I'm glad they've removed both suspects from society...
Friday, January 1, 2010
Looking back on 2009
It's been an interesting year for me. Going through two surgeries (well, one in December 2008 and another in November 2009), being in a rehab facility, and a few months worth in physical therapy will pretty much tire out people. But I needed these two surgeries. I'm already feeling a whole lot better than I was in the last 2-3 years leading up to the surgeries. The left knee's bone on bone condition didn't just hurt there, but caused me to be in pain all over.
I spent a lot of time in recovery, just trying to get back to how I was before the surgeries. That may take awhile, but I'm getting there. I still have at least some exercises to do, mostly getting the right knee to bend more. I'll still need to keep up the exercises here and there. Swimming does a great job, and it helped out in my not needing to go to a rehab facility, just head home with home health services. The physical therapist I worked with at the hospital watched me go from walking just outside my hospital room the day after surgery to the other end of the hall the day I was to head home.
The surgeries helped out in more ways than one. But of course, you're going to be a captive in your home, with people helping you out with some things. I was a growly and grumpy guy before the first one due to all the pain both knees were in. Now, if any pain, it's quite manageable. I'd like to walk to the grocery store up the road and back home. Getting back to classes is another. This one may take awhile, maybe a couple years - bowling. At least some of us have had that painful experience of having the ball swipe our knee on the downstroke just before release. Let's hope I don't crack the ball when that happens with me. While there may be some things I may never do again, like running or some sports like basketball, I can still do other things.
Sherlock and I want to lose some weight. I've got a weight set here at home that took me several days to assemble alone just before my second surgery. I've not been able to use it since I can't get down to where it is since those steps don't have handrails.
I still got my volunteer job. They know I've been out for the surgeries, returning from the first one a few months afterward. Someone will carry a computer to my workspace for me when I'm unable to do so. Computer distributions are tougher. I can't carry the computers or monitors from downstairs to upstairs as there's only steps. I help out in other ways, though.
2010 leading into 2011 should be good years for me in terms of doing what I couldn't do before the surgeries.
Drive safely out there. Use a sober designated driver or a taxi if you've been drinking. Drunk driving demolishes more lives than one.
I spent a lot of time in recovery, just trying to get back to how I was before the surgeries. That may take awhile, but I'm getting there. I still have at least some exercises to do, mostly getting the right knee to bend more. I'll still need to keep up the exercises here and there. Swimming does a great job, and it helped out in my not needing to go to a rehab facility, just head home with home health services. The physical therapist I worked with at the hospital watched me go from walking just outside my hospital room the day after surgery to the other end of the hall the day I was to head home.
The surgeries helped out in more ways than one. But of course, you're going to be a captive in your home, with people helping you out with some things. I was a growly and grumpy guy before the first one due to all the pain both knees were in. Now, if any pain, it's quite manageable. I'd like to walk to the grocery store up the road and back home. Getting back to classes is another. This one may take awhile, maybe a couple years - bowling. At least some of us have had that painful experience of having the ball swipe our knee on the downstroke just before release. Let's hope I don't crack the ball when that happens with me. While there may be some things I may never do again, like running or some sports like basketball, I can still do other things.
Sherlock and I want to lose some weight. I've got a weight set here at home that took me several days to assemble alone just before my second surgery. I've not been able to use it since I can't get down to where it is since those steps don't have handrails.
I still got my volunteer job. They know I've been out for the surgeries, returning from the first one a few months afterward. Someone will carry a computer to my workspace for me when I'm unable to do so. Computer distributions are tougher. I can't carry the computers or monitors from downstairs to upstairs as there's only steps. I help out in other ways, though.
2010 leading into 2011 should be good years for me in terms of doing what I couldn't do before the surgeries.
Drive safely out there. Use a sober designated driver or a taxi if you've been drinking. Drunk driving demolishes more lives than one.
Monday, December 28, 2009
Post-Surgery Right Knee - Part 4
I just graduated from home health care services to outpatient therapy. I've got my therapy schedule of appointments for the next two months.
I can walk slowly around some in the house without the walker, though limited, as long as I'm near something to hold onto. Steps are slow going as well now that I'm just starting to use the knee to climb steps. With the cane, it's slow going til I get more flexibility in the knee. I can straighten it out to within maybe 5-10 degrees of being straight. I think I've straightened it out a few times. I've used a heating pad on the knee to help it get more extension to around 90-95 degrees. I couldn't use it while on the blood thinner medication, though I'm off it now.
The surgical area does look pretty good and the butterfly strips have fallen off. It's still a bit sensitive, which sometimes gives me trouble sleeping at night. I should be able to sleep through the night in maybe a couple months.
The 16-20 inch snowfall we had kinda made me miss doing the snow shoveling, something I've been doing over the years. One snowfall in Kentucky took me 3 days to shovel the driveway due to the bitter cold and wind chills, thus I wasn't able to stay out long. I did manage to make two 5-6 foot snow piles on both sides of the driveway. Took a bit over a month to melt.
I can walk slowly around some in the house without the walker, though limited, as long as I'm near something to hold onto. Steps are slow going as well now that I'm just starting to use the knee to climb steps. With the cane, it's slow going til I get more flexibility in the knee. I can straighten it out to within maybe 5-10 degrees of being straight. I think I've straightened it out a few times. I've used a heating pad on the knee to help it get more extension to around 90-95 degrees. I couldn't use it while on the blood thinner medication, though I'm off it now.
The surgical area does look pretty good and the butterfly strips have fallen off. It's still a bit sensitive, which sometimes gives me trouble sleeping at night. I should be able to sleep through the night in maybe a couple months.
The 16-20 inch snowfall we had kinda made me miss doing the snow shoveling, something I've been doing over the years. One snowfall in Kentucky took me 3 days to shovel the driveway due to the bitter cold and wind chills, thus I wasn't able to stay out long. I did manage to make two 5-6 foot snow piles on both sides of the driveway. Took a bit over a month to melt.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Post-surgery Right Knee - Part 3
I had the staples removed Friday morning by the nurse and Jamie was around. She said it was an interesting experience watching them get removed. All that's left are the butterfly strips, and even then, they're falling off. The incision area looks quite good.
As for the CPM, I'm now up to around 85-90 degrees, letting the knee joint warm up after some flexes. Has anyone fallen asleep after a bit of time on the CPM? I think I'm soon to go from home health care to outpatient therapy. The occupational therapist was around earlier, watched me do things, and said I don't need any extra help.
I'm not yet able to do any cooking, but I can get stuff from the refrigerator to the table via multiple transfers. I place the items on a nearby counter, then I move near the table and then move the items from the counter to the table.
Could be next month when I get to using a cane and maybe another month or two for me to be able to get down the the basement since the steps don't have railings. It's just five steps down, but I'm not going to use the wall to help get up or down.
Looking at the now-healed left knee, it reminds me how far I've come and what's left to be done.
As for the CPM, I'm now up to around 85-90 degrees, letting the knee joint warm up after some flexes. Has anyone fallen asleep after a bit of time on the CPM? I think I'm soon to go from home health care to outpatient therapy. The occupational therapist was around earlier, watched me do things, and said I don't need any extra help.
I'm not yet able to do any cooking, but I can get stuff from the refrigerator to the table via multiple transfers. I place the items on a nearby counter, then I move near the table and then move the items from the counter to the table.
Could be next month when I get to using a cane and maybe another month or two for me to be able to get down the the basement since the steps don't have railings. It's just five steps down, but I'm not going to use the wall to help get up or down.
Looking at the now-healed left knee, it reminds me how far I've come and what's left to be done.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Kids Say the Darndest Things
Art Linkletter said it all when they said the darndest things in his live TV show some years ago (no, I never saw it), and the books.
Awhile ago, Sherlock Steve posted something on his blog, tidbitting around, that I passed on to him that killed me laughing when I read it.
Just the other day, I found this, which blew me apart...
Po-tate-o, Po-tat-o
They've always got the ability to bring down the house without trying...
Awhile ago, Sherlock Steve posted something on his blog, tidbitting around, that I passed on to him that killed me laughing when I read it.
Just the other day, I found this, which blew me apart...
Po-tate-o, Po-tat-o
They've always got the ability to bring down the house without trying...
Friday, November 27, 2009
Post-surgery Knee and Bonus - Part 2
It's good being home. I'd probably have driven the rehab center people nuts, maybe only stayed for up to a week.
Thanksgiving was a buffet at a local hotel. Quite a good buffet dinner. Next year, we grill the turkey. If there's snow, expect melted snow in front of the grill, an outdoor brick thing. It cooks nicely.
I can tolerate the CPM machine for as long as I can lay on my back. I previously couldn't sleep on my back due to the knees, now I can. I just went 3 hours straight. I'm up to 75 degrees flexion, but the tape holding the dressings and the staples are kind of holding me back from doing more. I can briefly do 80 before going back.
Staple count for this surgery: 28. It was 32 last year.
Thanksgiving was a buffet at a local hotel. Quite a good buffet dinner. Next year, we grill the turkey. If there's snow, expect melted snow in front of the grill, an outdoor brick thing. It cooks nicely.
I can tolerate the CPM machine for as long as I can lay on my back. I previously couldn't sleep on my back due to the knees, now I can. I just went 3 hours straight. I'm up to 75 degrees flexion, but the tape holding the dressings and the staples are kind of holding me back from doing more. I can briefly do 80 before going back.
Staple count for this surgery: 28. It was 32 last year.
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