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← Return to 8 weeks post op TKR , is exhaustion normal still
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8 weeks post op TKR , is exhaustion normal still
Joint Replacements | Last Active: May 17 3:11pm | Replies (37)Comment receiving replies
@sueinmn Thank you for your response. I think everyone has a different “normal”. I wouldn’t consider weed whacking for a half an hour anything remotely difficult or energy draining but it knocked me out. I have been physically active all my life and an avid hiker. with a fair amount of energy and vitality. Thank you for the words of support. I’ve been trying to understand why I’ve been getting so knocked out and have to lay down in the middle of the day. I’m 72. Many of my friends are 65-80 and are mountain climbers and long distance cyclists. I just want to get back to my old self and don’t know when enough activity is enough for the day. How do I know when to push a little more and when to stop? That’s the question I keep asking myself
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@skakle What a great question? As an active person and a hiker, you are accustomed to pushing yourself and having your body adjust. Now, in healing phase, your body is unable to accommodate you because it is using a great deal of energy just to HEAL. And your PT, even though it seems like it should be easy compared to what you are accustomed to doing, takes a lot of energy. Finally, if you are like many people after TKR, your sleep may still be disrupted by discomfort, so you are more tired during the day.
35-40 years ago as winter hit I would switch to training on a treadmill, and increase my time, speed, or elevation by 10% each week, and my body adjusted just fine. So a few years ago, I tried fast-paced walking after long illness, and attempted to use the same endurance plan - oof! It did not go well. At the same time I was working with an excellent PT to manage chronic pain, so we talked.
Here was the PT's advice (you and I are in the same age range):
Healing & recovery time increase as people get older.
Find your current maximum "non-crash" activity level, and do it for 2 weeks, then increase by 5% and see if you tolerate it. Do it 5-6 days a week if you you can, otherwise every other day .
After 2 or 3 months, try a hard push and see how your body responds - if you need a nap or have a day of fatigue, you can continue to try to challenge yourself. If you have a crash, go back to the conservative plan for a month and try again.
Does this sound reasonable to you?