Kneeling with artificial knee

@ellerbracke, I would like to invite some of the members who discussed kneeling after a total knee replacement with you in some of those other discussions you mentioned: @contentandwell, @debbraw, @kdo0827, and @beryl.

Like you said, I don't do it on mine, it is uncomfortable and painful. I was told not to do it, but that was 13 years ago now. However, I do have an easier time putting weight on it outdoors on soft surfaces (such as soil or grass). If you don't mind me asking, how long have you had your new knee?

Hi @ellerbracke - I'm with @JustinMcClanahan - I just don't do it. My doctor didn't tell me not to, but he did say that kneeling was one of the things his patients consistently mentioned as being uncomfortable after TKR - and if it's not necessary, don't do it. Since you are a gardener, I can totally understand why you want to be able to kneel. For me, it's not an important part of anything I do, so I just haven't made the effort to get there. Just curious, how are you on range of motion? I would think that at 3 months out, you could still expect a little improvement on that which might benefit the kneeling effort! Good luck.

@ellerbracke I rarely kneel, but I can on a soft surface. If you love gardening then I would think you could probably kneel on a soft cushion to do it. As Debbra commented, it's not that important to me, about the only time I do it is if I need to look for something under a bed, and I would not do it on a hard surface. I was not told to absolutely not do it, but then I don't remember asking since it was not important to me. I do not kneel in church, those kneelers are pretty hard despite having a very light cushion on them.
I hope you will be able to continue your gardening and to do it without too much discomfort. I have friends who love to garden and I know how tough it would be for them if they couldn't do it anymore.
As Debbra asked, how is your range of motion -- flexion? Mine is not where I would like it and I am going to have a small outpatient procedure done by my ortho where he will snip some of the scar tissue and that should improve it a bit. It is under120°.
JK

Thanks for all replies, even though I don’t like the consensus that kneeling isn’t ever going to be easy again. Was discharged from PT 10 weeks after surgery. ROM at that time about 125, I think it’s still improving. Extension 0 with slight pressure on knee, unassisted probably 3 or so. Also still improving. I am currently finishing my “floor exercises” with kneeling on bedroom carpet, pretty upright - not trying to sit back on heels, which is impossible for now -, and slowly rocking from side to side, putting some weight on the artificial joint. There seems to be a trick to it, at a certain angle it really hurts, at a different angle (sideways angle) it is tolerable. It will never be ok on a hard surface, but I’m determined to find a way to at least do it on grass. My plantings in some areas are so dense that I cannot get even a small garden seat in there, and my back has been compromised for decades, so I can’t do more than 1 hour or so of standing and bending over for pruning/pulling up/planting things.
PS. surgery was 9/13 of this year.

@ellerbracke You sound determined, and as long as your ortho says this is something you can then I am sure you will get to a tolerable place for your gardening. I envy your flexion, I wish mine was there but without that minor surgery it will never approach that.

I also envy that you enjoy gardening! I love how pretty the gardens look of some of my friends but I hate gardening myself. I used to have a friend who loved gardening but she wasn't much of a cook so she would come over and do my gardening and I would send her home with a complete dinner, including wine. It was a great exchange but then she resumed working full time.
JK

@ellerbracke and JK @contentandwell, I thought I would chime in since I am hoping to get a TKR in the Spring and I did mess up my knee knelling on concrete to fix a driveway drain. I'm not an avid gardner but I do like to knell down when working, fixing and cleaning stuff and I hate it when I am not able to do it. After hurt my knee again I went to the local Home Depot and bought some knee pads that make it much easier for me to knell down with no pain. Although I do it gingerly ☺ and also don't do it a lot.

@johnbishop Those look great. I used to have a kneeling pad that didn't attach, that would help also. So far when I have to kneel it's always in the house so I just kneel on a pillow.
JK

I think these are made by Husky and when you knell on tile floor it kind of feels like you are on soft turf. There seems to be an inch and half or so of the soft foam on the backside and then the little soft rubber protrusions on the front add even more cushion if you are on a hard surface.

@johnbishop : I will try to find those kind of knee pads. Would also come in handy around the house, I think (for such pleasant tasks as cleaning behind the toilet on a tiled bathroom floor - have tried that a few days ago, did not feel good at all!). Good luck with your surgery in the spring. I hope it gives you as much improvement and pain relief as the TKR did for me, short-term discomfort (!) as they call it, and endless exercises notwithstanding.

Here’s a link for them on Home Depot
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-Gel-Soft-Cap-Knee-Pad-HD00148/304021291
Probably others similar would work