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I'm going to have TKR in 2 months, I am doing the leg raises and stationary bike everyday, hopefully building up my strength before surgery. What did any of you do pre-op and do you feel that it helped post-op?
Replies to "I'm going to have TKR in 2 months, I am doing the leg raises and stationary..."
I walked! Walk, walk, walk. It strengthens all your tendons and muscles and my ortho said I was in great shape and would recover quickly. I'm 8 weeks out and back to walking. Now up to 2 miles a day, but I do do my PT exercises on days I don't walk.
Hope you have a great surgery and recovery.
@kawi33 Hi Katherine, Welcome to Connect! So glad you joined this group. I agree with the others - the more strength and flexibility you develop beforehand, the easier your life will be post-op. The physical therapist in the hospital told me that he could tell in 5 minutes the people who had prepared vs. those that didn't. I did the stationery bike, some strength training and some balance exercises. Not sure what your situation is, but my ortho surgeon at Mayo will happily write a prescription for "pre-hab" so that you are getting direction on specific exercises you need. If I were you, I would ask my orthopedic surgeon or his medical assistant if that is an option. If so, the insurance should pay for it. Can I ask where you are now in terms of mobility? On my first TKR, my knee was in such bad shape that I was literally on crutches prior to the surgery. That made exercise a bit more difficult.
Hi Katherine @kawi33 - Here is a great video that one of our Mayo mentors, @johnbishop shared. This is a terrific resource that outlines the 5 biggest problems physical therapist identify with their knee replacement patients. From my experience, it is right on point.
@kawi33 Katherine - Here is a second video that might be helpful. Again, my fellow mentor @johnbishop shared this so we can thank him for great information! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJ-JspTqrHE
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@kawi33 I rode my recumbent bike and did water jogging. Prior to my surgery, I mentioned to my surgeon that I heard of people having PT prior to help strengthen the supporting muscles in preparation. He asked me what I did for exercise and when I told him those two things he said they were the best! I definitely feel it helped a lot. I had a long time to prepare because my original TKR was scheduled in February 2015 but because my platelet count was low, on the day of surgery it was canceled. It had been better but it plummeted again on that day.
So I ended up having my surgery in October 2017 which left me many months to prepare.
JK