Kneeling with artificial knee

I was told no running also

I feel like a lucky one that I can even kneel. If it hurts, I don’t do it. I have a lot of padding underneath. It feels weird. Can’t explain the feeling but weird. I am learning you just can’t force things with this. I was super active prior to TKR, now just active - lol.

"It feels weird. Can’t explain the feeling but weird."
What a great description. When I told the ortho that after ACL replacement and MCL repair 25 years ago - he laughed.
When I told a second ortho the same after he replacement he grimaced (no sense of humor.)
When I told my current gut that between the second & third surgeries - he listened - he said "you've done this enough, let's see what's happening"

The weird feeling eventually goes away as your muscles, tendons, nerves and brain adapt to the new body parts.

And yes, pushing too hard to get to normal can make the swelling worse. I fortunately have my own knees yet, but all my friends say complete recovery takes from 9 months to a year. Be kind to yourself.

Sue

I had my right knee replaced 2 years ago, and my left knee done 8 months ago. I do floor exercises regularly and here is how I get up - Imagine sitting with your legs stretched out straight in front of you. Bend the knee of your better leg and cross it over the other leg. Twist your upper body to the back, putting your hands on the floor and using a push up motion to hold your upper body steady while you rotate your bad leg backside up. Your arms hold you steady while you get both legs out with toes on the ground, then walk your hands back toward your feet until you can rise from the waist. I realize this may not work if you don't have enough upper body strength to support your body weight, or if it's too close to surgery and your bad knee has not enough bend yet. I am 73, 5'4" and weight at 170. I did often have to drag myself to a sofa to get holding support before my left knee regained some bend. I would like to mention I do a lot of gardening=weeding and though kneeling is not comfortable, it can be done. I use a three or four inch thick foam boating safety cushion, and try to keep most of the pressure on the lower area below the knee, not the kneecap itself. It sure was easier before I had the 2nd knee done! If you don't yet have good flexion, this may be difficult. It is very helpful to keep up some of the strength and flexibility exercises that your PT person gives you, even long after you are done with PT. I still use our stair steps to do a few short minutes of pushing my flexion limits, and doing the one knee stair dips for strength.

Mine are not cemented in either. But they are a bit unstable - especially the left one. my doc told me to bike and build up my quads. So I've been doing that.

"there was a gentleman there that i met who was early 60's running 50-60 miles a week with 2 full knee replacements.. " - That's amazing. Does he retain the ACL?

@lorrainecb What @ellerbracke does sounds pretty much the same as what I do. I turn over onto my stomach, stretch out and walk my legs up as far as I can, then I can push myself up with my hands/arms.

I am also at the same age, 73. Unless you have very little strength in your arms this will probably work for you.
I hate that I really cannot kneel without falling forward unless I can brace myself by holding onto something. I do not recall my doctor saying no kneeling but I need to send a message to his NP who is great, and I will check that with her.
JK

I’m 73, had both knees done - the left in Aug 2011 and the right in Jan 2012, I am 5’ tall weigh close to 190… Al though I can bend both knees, they remain somewhat stiff. Walking is fine, I just cannot get down on the floor because I can’t get back up without help. There’s only myself and my husband… if I should accidentally fall, like I did last time, and he’s not home, I need to be able to get up on my own. I’ll try as you suggest and see how I do… but that means I better have a sure fire way to get up, first! I’ll try leveraging the coffee table and planting my feet if your way is not successful… thank you for your suggestion!

Lorraine, would it be possible to have a 36" vertical grab bar installed (about waist to floor level) somewhere central to your main activity area? So you could inch over and have something solid and stable to help pull up on if you fall again. It's hard to find furniture that is at the right height or stable enough to lever yourself up with. Before I regained my knee flex, I would use the sofa, but it sure was a struggle to boost my back high enough to get my legs under me.

When I fall or practice getting up I use my front porch, I scoot to my porch and put my legs under me and stand up or use my steps to get my legs under. I don’t know what my neighbors might think! Lol