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Walking Too Much After TKR?
Hi. I'm 6 weeks post op total knee replacement. Sometimes my knee is swelling quite a lot, could it be that I'm walking to much. I live in the UK and I haven't had any physio yet, I do my daily exercises the hospital gave me, physio appt on 7th July. Some days my knee is very stiff and not much bend. I've tried to find out how much walking I can do. My husband is on vacation this week and we wanted to go out for the day, but don't want to walk to much and cause another problem. Also in our apartment I stopped using my crutches 2 / 3 weeks ago, I still use then outside did I stop using them too soon and that why my leg swells, I do elevate it and ice it . Thank you for any advise
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Hi @jammyjan123, You will notice that we added to your discussion title a little to better describe your discussion and hopefully bring in more members to share their experience with you. From my experience after my TKR, the walking helped but not as much as the exercises which I think are better for the range of motion and stretching. I did all my PT at home following my knee replacement and also had a lot of swelling. I thought I was icing and elevating enough doing it several times a day until I had my followup with the surgeon about 6 weeks after my surgery. He "explained" to me what he meant by icing and elevating and I definitely wasn't doing it enough. He wanted me to ice the leg when needed and to elevate the leg when I was not doing anything else to help with the swelling.
Here are some guidelines that may be helpful but I think it would be good to discuss your questions at your upcoming appointment.
"How much should you be walking after knee replacement?
Your orthopaedic surgeon and physical therapist may recommend that you exercise for 20 to 30 minutes daily, or even 2 to 3 times daily; and walk for 30 minutes, 2 to 3 times daily during your early recovery."
-- Total Knee Replacement Exercise Guide: https://orthoinfo.aaos.org/en/recovery/total-knee-replacement-exercise-guide/
Do you have a step counter to track how much walking you do?
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3 Reactions@jammyjam: Hello there! It’s been almost 4 years after my very successful TKR. While some details may have slipped my mind, I definitely remember doing the exercises - 20 to 30 minutes - 3 times a day for about 2 months, then leveling off to twice a day for another month, then slowly easing up on those. Regarding the walking: I have walked 2 miles, 5-6 days a week, for over 10 years, but in the first few months after the surgery I definitely think that walking more than 30 minutes once a day is pushing it a little. That of course refers to specific brisk walking, for exercise, not the normal activity that housework, shopping, etc. require. And I totally agree with John: I, too, did not nearly enough elevating and icing of the knee.
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3 ReactionsHi. I'm 13 weeks post TKR. All was going well then I had a sickness bug and spend 2 days mainly resting in bed. Now my knee appears to keep going stiff when I lie down and then get up. Any advise.
Have you considered a follow up with PT?
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2 ReactionsI can't tell, but without the immediate help of a PT, it's possible you didn't do enough extension exercises, like ankle slides. Ask your PT about that. But time is of the essence. These exercises should start immediately after surgery. You should check with a Dr. as well.