I would have to say that I am just under 5 months post op TKR and I now feel I have a better understanding of things.
First off. I can see that it takes about a year to recover. You are looking at muscle and nerve regrowth along with bone repair and there is no way you can achieve that in 3 months when you are over 55. Just because we might be walking, swimming or riding our exercise bike we think we are back to normal but things on the cellular level are still not normal. It is also important to remember that exercise in general causes micro tears to muscle tissue and recovery is part of the strengthening process. Now if we have had a TKR and going about exercising with damaged muscle tissue these micro tears that happen are a set back and need to recover. I think most of us try to do too much and I have found anything weight bearing to be the worst for aggravating my knee. Swimming for me is the best and going on my stationary bike with very little tension (moving the legs forward and backwards) is also good. I have a walking bike called the Alinker which I use outside and can’t say enough about. It is fabulous look it up online.
Easy muscle strengthening calisthenics are also important
If possible it is good to carry on with PT but sometimes in my opinion some of the prescribed exercises can be too much if overly weight bearing. For me as much as I love to walk which was the main reason for having the surgery when I do so for an extended period of time now my knee becomes inflamed and it hurts and sets me back. I find icing never really removes the deep swelling (Compression stockings help)
So choose your exercises wisely so inflammation doesn’t set you back.
My little dog haf TPLO surgery on her knee which consists of cutting the top of the tibia (bone below the knee), rotating it, and stabilizing it in a new position with a bone plate and screws. Thinking back to how she recovered has been a good lesson for me. About 5 months post op she looked good but it wasn’t until a year later that she was optimum and running like she was a puppy again.
The other big thing I would have to say is body weight . It is important not to be varying extra weight. Again in my opinion, the extra weight is only crushing your knees when you try to do weight-bearing activity. I also started a year pre surgery doing a modified eating schedule whereby I do not eat after 8 pm or before 10:00 am. Combining the exercise I was doing I lost 20 pounds but it was the modified eating that took off the extra weight. I still follow this and eat what I want in between 10am and 8 pm and don’t feel as though I am sacrificing anything.
I don’t think that the surgeons are up front when they’re talking about recovery time and the importance of weight management or effective exercise. Bottom line as difficult as it has been for me to accept this expect to be in recovery for a year and during that time do not overdo it or do anything that’s going to set you back significantly.