TKR - biggest fear

I am 14 weeks post op and at 13 weeks I decided to see if I could get down on the floor and up again and I did it. I am still not graceful getting up off the floor but at 69 yrs old I will accept the ungracefulness if I can get down, sit on the floor and get up without help. At 10 weeks I knelt on my bed successfully to close a window and I have knelt on a bed pillow on the floor without discomfort for less than 5 mins. Surgeon last week advised to not to kneel for an extended period of time for a year. Wanting to get down and interact with grandchildren on the floor is probably going to be a great motivator in regaining mobility.

I am probably eight years out and it still hurts to be in kneeling position with knee on the floor (like for knee push ups). But I can get up and down off the floor with reasonable effort. I can’t crawl on hands and knees without discomfort but I can clumsily get into a sort of downward dog then make it to standing to get off the floor.

I'm 3 years out from TKR and like you had some post surgery goals:

1. No pain walking & sitting
2. No pain sleeping
3. No pain going up stairs
4. No pain going down stairs
5. No pain getting down on the knees

With in a year I accomplished all of the goals except #5 getting down on my knees. My problem is and still is the weird feeling the knee has when on the hard surface. I've accepted that this problem will either take much longer or never be resolved so I took a slightly different path and purchased some very expensive knee pads. They are heavy duty professional from "NoCry". I'll include the link to a group of they're products.
https://nocry.com/search

Thank you so much Steve!

I have TKRs on both knees. Kneeling is OK, it just feels weird so I think it’s a bit like a burn reflex that resists it. Kneeling pads can help it feel more natural.

I don’t know how bad your pain is, but are you able to get down on the floor with the grandkids now? How much is the knee actually impacting the things that are important to you?
If you haven’t already, make sure you’ve exhausted all other alternatives before doing the surgery.

@kudzu One of my reasons for doing the procedure was my desire to stay active with my grandkids. Since a few months after the surgery I was able to get down on the floor on my knee; getting back up again is like the Keystone cops or any Hal Roach movie.

I can get down and get back up. We have a park here in Scottsdale that has a small railroad ride with open cars with seats. I did have my son help me get in and out for a ride with my grandkids which was awkward although I had no pain.

I’m almost two years post-op. I get up and down to play with my grandchildren pretty easily, but I only kneel on my non-operated knee. I got a hypertrophic scar, which is still raised at the distal end, making kneeling very uncomfortable. I’m going to see a plastic surgeon to see if he can flatten it, but I’m not optimistic. At any rate, if your surgeon’s willing to operate, you must need it. The ability to move pain-free is worth it even if you can’t kneel. Actually, the diminished flexion was the most annoying side effect. But the surgery was well worth it.

@steve161
Which pads did you get? I’m at 18 months after TKR & my knee still feels very “bruised”. I need to clean the bathroom on my knees! I’m 78, have CP & still going strong!

I went for the first version “gelGuard pro heavy duty” with both calf and thigh straps. I use the from gardening to roof work.