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Upper limit of ROM after knee replacement?

Posted by ellerbracke @ellerbracke, Mar 1, 2019

I went to my PT group yesterday for a hip issue, and the therapist measured my knee flex while I was there. After 3 days of backbreaking yard work I was really stiff and sore, and she still measured it at 132 degrees, and warned me not to push it much further. On the other hand, my Ortho seems pretty much unconcerned as to how much I will/can bend the artificial knee. What’s the consensus here? Is there such a thing as too much flex for the TKR joint? Surgery was 9/13 of last year.

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melcpa86 | @melcpa86 | Mar 1, 2019

My surgeon and PT said 135 is the absolute max. I fluctuate between 125 and 132. The 132 is passive (meaning pulled with a yoga strap).

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1 reply
ellerbracke | @ellerbracke | Mar 1, 2019
In reply to @melcpa86 "My surgeon and PT said 135 is the absolute max. I fluctuate between 125 and 132...." + (show)
@melcpa86

My surgeon and PT said 135 is the absolute max. I fluctuate between 125 and 132. The 132 is passive (meaning pulled with a yoga strap).

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@melcpa86 : thanks for the warning.... good to know. The 132 degree flex was “active”, and very easy to achieve. If my muscles had not been so overworked and on the verge of cramping, it would have been higher. Guess I can stop with my heel slides now!!

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JK | @contentandwell | Mar 1, 2019

@ellerbracke I wish I could get to 132, that's great. I would be happy if I could get it up to 120 even. I have been thinking of getting lysis but hear that the recovery is almost as bad, or just as bad, as the recovery from the actual TKR so I am wondering if it's worth it for the extra 5 - 10 degrees it would give me. The last time I was measured I was somewhere in the high teens. I had my TKR in October 2017.
JK

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mhort1213 | @mhort1213 | Mar 1, 2019

I am 8 weeks post tkr and my knee flexion is 134 1/2. My guess is your PT was telling you not to push it because you were so stiff and sore after you did yard work. I have been told to keep stretching to your limit... whatever that might be.

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mhort1213 | @mhort1213 | Mar 1, 2019

I am 8 weeks post tkr and my knee flexion is 134 1/2. My guess is your PT was telling you not to push it because you were so stiff and sore after you did yard work. I have been told to keep stretching to your limit... whatever that might be. I have been told 135 is usually the max the leg will bend.

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1 reply
ellerbracke | @ellerbracke | Mar 1, 2019
In reply to @mhort1213 "I am 8 weeks post tkr and my knee flexion is 134 1/2. My guess is..." + (show)
@mhort1213

I am 8 weeks post tkr and my knee flexion is 134 1/2. My guess is your PT was telling you not to push it because you were so stiff and sore after you did yard work. I have been told to keep stretching to your limit... whatever that might be. I have been told 135 is usually the max the leg will bend.

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@mhort1213 : You are doing super in your flexion. My PT was not concerned that I was stiff and sore, she was concerned that if not stiff and sore - which was an unfortunate timing - that on any other day my flex would be too great for what the knee is designed for. 2nd input of 135 max.... I guess there’s something to it. So.... I sometimes run across a post 4 yr. PKR woman at the indoor pool where I swim and work out, and she can take hold of the front of her ankle and bend the leg decently toward her butt. Like pretty close. But - in the water. I have no way to even do that move, without contorting my back.......... also seems like more than 135..........

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2 replies
ellerbracke | @ellerbracke | Mar 1, 2019
In reply to @ellerbracke "@mhort1213 : You are doing super in your flexion. My PT was not concerned that I..." + (show)
@ellerbracke

@mhort1213 : You are doing super in your flexion. My PT was not concerned that I was stiff and sore, she was concerned that if not stiff and sore - which was an unfortunate timing - that on any other day my flex would be too great for what the knee is designed for. 2nd input of 135 max.... I guess there’s something to it. So.... I sometimes run across a post 4 yr. PKR woman at the indoor pool where I swim and work out, and she can take hold of the front of her ankle and bend the leg decently toward her butt. Like pretty close. But - in the water. I have no way to even do that move, without contorting my back.......... also seems like more than 135..........

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Wanted to add.... went to PT for hip problem. Knee flex measurement was spur of the moment, sort of just because I was there, and curious. Incidental.

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JK | @contentandwell | Mar 2, 2019
In reply to @ellerbracke "@mhort1213 : You are doing super in your flexion. My PT was not concerned that I..." + (show)
@ellerbracke

@mhort1213 : You are doing super in your flexion. My PT was not concerned that I was stiff and sore, she was concerned that if not stiff and sore - which was an unfortunate timing - that on any other day my flex would be too great for what the knee is designed for. 2nd input of 135 max.... I guess there’s something to it. So.... I sometimes run across a post 4 yr. PKR woman at the indoor pool where I swim and work out, and she can take hold of the front of her ankle and bend the leg decently toward her butt. Like pretty close. But - in the water. I have no way to even do that move, without contorting my back.......... also seems like more than 135..........

Jump to this post

@ellerbracke I am envious of your pool friend, but at the same time just thinking of bending my knee that far back upsets my stomach a bit! OUCH.
JK

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