Tips - knee replacement surgery
mtnrdredux_gw
last year
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knee replacement surgery looming
Comments (11)If you are meeting with a physical and/or occupational therapist before your surgery you could ask them to work with you to simulate the gardening activities limitations you might encounter after your surgery. I'd take my partner or the one who might help you adapt your garden to make it accessible along on such a visit. the purpose of the visit would be enable you to make preparations to make your garden work for you as you are rehabbing. Temporary solutions could include something as simple as creating a raised bed by putting bales of hay or straw end to end and filling the resulting opening with soil. I suffered through a couple of years not being able to garden waiting for raised beds to be constructed. Had I known about the baled hay option, I would have been in heaven digging in my not so pretty dirt pile. In my experience, preparing ahead of time for the adaptations that are necessary after surgery gives one a sense of hope and creativity which I've found are essential to healing. There are a few good reference books on accessible gardening - one I found most helpful was Gene Rothert's The Enabling Garden. good luck to you - I think you should do well with all the support the garden web forum folk are offering. You might find it fun to post unique ways you've learned to cope with your limitations. We all can learn new creative ways to imporove the quality of gardening after surgery or disability. I was astonished to find that I could do several hours of gardening a day sitting in a secretary's office chair with the little car totes bags attached to the back of the chair. With one non casted leg, I was able to roll around with ease - freeing my hands for the clipping, etc. I wanted to do. Didn't need to invest in a wheelchair and the size of the office chair permitted me to get in much closer to the plants. This of course worked best on paved surfaces - the driveway and walkways....See MoreKnee Surgery
Comments (10)I can't comment on your brother's knees since he already had surgery, but concerning your knees I'd like to offer a suggestion, if you don't mind. For many years until recently, I walked for exercise, unaware that the normal biomechanics of my feet was disrupted due to a condition known as excessive pronation or hyperpronation. The pain came first in my hips, but then in both my knees, before I was correctly diagnosed. Like you, I had knee pain on stairs and after sitting, also walking and just standing after awhile. A simple test you can do yourself which may indicate you have this problem is to squat in front of a mirror and take notice of your knees. Normally, they will be straight, but with excessive pronation, they will turn in. The remedy is orthotics....See MoreKnee surgery for DH this week
Comments (19)faron, yes, we had a choice each time. What confused me, though, was it is not something that you can plan ahead for. It has to be a recommendation made by the doctor, while you are in the hospital. Then someone on the hospital staff makes the arrangements for you to transfer to inpatient rehab. DH is slender but he's a tall man. I don't think I could have helped adequately for those first few weeks when his mobility was greatly limited. Plus, if he had been at home, I would have had to get him to PT and it would have only been 3 times a week. With inpatient rehab, he got PT once a day and OT once a day - both giving him good, supervised exercise. I was reluctant the first time, but after seeing how difficult it was for him to get around and after seeing how much help he needed, and how much attention he got, I was eager for him to go the second time, and so was he. We have a friend who did not go to inpatient rehab, and his recovery seemed much slower than DH. Within 3 months of getting his new knee, DH was back on the golf course (with his doctor's blessing). nhb, I'm following the weather in your neck of the woods. Hope all is well with you and your DH....See MoreKnee replacement surgery
Comments (7)Women do seem to do better than men or at least the ones that I know. However much of it depends on the type of surgery that the surgeon is planning on doing and the individual doctor. There are several different methods. One just replaces the knee cap on both bones. Another cuts the bones and inserts a whole new knee. You need to talk to your surgeon, not regular doctor, on what is planned. There are many videos showing knee surgeries on YouTube. You did not say which knee. If it is the one you most frequently used to drive it will be dangerous for you to drive before at least some of the tissues heal. Keeping the leg elevated but also using it is important for healing. Along with your individual home situation. Things like, are there people there that can help you for a couple of days or must you do everything yourself. If there is no one there you probably would be released to a care facility. Some hospitals have their own areas like a skilled nursing facility. You will be asked to sit up and walk the day you have the surgery. Depending on how well you do that will help depend on when and where you go. If you do go home you will need someone there at least the first day to answer the door. Although I have not had the surgery my husband has. He was first sent to a skilled facility then released to home. The first day home it seemed like there was a steady stream of people bringing medical equipment, walker, bedside commode, icing machine, a machine that moved his leg up and down while he laid in bed, sorry do not remember the name, medical person to check his vitals and the wound. Your dog may object to your using a walker so be aware that you may need to find someone to help until the dog becomes used to it. Although your insurance may not pay for it one of the rolling walkers with a seat that you can fold down would be great. When you tire or someone wants to chat while walking the dog you can sit down and remove pressure on the knee. Husband was gifted with one and it was wonderful. A side note is that if it is rated high enough, the amount of weight that it will support, it can act like a temporary wheel/transport chair. Only temporary because the material on the wheels is soft and will be destroyed if used this way too often....See Moremtnrdredux_gw
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