Week 10 – Why descending stairs hurts…& how to conquer the stairs!
Does DOWN get you Down? STAIRS. Friend or Foe? I know for many who suffer from knee pain that walking up, or even worse, walking DOWN, can be torture. The mere thought of descending stairs can bring you to tears. Through my decades of knee pain, knee surgeries, and knee recovery, I know it has […]
Week 9 Post op – Who’s the BOSS? (surprise!)
Yes, it was another PT smackdown. With the swelling from overdoing it last week, I’d lost a little in my range of motion and my physical therapist was not happy about it. When Ted (Ted Molasky, my physical therapist at Fyzical Therapy and Balance Center) asked me who was the BOSS, what did you think […]
Week 8 Post Op – The Good, the Bad, and Carrying On
THE GOOD NEWS… 51 Days after total knee replacement surgery and NO KNEE PAIN! This was a day that I never thought could actually happen. Of course you are told that you will not have knee pain after a total knee replacement, but because I lived with it all my life, I could not conceive […]
7 Weeks Post-Op: A glimpse of the promised land
7 Weeks Post-OP – Is THIS the promised land? We all hear that party line – “6 weeks recovery” – but how recovered are you at 6 weeks and what happens next? Of course this will vary from person to person and depend on how fit you were before surgery as well. I think it […]
6 Weeks Post Op: 2 big reasons why “Less is More” and the PT smackdown
Whoa there, not so fast. There are TWO big reasons to not do too much too soon: PAIN & SWELLING Having a new knee is a whole new world. I am learning that, unlike the past where I lived with daily pain and swelling, it’s not supposed to be like that now. WHAT?!! This is […]
Total Knee Replacement before & after pictures + what it’s like 6 weeks later
My 6 Week Visit with Dr. Thorpe “6 Weeks” is the party line for recovery after a total knee replacement. The reality? There is still a long way to go… Before I met with Dr. Thorpe yesterday for my 6 week review, I had xrays taken. Then we met and he checked my range of […]
Week 5 Post-op Knee Replacement: When Good Enough is NOT
On the whole, every week it gets a little better. In fact, this last week, there were times where I did not think about my knee AT ALL! That is a huge step forward in the big scheme of recovery. The danger that comes with feeling better is that you could settle for “good enough”. […]
Week 4 Post Op Knee Replacement – a plateau
By all measures, me and my knee are coming along. My biggest challenge this week is that I’m returning to more of a regular pattern of life and am finding it a challenge to include my Physical Therapy more than once a day. I’ve been able to add in weight bearing strength training this week […]
Week 3 Post Op Knee Replacement
A return to the land of the living… I’m feeling like I’m coming out of the fog and that I can start to make a return to regular life. I returned to work half-time this week with Thursday marking 3 weeks post -op. My PT (I’m working with Ted Molasky and Tory Lingbloom at Fyzical) […]
Week 2 Post Knee Replacement Surgery
Week 2 Post-Op I won’t recount each day (because its all a blur of walking a little, icing a lot, and doing my PT exercises), but I’ll give you the highlights of WEEK #2 Post Op… 1. Outpatient Physical Therapy? YES or NO If your doctor gives you the option to DO or NOT DO […]