leafwalker
Trail Wise!
peace on earth and good will toward all - om shanti
Posts: 526 
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Post by leafwalker on Aug 25, 2015 12:57:41 GMT -8
Local doc looked at my really bad banged up knee and has referred. He suspects I'll need a new knee given my 66 year old knee has little cart and cap is really bare. Anyway, where is the link to the discussion on these earlier? I tried here, but not what I thought it was. Is it on the old boards?
I was a bad boy. My knee has been bothering me more then normal lately, but I didn't slow down. Then yesterday after about five miles of hiking, I had to navigate a blow down scrambling under over etc. One long elevated over a limb step in the middle of a ground cover of poison ivy the knee made a final decision. Walking about a mile leaning heavily on Stick one foot steps at a time resting every 5 steps and almost falling over several times with another
1 1/2 miles to go to an area with a wide smooth path and open field (conservation land food plot of about 80 acres) my wife went ahead and got the truck and drove it to me. Sure glad this didn't happen in the Smokys, Wisc, Mich, or Rockies earlier this year. Trails there were not relatively level, and were isolated, rocky sometimes, and narrow. I had to sit in the truck bed. Couldn't bend my knee to get in the truck. Bad pain all night. Cort shot this AM and some narcs now. Specialist the 4th.
Moral - be careful when something isn't quite working correctly. You never know when it will break down. I was lucky.
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zeke
Trail Wise!
Peekaboo slot 2023
Posts: 9,895
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Post by zeke on Aug 25, 2015 13:11:51 GMT -8
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Post by hikerjer on Aug 25, 2015 14:39:08 GMT -8
It's been almost five and half month since I had my knee replacement surgery. I really couldn't be more pleased with the results although I have to admit that I had my doubts as to whether I did the right thing during the early stages of recovery. I've been able to bike considerable distances - just did 80 miles last week - and I took a five-day backpack trip two weeks ago with no problems at all. In fact, my reconstructed knee felt better than the other one which gives one pause for thought. My personal advice is to go ahead get the replacement if that's what the doctor recommends. The first three weeks and the months of therapy are touugh but you get past them. I certainly have no regrets. Should have done it much earlier. BTW, my knee is the same age as yours.
Best of luck.
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leafwalker
Trail Wise!
peace on earth and good will toward all - om shanti
Posts: 526
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Post by leafwalker on Aug 26, 2015 6:24:07 GMT -8
Having trouble getting this to post. Anyway, one more try, thank you. Helps alleviate some anxiety. Also, did the five hours of intense therapy happen while still in the hospital?
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Post by hikerjer on Aug 26, 2015 7:33:48 GMT -8
Though I did have therapy in the hospital, I was only there for two and half days and it was in a group. Many of the folks in the sessions were older, overweight and less than diligent in doing it. The real work was at home. Eventually I reduced it to about to two one and half hour sessions a day on my own as well as a hour and half session, two to three times a week with a PT in the rehab clinic attached to the hospital for five weeks. Most was at home though. In addition to the PT, I walked all I could. First, with a walker and then with a cane. Eventually, I was able to ride my bike which I believe did as much as anything to speed the recovery. I can't emphasize enough how important the followup PT is. It may be unpleasant, but it works. You've just got to do it.
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leafwalker
Trail Wise!
peace on earth and good will toward all - om shanti
Posts: 526
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Post by leafwalker on Aug 26, 2015 8:45:21 GMT -8
Thanks again. Oh, I'll be obsessive about the rehab. I'll probably buy a what I need in the peddling department. Really haven't been able to ride for many years. Seemed to aggravate my knee much more then footing it. Wife and I hike a lot. 161 day hikes of at least 3 miles this year. We were on a pace to break our yearly record by a bit. I suspect I may have done my last for this year. Although I might cheat and sneak some in if surgery is not real soon and I can put my weight on my knee. Bad person. I'm sure our fall trip this year to Michigan and Wisc for leaf color season as is our planned BW canoe trip just after Labor Day. So, rehap will be taken seriously so I can get in the woods. Usually we go to the Smokys for the spring bloom in late April. That might be too early for long day hikes. But, if the surgery is sooner rather then later ..... Hopefully we can do our May/June trips to Michigan and Wisc probably with some moderation (maybe a motel instead of a tent and non of those 8 mile days and get out to Colorado for the July bloom again (wife is really into wildflower Iding - has a long life list - I'm just along for the ride so to speak). Colorado wild flowers were great this year. We live to hike pretty much. Most would call us obsessive about it.
Thanks again.
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Post by hikerjer on Aug 26, 2015 11:04:38 GMT -8
My advice is to time the therapy around the activities you like the best. It's been five months since I had mine and I can do pretty much everything I want to. I should have done it earlier, say in January, but I had a season pass to the local ski hill and I was determined to use it up. Big mistake. I could hardly ski and by putting the surgery off until March, I prevented a cross-country bike trip I had planned with my son this summer. Big mistake. He went anyway. He called last night from the GrandCanyon and is having a great time. I think he's hooked on bicycle travel. Should be me.
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rebeccad
Trail Wise!
Writing like a maniac
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Post by rebeccad on Aug 26, 2015 12:23:07 GMT -8
That is good advice, Jer. Also: putting it off too long can make things more challenging for the surgeon. Though this is unlikely to be an issue for you, my mom had such poor alignment of her leg (and thus knee), which got worse with age, that she got within a hair of having too much unevenness for them to be able to replace the knee at all. So clearly there is some sweet spot in there.
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Post by hikerjer on Aug 26, 2015 13:36:44 GMT -8
So clearly there is some sweet spot in there. Ah, there in lies the rub. |
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