My back surgeon put me into Prehab 12 months before my back surgery. There is absolutely no doubt it helped immensely in post surgery recovery. I "enjoyed" it so much I joined the fitness center where I was doing the Prehab. The therapist should have plan from surgeon that prepares you physically for the surgery. The workouts also prepare you mentally since you are essentially on a parallel path of PT. Which IMO is huge for post surgery.
Knee Surgery
- Thread starter Old Rooster
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Agree strongly on the "prehab". Going in with muscles, tendons, and ligaments in as good a shape as possible makes rehab a lot easier. You start rehab from a lot better place. (Have been in PT enough to observe a lot of other people's outcomes, too.) Positive attitude is great, but muscle atrophy because of disuse or favoring it can make the return of strength and mobility take longer. I had not run in years because it was too painful, but I use a bike to stay in shape. I rode until the day before surgery (knee and hips) and am convinced that made a big difference from pre-surgery and then returned to it after surgery, during rehab, and for maintenance. Glad to hear there is a trend toward pre-hab these days. I know it helped my otherwise nonathletic B-I-L when I recommended it to him and he did it.
Makes sense!
I second the comment on muscles atrophied due to various reasons. I virtually lost most of my calf muscle due to my spinal cord flattening from spinal stenosis but probably would not have lost as much if my previous back surgeon embraced PT like my current one. The good news is I am starting to see "life" back into my lower legs from PT and my own workouts. My spinal cord "re-inflated" and signals are starting to flow to my lower body which is saying what the heck!? The pre-hab helped prepping for this to happen. I realize now at my age that it is prob more important to do some "work" on routine basis. Ain't gonna lie, its hard to stay motivated but once I am there it does feel so good to be able to get some work done. Pre-Hab and "Post Hab" will be game changer for anyone.
So glad for you Muddyboots. Feeling better is worth all the effort put forth! Hard work pays off in the long term, hurts like crazy short term but long term benefits pay off. I know people that that have not put forth the effort and say, "Yea but don't it hurt like crazy?" Yes it does but I get around now and you don't! Not because I am any better than you, I forced myself. Yep I puked my guts up several times a day but I get around now and you don't, see the difference? He had a similar surgery the same day. He had a Posterior Back Fusion from S-2 L2. I had a Anterior Fusion and Posterior Fusion S-1-L4 as I splintered the vertebra in the back and the Posterior fusion alone wouldn't support a fusion.
I am not perfect but I can hunt when my knee's let me
I am not perfect but I can hunt when my knee's let me
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Us "old roosters" need to keep on trucking! I had L2-L5 lumbar fusion, scoliosis straightened out in July. I just got home from bow hunting. I never thought I would be hunting this year but yet here I am.
Do the work and you will be rewarded. EHD has wiped out deer herd this year but still go anyway. I've seen 2 deer in 8 sits. Being in the woods is all I need!
Do the work and you will be rewarded. EHD has wiped out deer herd this year but still go anyway. I've seen 2 deer in 8 sits. Being in the woods is all I need!
That is a good question, and as far as I have seen, generally, unless there is a real need to replace the kneecap, or remove it, they keep the original. If you are contemplating the surgery, that would be a great question to ask of your surgeon. In fact anyone should make a list and fire away with questions so you are an informed consumer. You should also be clear with your orthopedic surgeon what your goals and expectations are to ensure you and the Doc are on the same page. One of the reasons that I always seek out sports medicine orthos is that they are accustomed to working with athletes who expect to recover from injury and get back at whatever they do. I try to avoid doctors who only work with geriatric patients (nursing home attitude doctors). I may be considered old, but I am not nursing home material.
To answer the question you asked, no they did not replace the kneecap, but they did resurface the back side of it so that it would track with the other implanted parts. Basically the patella fits into a groove in the front at the lower end of the femur (thigh bone) just above the middle of the joint with the tibia (lower leg), and while it rides up and down in that groove, it helps keep the patellar tendon and the rest of the knee aligned. Often the back of the kneecap (patella), in keeping with the condition of the rest of the joint, is arthritic, rough, noisy, and correspondingly painful, so in some cases I have known of, they clean up the surfaces to smooth them off again even if artificial parts are not attached to it. When they replace the worn out bone ends, they change the shape/contour of that alignment groove, and the natural shape of the kneecap might not ride smoothly in that new channel, so it may need revision.
Different manufacturers use somewhat different designs, and knee replacement parts come in "kits" with specifically sized and angled parts. With the advances in technology, most of the people I know who have recently had total knee replacements have customized fits that mimic natural angles of joints in that person, and are sized to match the size of the skeleton that they will be fitted to.
Mine came with a custom "cutting block" that provided the surgeon a specific template with which to do his "carpentry". This cutting block was developed after a 3D CAT scan that allowed modeling of the bone ends involved and provided angle corrections for the longterm bow in the joint that had developed over 2 decades of deterioration. When done it was straightened back to what it had been like in my 20s, and matches my still good other knee. Which by the way improved things on my hip and back as well, an added benefit.
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dogz I will ask that question when I talk to my Doctor. I too don't know and didn't think to ask.
I am supposed to talk to doctors this week if all goes well but who knows, mostly nothing ever goes right.
Great question.
I am supposed to talk to doctors this week if all goes well but who knows, mostly nothing ever goes right.
Great question.
I'm a double replacement - one in 2021 and the second in 2023. You'll find that you can do what you REALLY want to do. Yes, you do come home the same day. Therapy begins within a week. If your doctor is like mine, you go home with a CPM (Continuous Passive Motion) machine that continually bends/stretches the knee joint. From past experience of three total scope jobs and two replacements - stay in it every waking moment - and if you can - in bed while you try to sleep. Be sure to do the ordered exercises and do them for longer than they tell you to do them.
Don't be carrying 30 extra pounds like I did with both replacements - that did not help at all."
In the end, you'll be reminded of the replacement every day for years. But it is most likely the thing to do. Just buck it up and get it done.
Got the word today, surgery December 3rd but many visits before the surgery.
Thanks to everyone and I read EVERY word of every post!
I am an over achiever and will over do every exercise. If they say, do 5 reps I will do 10 or 15 if I can. I got through all my back surgeries by doing more than the doctor said to do. I am much older now but the same feeling applies.
Thanks to everyone and I read EVERY word of every post!
I am an over achiever and will over do every exercise. If they say, do 5 reps I will do 10 or 15 if I can. I got through all my back surgeries by doing more than the doctor said to do. I am much older now but the same feeling applies.
That encouraged me buddy!
Best of luck, keep us posted on progress.
memtb
Well-Known Member
Rooster……Wishing you the very best outcome with your surgery. If mental strength will help……you got this beat! memtb
