Wazza12 wrote:John, good to see you recovering so well.
Like you I did my knee many years ago xc skiing, two arthroscopes and much conservative treatment later I can no longer walk more than a few hundred metres.
Reading your posts has finally convinced me to "bite the bullet" and have a tkr. I got a cancelation and it happens next week.
I can only hope my recovery mirrors your recovery.
A question. Do you still use walking poles, if so how soon after the op did you start? I have used Pacer Poles for years and cannot imagine walking any distance without them.
So thank you for your reports, they have been a big help.
Warwick
Best wishes for your surgery Warwick. Like me I'm sure you didn't take the decision lightly but it sounds like you made a logical choice. I'm sure your recovery will go well.
Not much time left, but if you can work on building up your quad muscles pre-surgery, it may help speed up the process although I can't say by how much.
Everyone's journey will be different. Although my recovery so far seems fairly quick and I'm happy with it, it can still be frustrating at times not yet being at 100% capacity.
Be patient in accepting that you will have some downtime and some limitations while allowing yourself to heal (actively) and you will do well.
Poles/Aids Post-op - You will need a walking aid or stick immediately to get around in hospital. In my experience they generally get you up and walking the day after surgery.
I started with a walking frame then graduated to crutches within 2 days, and to a single walking stick by around day 3. On the advice of my physio I had kept up with daily exercises right up until surgery, which probably helped the initial fast progress. Memory is getting hazy on details but I needed the walking stick after going home probably for about a month. We already had one from my wife's hip replacement a couple of years earlier (collapsible one, about $25 from Chemist Warehouse). Mostly I was actually able to get around without it, but the advice was to take it on longer walks just in case of fatigue etc. If your hospital or health fund cover includes rehab physio classes, my advice is to take them. You will learn how to cope at home, how you're progressing, and meet others who are going through the same thing. It can be good to compare notes and discover that you all have pretty much exactly the same issues, and not worry that you may have something abnormal going on. It can be amusing sitting in a room full of like individuals with walking sticks, all with a very swollen leg (or two) and a giant scar or bandage running down it. It reminded me of a strange race of humanoid aliens.
Poles for bushwalking - I've a had an on/off relationship with them for many years. But as my knee got worse I started to use them more frequently.
I have a small collection of them
. I had mostly used just a single pole until I bought a Durston X-Mid 1 tent which needs two poles for support. That said I've only done one trip in it to date.
That trip I really needed two poles as my knee had deteriorated badly and it was a really steep walk in and out. I haven't tried the Pacer poles, my tent poles are cheap ones from Decathlon.
I started back with some really easy short bushwalks just after Christmas while we were on holiday in the ACT (my operation was on 4th November).
Since surgery I've used a single hiking pole for all but the easiest/flattest walks. Recently I bought a very cheap collapsible pole online, specifically to use on remote bushcare trips.
I just wanted something ultralight/packable for hiking in/out on steep, rough terrain to work sites, but in practice it was more of confidence thing than a necessity.
I also used it on the solo bushwalk I did last weekend but again, apart from one really steep section of an old track with many badly eroded steps, I would probably have been fine without it.
At this stage I will probably keep taking the one ultralight pole, as it stuffs easily into a very small day pack, and use it as needed (physically or psychologically).
I haven't done any overnight walks for a couple of years for various health and other reasons, but can see that further out on the horizon.