twelve weeks ago i had surgery to replace my right knee. on the day of the surgery i was in and out of the hospital in less than four hours. no overnight stay. i don’t remember a thing about the surgery. i was out of it. but, when i left the hospital i felt great — i mean really great. i now realize that drugs may have played a significant role in why i felt so wonderful.
since that first day, it has been a different story. i am very much aware of my knee, and i have not felt wonderful. in fact, the first two weeks were very, very uncomfortable. a lot of pain, and with the help of some pain meds, i survived.
but, after the first two painful weeks post surgery, i have been religiously going to physical therapy three times a week. let me tell you what physical therapy is like.
i have suggested to the owners of the physical therapy facility that they should consider renaming it to something like “physical pain”. PP instead of PT. or “pain therapy” and keep the shortened PT.
let me tell you what really happens inside a physical therapy facility. while everyone is very welcoming, very nice, with smiles on their faces, don’t be fooled. they are bent on making sure that you experience nothing less than excruciating pain.
they have one goal — to make sure that your knee can fully extend. in other words, when you are lying flat on your back on a table, they want your knee to lie flat on the table. they don’t want to see any daylight between your knee and the table. they actually measure the angle of your knee. their goal is 0 degrees bend in your knee which equals full extension. when i first came into the PT facility my bend was measured at 8 degrees. the PT team of specialists view their job is to get my bend down to 0 — i.e., no bend whatsoever.
allow me to introduce my lead physical therapist – Vince. he is terrific. he absolutely knows what he is doing. he is an athlete. he has been working on my knee for over two years prior to the surgery, trying to find a way to make it work better without having to get it replaced. he is the reason that i decided to have the surgery where i did, because i wanted to be sure that Vince would be doing the PT afterwards.
having said that, let me tell you about how he operates. he has me warm up for 6 minutes on the stationary bike to get the blood flowing in my knee — to warm it up.
then he directs me to a table that has no foam, no mattress, no cushion — just a flat bed table. he asks me to lie down on my back and extend my legs.
oh, i forgot to tell you something that is very important. Vince is 6′ 6″ tall. yes, siree. and he weighs 220 pounds. yes, he does.
Vince asks me to lie down and relax. he then places his large hands on my right knee. he begins to lean forward and push on my knee with the intent of getting my knee to further extend, to reduce the bend from 8 degrees to hopefully 0 degrees.
i can’t tell you how painful this is. it is excruciating. it is traumatic. i want to scream. i want to cry. i want him to stop.
since this is all happening during the pandemic, i am wearing a mask which hides my facial expressions. i don’t scream or cry because i want to make sure that my self image as a strong male is not jeopardized. i also don’t want to seem like a wimp to all the staff and other people in the PT facility. but, i am in pain — real pain.
Vince assures me that he can’t hurt my new, prosthetic knee. wonderful, i say to myself.
i then ask Vince whether he has ever thought of renaming the physical therapy facility to something like the “Pain Palace”.
i tell him that if i look up the word “excruciating” in the dictionary, i would see a picture of him pressing his 220 pound 6′ 6″ frame down on my right knee.
not finished, i then ask him if he and his facility has ever been sued for cruel and unusual punishment.
he has gotten my attention. i am not happy. i ask myself why am i here. why am i consciously putting myself in a situation where i am going to be hurt. why am i voluntarily allowing myself to be hurt.
i know this therapy is being done for a reason, and, supposedly, i will be better for it in the end. however, right now all i can think of is that i want to rename physical therapy.
from now on, PT stands for Pain Therapy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hi Neil, So sorry to hear about your excruciating pain, how horrible. I always Google all of my medical problems, just for some insight, and other medical opinions. Ceasing aggressive physical therapy after total knee …https://sbfphc.wordpress.com › 2013/08/21 › ceasing-a…
Aug 21, 2013 — Total knee replacement (TKR) is an elective surgical procedure performed on patients affected by knee joint diseases, such as end stage …
I couldn’t paste the link here. I’ll email you the link, but the pain should not be there, the pain is for a reason
I have another friend in Colorado who replaced both of his knees at the same time last year and he is skiing again.
karen,
your point????
neil
O’Neil, I feel your pain. I went through the same thing and Steamboat Springs about 11 years ago when I had only meniscus surgery on my right knee. This was the result of doing something called pistols in my Kettlebell Class. You go all the way down on one leg and stick the other ones straight out all the while holding a 35 pound kettlebell. My regular instructor would never have allowed this he would’ve put his hand on my shoulder which means I would have to wait for the next routine. His name was Ron and he looked exactly like the kind of person no woman would ever want to bring home to introduce to her parents. He looks like a troglodyte and had a photographic memory. He was a genius. But sadly on that day we had a substitute who didn’t know our individual physiology and limitations. On the fifth repetition I felt something in my right knee which I knew would be somewhat life-changing. I felt much as you do especially during the start of my physical therapy. But I got to appreciate what these people did to the extent that I actually wanted to take the requisite classes to become a physical therapist myself. I grew to really respect these people and what they did. In time my knee healed of course but it has never really been the same. I’ve had three operations on my left me over the years due to Cartledge problems And that is why I use my right knee for the pistols on that fateful day. Anyway I know this is hell for you but as opposed to the real hell which goes on forever this to Will end.
Neil, Welcome to the word of artificial things. 2 weeks ago Wed. Coming up, I had a complete hip replacement. From last Aug.till Apr. 21st, I walked every step in pain, but just kept soldiering on. Went still for 40-60 minute walls, so as not to lose muscle. I was in just overnight, but the road to now was hard. Can’t sit, can’t stand long, have to lay flat on back in bed, (not comfortable at all),and the best is walking. I did not take any pain killers in the narcotic zone, just tylenol, which i am off now for a few days. Going it alone. Earl has been a blessing, looking after all my needs, He has been my rock. The first few days seemed like my leg was concrete. Now its not as bad. But still a long way to go. See my surgeon tomorrow, get my dressing changed, etc. So, not a very fun time. I am thankful first to all the hospital staff, the surgeon, the brand new hospital i was in, plus a private room, and great care, overnight hat i was there.Now I am thankful as i do my rounds in the kitchen, living, dining and family room, that we have lovely spring flowers and greenery to enjoy, as well the backyard is blooming. So I at least have pretty things to look at. Having this in the winter would have been pretty dreary. Looking fwd. to going tomorrow, and seeing different scenery, and hopefully get the okay now to walk outside. It has not been pleasant, but it had to be done. Yours sounds even worse, and from what I’ve heard, knee ops are worse. Guess you can attest to that. Are you i Seattle for your surgery, or at ORI. Warmer there so healing may be faster.. When can y get to golf, and play p.b. Again? On the horizon soon? Thanks for your updates. Always nice to hear from you. Take care, and don’t rush it. We can’t be in the U.S. and i wonder when we will be able to go. Good luck going forward. Stay safe and healthy. Till next time,
liz,
OMG. you are going through hell. thank goodness for Earl. all my best, Neil
Please God, please let me keep my 2 original knees!
Well, Neil from the photo clearly you are down to 1 big knee and one wee knee! With both you and Liz with only 1 good leg each you can easily dance the merengue.