My husband aged 72 had a stroke 3 months ago. He had a total knee replacement last August. Although the physio said he would walk again using a quad stick, he has lost the use of his right hand and arm, she know says he cannot straighten his leg because of the knee replacement. Has anyone had any success getting mobile again? He is quite determined but cannot seem to put his heel down
Morning - I don't have personal experience of stroke, but I had a knee replacement in January 2017, and it was hideously painful for quite a long time! I really had to work hard to achieve a decent bend on the knee - talk about push through the pain barrier! However, straightening the leg was very much easier and quickly achieved. The leg seems to remain swollen for ages, even now, 2 years on, my knee replacement leg is almost one & a half centimetres bigger than the other (around the calf), it is also 'warmer' than the other leg. So some funny stuff seems to happen with a knee replacement. Now you have the additional problems of the stroke, and maybe the messages aren't reaching the joint telling it to straighten. I think stroke survivors would tell you to keep exercising, even if you have to manually bend/straighten the leg, just to keep the messages going, in the hope that eventually new pathways will be 'wired' and he will be able to do this independently. Don't give up!! Best wishes, xx
Thanks for your comments, his physio at the rehab hospital he is in at the moment says she can’t stretch and bend his leg too much as it’s not a natural joint. It was straight before he had the stroke so I can only hope in time he will be able to walk a little.
best wishes x