What I learned today is that I may never be able to sit back on my heels in a proper child's pose. Ghate says the knee has about 135 degrees of flexion. I checked out of PT with a flex of 130 degrees. Right now the muscles seem to be holding it back from fuller flexion but maybe there is more to it than that. Read article about flexion and TKA.
He also says that it is as straight as I need it to be even though when I look at my legs-up-the-wall in the side mirror, I see one slightly bent leg and one straight against the wall. He said that I should not try to hyper-extend the knee replacement. I thought I was only going for straight.
His outer range for loosening the muscles around the knee, for me the quad, the hamstrings and hip muscles, is 18 months. Luckily I am working with some very talented yogis who will help me get to my max, whatever that may be.
I mentioned a strange story I heard this week about a woman whose knee replacement twisted, dislocated I guess, and had to be taken out and replaced again. He said that my knee is glued in place and that would not happen to me. The only thing that could do that, in his opinion, is a car accident. I may have to ask how it happened to Elaine, wife of David in my building.
The side view in the x-ray shows my knee cap, my own on the outside and on the inside it has been coated with a plastic surface to make it slide easily against the metal.
