Fast Track Your Recovery From A Total Knee Replacement:: How to Eliminate Pain And Pain Medicine The Quickest Way Possible Paperback – August 30, 2013

I chose this book because I read an excerpt that stated something like range of motion can be improved much faster and pain levels lowered faster. I am a busy person and I need to get back to my life quickly! Even though I only learned of this book, tools, and stats at nearly six weeks post-op, I still have a long way to go. I truly hope that as I apply this information the pain and swelling will lessen tremendously! I’ve been hobbling around for over two years now. I will try to update my post as I go through the new process.

Worth reading if you are having knee replacement. Gives documented information as to exercises that will increase the speed by which you will regain range of motion that you may use in conjunction with your doctor's and PT person's recommendations.

I wish I had this book before I had my first TKR. It provided a great deal of information and insight that the surgeon, nurses, and physical therapists overlook when talking to their patients. It also helped my caregiver (wife) better understand what was going on.Even if you chose not to follow the rehab regimen prescribed in this book, I think it is still worth reading. If I have one criticism, it would be the poor quality of the book itself. It's printed on cheap paper, the print itself is not sharp and clear, and the photos were very grainy. It looks more like a dime store novel, than a close to $20 book.

I'm a 71 yo male into my second post-operative week after a TKR, and I couldn't be more pleased with this book and Michele's guidance. Her strong advice that one focus on range of motion during weeks 1 and 2 had worked out perfectly for me, so much so that on day 11 I have no pain, am off medications except 1x 650 mg acetaminophen before bed, and am walking for 10 minutes twice a day unaided on a treadmill. I use the "track" religiously to measure progress and have gained 7 inches of unaided flexion since day 3 post-op. The flex bar is also terrific in leveraging flexion. (My grandson and I built both aides before the operation, which was a nice project.)One disagreement I would have with Micelle is her warning that a stationary bike should be avoided because it could cause overshooting of the TKR knee by the unoperated side. While that's true, one can ease into the bike by doing half revolutions and moving the seat back to a place where maximal flexion is comfortable. I'm now routinely using the bike as part of my rehabilItiation.My in-home PT and nurse are amazed at my progress (as am I) and will be recommending that I transition to an external PT facility far sooner that was predicted. They were also intrigued by the track and flex Bar and will be recommending both to others.As a medical school anatomy professor for over 30 years, I'm well aware of the knee's structure, what can go wrong in an operation, and how important effective rehab is for recovery. For those reasons, I put off the TKR for years because my knee didn't bother me at night and with the exception of going up and down stairs comfortably, and walking sideways down hills on the golf course, I was navigating OK. Boy, what a mistake! The whole TKR experience has been much less traumatic than I expected, and Micelle's book and aides have made rehabilitation progress quick, measurable and almost enjoyable. I heartily recommend this book.

The print is very small and has faded printing. Not dark black, like the contents page.I find myself straining my eyes to read it.I do not recommend.

I was into week 6 of a double knee replacement before I read this book. Quite a bit of 'filler' in this book among the good stuff. The cutting down of the walker and how to use the item was not clear to me. A lot was made of 'juicing up' the basic exercise of bending the knee under a chair. Encouraging biofeedback by measuring the distance the foot moves back is not a totally novel idea. I'm not sure that periods of extensive exercise as determined by physiotherapists who have 'appointments' where they need to 'achieve' something is as beneficial is moderate self-motivated physio spread throughout the day. In the early weeks depending on painkillers to force extended exercise and more inflammation will be hard for people who prefer to wean off pain medication for digestive health or other reasons. Walking seems to be a key exercise that is not given a lot of emphasis.

After reading ,twice, Ms. Stiles book, it is very clear and concise that even I could comprehend the contents. After my TKR, I used the automatic knee bending machine , that's what I called it, daily for up to eight hours. The rest of the day I would stretch, and walk up and down three steps, and do lunghes. I played my first round of golf two months after surgery and walked at least half of the course. I currently use a rubber hose to do leg stretches and also curls and other exercises with it daily. Keep moving, but stop to rest frequently, take really deep breaths to get the maximum Mount of oxygen in your lungs. It will help with your rehab.....Thank you Ms.Stiles for being down to earth with all of your instructions and experience in the field of PT.........Francis M Burfield.....Mr. Bird....

I am scheduled to have TKR in about a month. I was very impressed with the content in this book, but I can't comment on how the "fast track" works, but I will be happy to update this after surgery.I do have a question, when I got to the end of the book there was a link to a website where I was supposed to get the "blueprints" for the device. The link only took me to a question and answer page and I couldn't find the "blueprints". Can anyone, even Michelle Stiles, help me with this?Thank you in advance.