February 19, 2018 | X10 Therapy

Knee Pre-hab and Rehab for a Successful Replacement– written by Fred Slete– interview by Lisa Pelley and Mary Elliott– video edit by Sean Bronsteen My name is Fred Slete. I turned 60 yrs. old one week before Total Knee Replacement surgery, January 2018. I live in South-Central Lower Michigan.I have a very active life-style. As a practicing dentist at Dentistry by Design in Jackson, Michigan, I am up and down, on my feet all day long. I also enjoy traveling, and sight-seeing which require great mobility and being able to walk “miles a day” to maximize the experience. Further, my recreation includes golfing several times per week when climate allows.I grew up playing and participating in nearly every sport available. As an adult, I had trained for and completed both a Tri-Athlon and a Marathon in my thirties. I transitioned into a “walker” in my forties and early fifties, but had to give this form of exercise up because of increasing knee pain, arthritis, and bone to bone deterioration of my knee joint complex.My right knee underwent total replacement in March 2015. I recovered fairly well, regaining full range of motion, but experiencing some “stiffness” in the knee, even though fully functional. However, the first few weeks after surgery were painful, and not something I looked forward to experiencing again. Having had one knee surgery I was obviously familiar with the downtime and the recuperation period, but what was holding me back was the recuperative period…. the post-surgical pain and the post surgical work that it took to rehabilitate my previous knee. Having one knee rehabilitated, I thought I would be good for a while. However, the remaining knee continued to degrade, and within the next year I could no longer walk the course while playing golf. It was painful to even walk from the cart to the green and back. My enjoyment of the game, as well as my enjoyment of life was diminished due to my increasing pain and lack of mobility. Some nights were disturbed by constant pain instead of sleep. Even during my “off time” I was becoming less and less mobile, and started to put on weight. I was essentially avoiding moving and walking whenever I could. We went on a family European trip to Munich and Vienna in May 2017. We walked all day long for 12 days. I had to “ice” my knee mid-day and every evening to be able to get through the day. I nicknamed my Motrin “vitamin M” because I was taking it several times daily.When I returned home, I knew it was time to do something. I had a friend, a fellow dentist, who had used the X10 one year earlier for his knee recovery. He raved of the experience, his recuperation, and his quick return to mobility and function.I followed through with his recommendation and researched the X10 for knee pre-hab and rehab.I was convinced that I wanted to do anything I could to speed recovery and decrease my post-operative pain. I hoped that the X10 was the answer. The average X10 patient who does knee pre-hab and rehab, at one month, shows a 20-30% strength surplus compared to their pre-surgical strength. Above are preliminary results on quadriceps strength for patients who used the X10 prior to and after surgery. The important points to understand from this graph are:1: A few weeks of pre-surgical strengthening makes a marked improvement in the strength you go into surgery with;2: Use of the X10 after surgery enables you to quickly surpass your pre-surgical strength, thereby improving your quality of life following surgery.The average knee replacement patient has 60-70% of their pre-surgical strength at one year after surgery. The graph above shows that X10 patients achieved 60-70% of their pre-surgical strength in one week following surgery. The average X10 patient achieved, in one month, nearly double the strength that non-X10 patients achieved in one year.*The X10 lets you get back in the game, not just relieve the pain.*These results will be updated as we complete formal studies. I contacted X10 Therapy through the website, and I was off and running. We set up delivery three weeks pre-op to begin exercises to strengthen and flex my knee. We established baselines for muscle strength and range of motion so that I had goals for my post-op recovery.The company supplied a notebook for record keeping and made it simple for me to chart my progress and participation throughout the pre and post recovery periods.I loved being able to chart my progress and visually “see” my numbers improve day to day.I began to look forward to waking up and going immediately to the X10 to start the day! It was a great way to get rid of the night time stiffness and make my knee more mobile from the get-go each morning. Prepare for Knee Surgery – Read More Knee Pre-hab and Rehab Worked for MeI recovered in less time, with less pain, and greater strength and mobility with the X10 than with my other knee. I always felt safe and in control, and was able to really push it on days that I felt better than others, or scale back on days that were a little tougher.It’s easy, it’s convenient, it’s safe, and it works!I highly recommend the X10 for knee pre-hab and rehab, without hesitation, to anyone contemplating Total Replacement. The X10 Meta-BlogWe call it a “Meta-Blog” because we step back and give you a broad perspective on all aspects of knee health, surgery and recovery.In this one-of-a-kind blog we gather together great thinkers, doers, writers related to Knee Surgery, Recovery, Preparation, Care, Success and Failure. Meet physical therapists, coaches, surgeons, patients, and as many smart people as we can gather to create useful articles for you. Whether you have a surgery upcoming, in the rear-view mirror, or just want to take care of your knees to avoid surgery, you should find some value here. #mc_embed_signup{background:#fff; clear:left; font:14px Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; }/* Add your own MailChimp form style overrides in your site stylesheet or in this style block.We recommend moving this block and the preceding CSS link to the HEAD of your HTML file. */Subscribe to the Blog Here* indicates requiredEmail Address *First Name Last Name