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Topic: Pedal Steel after Major Knee Surgery |
Don McGregor
From:
Memphis, Tennessee
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Posted 26 Feb 2014 12:19 pm |
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I had to have total replacements on both of my knees, the right one in November, and the left just about 2 weeks ago, on February 11. I've been worried about how this would affect my pedal and knee lever usage on my Robbins D-10 pedal steel. So far, I think it's going to be okay.
After surgery on my right knee, it was a couple of weeks before I really felt up to doing much of anything more than what they told me to do to get stronger. Just getting through those first couple of weeks is hard work. At that point, I found that my right ankle movement was fine, and I could work the volume pedal as well as ever. That incision was still too tender to allow me to use any right knee levers, but that was okay. I could do without my right knee levers for a while, and even that got better with time. The only problem with that knee today, is that there is a still a stretch of numbness up and down the outer side of my knee. I can feel the pressure of my RKR, and hear the note change, but the skin is numb. Seems to work fine, at least for my level of playing.
My set up has 9 pedals, and 7 knee levers, but I'm still for the most part still focusing on learning AB&C pedals and the two E pedals on E9.
After my right knee was pretty well healed, and functioning better than my old one had in years, we scheduled the same procedure on my left. This one worried me more concerning the E9 neck, as my LKL, which raises my E's and LKR, which lowers my E's, are very important to me. I was worried that I might not be able to use them for a while. The short story is that, though as of today, the whole outer side of my left knee is numb to the touch, I am able to use it pretty well to push these two levers, and feeling the pressure serves me well enough. My staples just came out two days ago, so the incision is still very tender, and I'm afraid to practice very long at a time so far. It's just great to know it's going to work. My rig also has a second LKL that I have to reach further back to reach, and a LK-up that I'm supposed to push straight up, but the fresh incision isn't happy with those two right now. That's alright, because this steel has more pedals and levers than I know what to do with right now, and I'll get back to them as my healing progresses.
The long story is that, being afraid I would be out of commission on the E9 neck for a while, I bit the bullet, and made myself start spending some time learning the C6 pedals a little better. I thought, well, if my left knee thwarts my E9 playing for while, I can always play some C6 pedals with my right foot. C6 and A6 are my favorite 8 string non pedal tunings, and I'm pretty versatile on them, but I've never until now started figuring out how to use the C6 pedals. Three of them are starting to make a little sense. A little.
Anyway, before my surgeries, I kept meaning to post on here asking if anyone else has gone through this. Now I'm posting it in case there is anyone out there looking contemplating knee replacement, and worried as I was about how it might affect my playing.
So far, I've got nothing but positive things to say about it. My old knees were totally shot, and my whole life looks brighter now that I've done something about it. I'm also quite happy and relieved that I didn't have to sacrifice playing pedal steel to do it. |
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Scott Duckworth
From:
Etowah, TN Western Foothills of the Smokies
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Posted 26 Feb 2014 1:38 pm
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Good luck on all the rehab and getting back to playing. Just a thought... you can play C6 with bar slants. 
_________________
Amateur Radio Operator NA4IT (Extra)
http://www.qsl.net/na4it
I may, in fact, be nuts. However, I am screwed onto the right bolt... Jesus! |
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Don McGregor
From:
Memphis, Tennessee
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Posted 26 Feb 2014 2:12 pm
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| Thanks for the good wishes, Scott. Yes, I play C6 using a lot slants. I just also want to eventually work the pedals into it. They're there. I want to learn to use them. |
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Tony Tipton
From:
Wagoner,Oklahoma, USA
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Posted 26 Feb 2014 2:32 pm
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| Don, having had a total on my left knee in oct of 10 ,my experience has been that it never bothers me or even crosses my mind when I'm playing . There was a lot of numbness in the year , year and a half after the surgery . I started playing the steel in July of '12 and l have had no problem with that in my playing . Hang in there and keep on a pluckin' . Tony |
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Tony Tipton
From:
Wagoner,Oklahoma, USA
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Posted 26 Feb 2014 3:27 pm
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| Don , to be clear , there are a lot of problems in my playing, but that's not one of 'em. Lol! Good luck . Tony |
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Don McGregor
From:
Memphis, Tennessee
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Posted 26 Feb 2014 3:47 pm
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Thanks, Tony.
Same here. Looks like I'll be able to play just as well as I could before the surgeries. Unfortunately, not any better. Workin' on it, though. |
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Scott Duckworth
From:
Etowah, TN Western Foothills of the Smokies
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Posted 26 Feb 2014 6:57 pm
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Don, you should have asked the Doc for the "E9 / C6" vitamin shot... 
By the way, I need one myself! 
_________________
Amateur Radio Operator NA4IT (Extra)
http://www.qsl.net/na4it
I may, in fact, be nuts. However, I am screwed onto the right bolt... Jesus! |
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Skip Cole
From:
North Mississippi
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Posted 28 Feb 2014 9:01 pm Knee surgery
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Don , sounds like you have good rehab plan,a target, and a prize to shoot for. Keep up the good work and best wishes in the future.
My right knee was replaced in '09, left one is scheduled to be done in May.
God bless you and yours.
Skip |
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David Mason
From:
Cambridge, MD, USA
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Posted 28 Feb 2014 10:44 pm
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Short story: My mother and father both had knee replacements, fortunately a few years apart. My dad did his therapy, even when he really didn't want to. He came out of it way ahead. My mom immediately decided therapy couldn't help, and cheated on it every clever way she could think of. And she was never the same afterwards, rarely even left the house. When they knit muscles back together, they are inevitably a bit shorter and you HAVE to stretch them out, or stay crippled. I've gone a few rounds with the happy bouncy little therapy sadist girls over my infernal spine discs, just gotta bite the bullet and escape with work, not avoidance of work. I think they're not sociopaths...
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Don McGregor
From:
Memphis, Tennessee
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Posted 1 Mar 2014 6:43 am
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Oh, after two knee replacements a few months apart, I'm convinced that Physical Therapists are cruel, inhumane, sadistic, sociopaths, who have somehow, miraculously managed to channel all the burning angst of their tortured souls into one of the few vocations that actually allows them to use it to helps others. They're great.
I love my Physical Therapists. They constantly amaze me with how hard they work with me, and how much they inspire me to work at getting better. I joke about them lot, but they teach me, and push me, and have gotten me walking pretty good without even a cane in less than 3 weeks from my last surgery. I sure wouldn't be doing this well without them. |
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Bob Cox
From:
Buckeye State
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Posted 3 Mar 2014 7:46 am
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| Just go easy and let those pedals be a part of your rehab. Tell your wife its required regularly |
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Don McGregor
From:
Memphis, Tennessee
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Posted 3 Mar 2014 7:56 am
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| I'll tell her Dr. Cox, my consulting Pedalotrist, prescribed hours of steel therapy every day. |
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