As I stated above, it's been 14 months since I had my tkr. I'm glad I did it all though it was a difficult recovery. It's certainly an improvement but I cannot say my knee is pain free. I have one coming up in June and I'm really just curious. Those who had a tkr at least a year ago, are you pain free?
Yuppie doodles! Two+ years...only occasional stiffness when I slack off the activity and I still get some nerve pain kneeling on a hard surface (which I really try to avoid). Other than that, zero pain. I would suggest you get your quads, glutes and core as strong as possible before #2. Hopefully will make the second recovery easier.
That's wonderful! Even if you sit in a chair or in a movie theater for a long period of time, when you get up your replaced knee is fine?
P.S. I'm not overweight and work out pretty religiously. I am tall, with long legs. Sometimes I wonder if that has made it more difficult.
I'm 18 months L.TKR and basically pain free BUT if I bump it....I feel it and it hurts! When I bend over to clean things, my implant does not like it! Sometimes I feel the stress of the implant with certain activities.
Thanks for your response. Maybe I am stressing my replaced knee because the other one is not in good shape and will be replaced soon.
At 70, I still work F/T as an IT Process Architect for AT&T so I sit a lot. Have to get up and move every hour. If I just sit for 4-5 hours, there may be a little stiffness for the first few steps. That's it. No pain morning, noon or night. Just keep it as active as possible plus continuing the muscle rebuild that was interrupted by two spine and one wrist surgery since the knee was replaced in March '16. The spine fusion (for stenosis) and then a difficult 3 1/2-hour laminectomy really set me back. However, 45+ years of hockey gave me very strong legs so it hasn't been a huge problem. Just need all that strength back so I feel more balanced and steady. It's a lifelong recovery...accept it...own it...
I had my TKR Jan. 25, 2017& no after 15 months I am not pain free. I can walk long distances, go up & down stairs without holding on to a railing but still feel some discomfort. After sitting for a while there is stiffness when I get up. My knee still feels mechanical and not natural. I feel like I need to massage it to feel better. I just started doing heel slides again to see if I can break up more scar tissue, take daily walks & ride my stationery bike. I honestly thought I would be feeling much better without any pain. It certainly is a long recovery, hope some day I will forget I ever had the surgery.
Thank you, Dolores. We're just about the same time, post op. Sounds similar although I don't have the "unnatural " feeling that you have. I have read that total recovery can take up to two years so hopefully we will feel better in the months to come!
Hi Neizie
I am only nine months post op. I had a second tkr scheduled for March which I canceled. I am still in pain, no not like the first few months but nine the less pain. I wake up with a stiff knee every morning and some nights I still need to take a pain pill. Did you see your surgeon after the year? What did he say? I must admit this was a very rough surgery. They put this foreign object in you and I guess some bodies just don’t like it there and mine is one of them. Please let me know what your surgeon said also what kind of pain do you experience. Everyone is telling me the bad knee is causing my operated knee to hurt
Hope you feel better soon
Arlene
Hi Arlene. I did not go back to my surgeon after a year, but I did see him after 14 months to talk about and schedule my next tkr. He asked how it was and I said it was certainly better but it was not totally pain-free. He really didn't say much and I should have pushed the issue but I felt like I was kind of pushed out of the office. I can't even really call it pain but it's more discomfort. Particularly after sitting for a while or getting down on the floor and back up. I don't know how much is related to the other knee which will be replaced in June. I guess I was asking because I hear people saying how amazing it is to be pain-free and I'm just not quite there.
Just a thought... One reason people feel knee pain throughout their recovery and then afterwards is that they don't take the time to rebuild the atrophied musculature that supports the knee. Quads, glutes core, hamstrings, abductors, etc. are all muscle groups that do the "heavy lifting" in our daily lives. Almost all of these muscles are literally dead within 6-8 weeks post-op. Ever look at the bicep of someone who's been in a cast for two months? Toothpick. Now think of all your leg, hip and abs muscles...
What's happening is that all the pressure...all day, every day...is being forced onto the new knee joint. It cannot do that job...period...and your surrounding muscles are too weak to help. So...
Ya gotta hit the gym or get a set of exercise bands for your home and do the rebuild. Walking and biking are part of it but you need to build both endurance and strength back again...slowly at first but then for real. Here's a program...
https://patient.info/forums/discuss/post-tkr-exercising-565527
Rebuild those muscles and you'll take the pressure off the knee. Result: little to no knee pain because the muscles are working the way they were intended. Then: keep it up for the rest of your life. Those muscles have to remain strong, the knee needs to be active. Think about it...
Great info chico. Question, from your history of great leg conditioning, did you need TKR cause of bone on bone? And, if you had to do it over again, would it be possible in your pre TKR, to exercise your leg muscles to overcome your pre TKR pain? In other words, I see there is pain pre and post KR surgery, and I wonder with your personal history, would certain leg exercises help prevent or help delay TKR? TY.
Yes. Can get minor ache if i have done loads...ie been on feet all day with loads of walking but that is it. Seems to still be improving even at this point. 13 months post op.
Hi Neizie, I’m 14 months tkr and still have pain especially on the lateral side of my knee, I can just manage to go upstairs but coming down I have trouble with the pain. I had my 12 monthly review but was more or less told to get on with it, as it may take another 6 months. I’ve resigned myself to the fact that this is as good as it gets, but won’t be having my other knee done. I am 77 yrs old so perhaps this is a factor. Good luck with your progress.
18 years ago, I had my first knee scope. Ripped off a femoral condyle cartilage. Kick save, my defenseman rolled my leg. After that, three more scopes for another condyle and two menisci. Left me with almost no cartilage plus the growing arthritis left me bone on bone. Then a hop replacement in '09 ended the hockey for good. The TKR was in '16.
Two things saved me from the TKR for 15 years... 1. Synvisc. Worked great for me. A three shot protocol (days 1, 8 and 15) lasted almost a year each time Zero pain. 2. Moving from NJ to TX. Getting away from the cold, icy winters to the constant warmth of Texas helped so much, I didn't need the Synvisc for six years. Didn't do a ton of exercise in between; my legs are incredibly strong from 45+ years of hockey...lots of "muscle memory".
However, after having gone through it and ending up with dead quads, I will DEFINITELY have my quads, glutes, core, abductors, etc. in much better shape before I attempt #2. Yes, there will be some atrophy again but I hope to minimize it with the up-front gym work. Gotta do it anyway to rebuild from #1. Absolutely the most difficult op to recover from.
The exercise program is here...
https://patient.info/forums/discuss/post-tkr-exercising-565527
Perfect for pre-TKR too.
Hi Neizie
I'm 17 months post op TKR I don't get a lot of pain just now and again and a little stiffness to when I look back pre op things are still much better I wish you a speedy recovery when you have your next op good luck.
JOHNNY