I am five weeks out from bilateral knee replacement. One knee is doing great. It is very lose, moves easily, and has 110 rom. The other leg is very tight and stiff and takes forever to loosen up. It has 104 rom after extensive warm up and is always hard to move. Has anyone with bilateral experienced your legs being different, and did they ever catch up with each other? Thanks so much!
Congratulation to you! People say it is common for each knee to be different. Is one more swollen than the other, out of interest? And what were they like before, was one better than the other?
My "good" leg was actually the worse leg....but, my "bad" leg took all the compensation from not being able to use the other one much. Before surgery, it was always loaded with fluid and tighter. It is just a tiny bit more swollen now on one side. I guess that's one disadvantage of having both done....you constantly comparing the two. I hope this makes sense. 😁
Patty, I had my bilateral TKR done on 1/23/17 and to this day the right knee is totally different from left. My bend is about 115 in left and maybe on a good day the right is about 108. The two knees are like night and day and really can't explain it. The left knee bends so easily and the right have to really push. Only thing I can think of is that before surgery I depended a lot on the right knee because the left knee was so bad. I just don't know. I continue to push it and ride my stationary bike every day hoping to improve situation. Other than that I'm doing well. Hope you continue to get better and improve!!
Kind of! 😁 well, speak nicely to them both!
Thank you for your reply. That is exactly how mine was before surgery. My doctor and PT keep saying they will eventually catch up with each other. Is your right knee tight or stiff or just lack range of motion. I have a friend who finally reached full range after a year. I wish you the best.
Both knees still get tight and stiff but the right always more stiff and tight.🤔😳
Yes I have one brilliant example of a textbook knee replacement and one knee which troubles me often. My GP reckons one outta two ain't bad. I am of a similar opinion. I expected miracles which was unrealistic. I just deal with my high expectations and do what I need to do. Nothing much was explained to me post or pre op. Recovery takes time and a perfect result is not always possible. Just keep doing the exercises, consult your surgeon and expect to be better than you were, pre op. I am most certainly an improved version of the hobbling old gal I once was.x
Thank you for your reply. When was your surgery? I'm hearing more and more that it can take up to a year to get the expected results....I agree, they don't tell us any of this before surgery. Also, how is your range of motion on both of them?
Hi Patty. My knee twins' surgery was 21 March 2016 in Sydney. My surgeon said all the specs were good. I have no idea of my ROM, REM or anything else. Our medicos seem to just mutter stuff like "all good, keep moving!" And a few platitudes and motivating words like. "She'll be right". My physio was awesome and a source of great info. She's old and at the end of her career but a great motivator and communicator. So at 16 months post op my surgeon has finally got round to ordering another CAT scan to see if there's any remedy to my constant discomfort on right knee. There is not always a solution to every medical issue and after seeking responses from many sources I now understand that gratitude, acceptance, exercise, fresh healthy food and lots of travel is what works for me. X
Hi Patty
I had Bilateral replacements 5 months ago. Yes they was both different for about 4 months, Stange thing is they swopped over my poor leg then turned into my good leg
Hi Patty, I had mine done 18 months apart and I had totally different recoveries with each one. Don't worry that they are reacting differently. They'll both get there in the end. At 5 weeks you're very early in your recovery, just do the physio and keep going. Focus on what you want to achieve when you're better. It keeps me advancing. I have a new life now, as do you. All the best, keep going and let us know how you're going.