The physios tell me this is normal but the exercises don't seem to make any difference. Does using an exercise bike help or are there any other suggestions? Saw the consultant yesterday for a follow-up appointment and he seemed to think that I should be completely pain free by now. Should I be? My reaction was that he can't possibly have much post op experience.
Nooooooooooooooooo. Sorry it takes months for your knee to sort itself out. Read some of the posts on this site. Everyone is different but I think 5 weeks is definitely too early.
practice makes perfect with leg straightening just keep going.
It's a shame that those type of consultants can't have an experience of what the TKR feels like. Keep strong and persevere
Thanks - I was prepared for a long haul but the consultant's attitude really threw me. I'll keep going with the straightening exercise
My consultant underlined how painful it would be but I thought he was just in a bad mood but he left me under no illusion . I said "well it can't be worse than the pain I have now" and he just said " well............" He did reassure me that in time it would ease but also I would probably need another one in 15 years.
so I joked with him , knowing the NHS , could I book my appointment now !!
recover at your own speed
This is the opinion of someone who has never had to go through the actual surgery. Don't let his statement weigh too heavily on reality. At 5 weeks most are still trying to sort out the changes going on in the body while the body is throwing you a different signal every day or so. You will get to a point and suddenly an old pain or symptom will reappear. Most of the contributors here will talk in the terms of months and not weeks. The general trend is, medicate on a regular basis not after the pain starts. Work your excercise routine so you start an hour or so after taking pain meds then ice and elevate immediately after excercise. Drink lots of water and even though your appetite is probably off a bit, eat healthy (fruits and veggies). Rest whenever possible and don't beat up on yourself because you aren't where someone else perceives you should be. Everyone heals at a different rate, slow steady progress is the key. This is life changing experience. Common comments from people who haven't gone through it will be you look great even though the pain is so bad you want to scream. Stay within yourself, work steadily and it will all come about. The folks on here will become your friends and strongest backers. Good luck
Green1 , I am 8 weeks post op now and though I haven't had the problems others have I have seen what they recommended for them in therapy. For straightening they had them do several different things. You can put a heat compress under your knee with ice on top for 15 min. This helps relax the muscles in the back of the knee. Also you can lay on your stomach with your legs off the bed from just above the knee down and let it just hang for about 2 minutes twice a day.Also you may lay on your back with your legs straight up against the wall. As far as your pain, everyone is different. I and a friend had TKR on the same day and though after only 1week out I was pain free, at 7 weeks she was still having a lot of pain. She went to her family doctor who prescribed her some anti-inflammatory drugs to reduced the swelling. After a week she was doing great. I pray this in some way helps you. Keep a positive attitude, because believe it or not, it does get better.
I am 23 days post op and yesterday i was feeling really pleased with my progress after seeing the physio. Today however during exercises i couldnt bend my knee even once without excruiciating pain. Very frustrating but not at all unusual if you read this forum. I have had ops on my knee since age 9. My history will be different from another's history but our experiences can be similar. It helps to read other's experiences. There is no "one size fits all" about this op. If you are in pain then barring a major complication which you would have noticed (!) Then your body is not quite ready yet and thats that! You are the best judge. Do what you have been told and let your body tell you what it needs. Good luck.
Keep doing the work and it will come. Be patient; each knee is different. I had more flexion with my first knee by this time but I can walk smoother with this one. This one had hardware removed and is taking longer. Use ice, simple meds like Aleve or Tylenol, workouts and sex(yes!) To manage pain. Lol hang in there!
In my experience and most others on this forum you are very unlikely to be pain free at 5 weeks - unfortunately! As for the straightening, it too takes a long time. The exercises work but you need to keep doing them. I think the bike is more useful for the bend rather than the straightening. I saw my physio yesterday and she said I was -2degrees. I think 0degrees is completely straight. I'm nearly 23 weeks post op and struggled to get the leg straight for a while. So, you can see it will get there eventually. Keep at those straightening exercises. Jen
Someone on this forum gave some good advice for straightening the leg
lay on your stomach with legs over the end of the bed and let gravity take over
it really is a great exercise and helped me get my leg straight
its a very painful exercise so don't push too far too soon
Jean
I was given this and found it very painful. Physio suggested I do the one sitting on chair with foot on another chair, push down at knee and hold for 30 secs. Also, standing in front of stool, heel on stool and bend from waist until you feel stretch at back of leg and hold for 30 secs. I found these easier and my leg has straightened pretty well eventually. The one on the bed is good if you can tolerate the pain but I've had awful trouble with hamstring pain and this exercise really hurt! Jen (23weeks)
green -- some surgeons clearly chose the wrong profession in life. zero empathy, zero personal experience of what it means going through this. dreadful.
it is very very early days for you. everybody else on here has given you good pointers. medicate - elevate - ice. i never had an issue with the stretch but regularly did the exercises for the stretch and felt they helped the tension in the leg. my issue was the bend but that has been taken care of in the meantime as well.
britta -- 16, 17 or 18 weeks ... stopped counting!
When you stop counting weeks you know you are mending! I find that I do short workouts all day long: as I brush my teeth I stand on two legs with even weight distribution and pushing to straighten it and then rock left and right to do just a bit more. I do small squats as I cook in the kitchen. I press to straighten and lift to extend my leg as I read on the lazyboy chair. I hang my leg off a high stool to make gravity flex it further than I can. I lay on my back on my mat and do slow bicycles in the air as I can. I use whatever fills my day to do a bit more than yesterday and sometimes a bit less if I overdo it. There is nothing more important for the quality of the next 30-40 years of my life (my Grandma lived to 101) than my health and mobility and I try to live accordingly. This is working pretty well so far. I am a veteran of recovery and learning how to walk since my teens with 12 or 13 knee surgeries and counting. I intend to bike, xc ski, swim, and hike till the day they put me in a box if possible!
Well done...that's great advice and I gope you reach your goal ...in fact with your extermination I know you will
take care
Jean
Stupid text ...I meant determination
I'm 26 weeks post op and still can't straighten my leg and only just weaning myself off painkillers but my consultant says it's very rare but what does anyone know who isn't the patient. Five weeks is very early days.
Lying on your front with your knees dangling off the edge of the bed for 30 mins hurts like hell but help most people but I'm sure this has already been mentioned.
Good luck, be patient - we all have to make our own journey.
Hi Diana
i'm just over 17 weeks and I'm still struggling with this knee
I'm still taking nightime painkiller
i saw my Surgeon and he said the same to me that it's very rare anything goes wrong with the knee
but I think we all know our own bodies and expect help when we need it.
he will see me again in February and if it's still the same he will investigate further
as for dangling your leg off the bed for 30 mins ....Wow ...I can just about manage 5 mins if I'm lucky.
That might be a bit much. I was taught to slowly rela x the leg let it hang for 1-2 min, roll to the side relax and repeat 10 x's increasing to 15. Then go directly to my back rolling a towel and put it under my ankle allowing the knee a couple of inches clearance from the bed. Then using the entire leg muscles stretch, tighten and force the knee toward the bed. Hold for 10 count and relax. Do 3 sets o 10 each. The keys, gentle movement, nothing herky-jerky and complete relaxation each time.
I had to laugh at the thought of hanging your leg off the bed. My first thought was:how on earth do you get on to your front? Lol. I am using the towel under the ankle method which seems to work well for me. I am not very adventurous!
I just lay on my back, roll over and then sort of snake my way backwards till the knees are where I wanted them. Not something I would wish to have video taped. When I 1st started the excercise it was in an open area of the therapy "gym". When I saw some of the excercise others we doing I decided they were in their own private hell and too busy to watch me