I am now almost 7 months post op and still having pain on left side of my knee. My flexion is only 112 and I can't seem to do any better. I can only bend so far before the pain starts. Still have the stiffness which I expect but I expected the pain to be gone by now. Does anyone else have this problem?
Can you tell us more about what you're doing with icing, elevating, exercising, stairs, meds, PT, and walking? It might give a clue about what's going on.
I still had some pain at almost 1 year. but nothing like what I had before TKR. I used biofreeze and my Tens machince almost every night, exercise helped ( the ones I done in PT) I went to PT 3 times a week for 3 months . I can bend and straighten my new knee almost as good as my other knee. but I can't get on that knee, ( down on my hands and knee's ) I have to put my weight on the other knee ? but I'm glad I done it cause before I had TKR I hurt ALL the time and was ready to have it amputated. I was 44 when I had mine done. I don't know how old you are but I think age has alot to do with recoverey, I was the youngest one out of about 5 who were at PT at the time I had mine done, men and 1 woman, I had the best and fastest recoverey there. Good Luck and I hope it gets better for you
Hi jeanne im just 7 mnths left tkr to! And omg cant believe how drawn out this healing process is! Im still getting a lot of tightening and stiffness in my muscles! Im icing daily and exercising to! I had cut down but my muscles realy need stretching! So to get me going i do strengthening and stretching when i wake up! The physio said it can take up to two yrs which is so long! My knee muscles are hard to relax so they hurt when i dont! It feels like my knee is in
A vice! It should improve but is slow so you are not the only one! X
Hi Jeanne,
I had a bilateral TkR in March so I am 6 months out! I still have pain and stiffness lots of swelling ! Icing is my friend and stretching! Riding a bike keeps my knees loose! Docs says Give it a full year
I ride 3-4 days a week for about 30-40 minutes and I use a weight machine to strengthen muscles on my legs but only using 30 pounds so I don't hurt myself! Hang in there
Lea
Can you remember what sort of procedure you had.
I'm having a bionet signature series tkr
Where they give you an MRI scan to measure hip knee and ankle. Then jigs are made to cut around to get the shape of your old knee.
Does any of that sound familiar
Left side could be inside or out depending on which leg? Probably not a good comparison as i am only at 10 weeks but I do keep getting a pain in the outside of my knee that reminds me of tennis elbow. I wonder if it is to do with strain on the tendon where it joins the knee as I have only noticed it since I've been walking more. Mine's a bit stiff if worked hard but more tight in the joint I woulddescribe it as especially as it will only bend 90 deg before it stops dead!
Dave
Mary,
No I'm not sure which procedure I had, I did have an MRI but it was just of my knee, I know they shave off just the bare minumum of bone and the new knee ( Titanium ) fits over it. the bottom bone is also cut off flat and in the Xrays looks like it has a smooth plastic top.
I am 12 weeks post TKR today. I've finished PT, and continue to do my exercises daily. Riding a stationary bike works well for stretching. I have found that getting deep tissue massages every 3 weeks has really helped to reduce pain and stiffness . It's not cheap but totally worth it-I feel like a new woman when I leave !
I had stopped icing but started again today. I take no med and never took any from the beginning as I have had 2 heart attacks and my body doesn't react very well because of the medications I am taking. Also have had 2 blood clots in my leg following tkr. I am also 72 years old and have had arthritis since I was 16. I try to go up and down the stairs a few times a day and ride my recumbent bike at least a half hour a day but still struggling with knee bends because of the constant swelling.
Thank you.
I don't know if I am doing the wrong exercises. At my final pt session I was told I only had to exercise once a day but how long? For the rest of my life?
Are you in USA? Where do you get deep tissue massage?
Hi Jeanne,
Yes, I'm in the US. I go to a local massage therapist at Massage Retreat and Spa. If you are considering massage, make sure to get an ok from your doctor since you have other health issues. Massage isn't for everyone, but it certainly is helping me. Wishing you all the best in your recovery.
Diane
I'm 44 , and having T K R in 4 weeks.
Is there anything i can do before my surgery, to.help me prepare?
Hi Jeanne .. I'm 11mths post op and still suffer with severe swelling my bend is only 110 and my surgeon is elated with that as my other knee which is having a tkr on Monday has slowed me down alot with many exercises. I still get pain but it's tolerable the main thing is when I've been walking and my knee stiffens even more and the swelling is worse .. I just find icing helps heaps.
So hope you can find a solution .. take care... Tracey
I talked to my physical therapist last week about walking, and he told me it's probably the least important of the exercises became it neither straightens the leg fully or bends it significantly. Moreover, whenever the knee is below your waist, you're prone to swelling. Elevating, icing, and stretching exercises are key. FYI.
BTW, I'm not saying he is correct. Just wanted to provide a point of view.
No I don't think there is, as the time drew nearer the more nervous I got , about 2 weeks before I broke out in a rash all over , Dr thinks it was just nerves or stress, I'd just take some Benadryl and it seemed to get rid of it.
maybe just do some stretches if your able. But after the surgery do everything the Dr and PT tells you. are they going to have you use a CPM machine ? if not you may request one, I didn't like mine but I do believe it helped, also I had a Tens machine, so at night I could ice my knee and use the Tens machine, also I went to PT 3 times a week for 3 months. The first 3 months are going to be hard, they were for me. but after a year things got alot better, and now 2 years out if it wasn't for the scar I would forget it was even done. good luck