Know stiffness and lots of it seem to part of the package. I feel stiff for the most part of the day these days I do 3 exercises every hour besides my daily home excercises.
To clarify- this stiffness is the knee feeling like a block of wood. Not to be confused with the "band" on the top part of the kneecap or the IT band stiffness (stiffness that runs from the side of the thigh down to the shin).
Waking up with stiffness is a given.
Hi Milla!
My stiffness varies greatly throughout the day, with various weather conditions, with my level of movement or if I have a day of not moving around, walking, or working outside.
Also, some nights I manage to get five or six straight hours of sleep. Those mornings are often rougher for the first 10-15 minutes or so. I must not move much during those "longer" nights of sleep.
I haven't been able to figure out any foods that contribute to stiffness and/ or bouts of aches and stiffness.
Generally I do better on warm days, sunny/ clear days, days when I keep moving, and days when I am busy doing interesting things that distract me from pain and stiffness.
Ibuprofen helps.
I hope you will have more "not-so-stiff" days!😄
Hi
It's a fine line PT between pain and motion of the knee.
Except for straightening and a little bending I only did this in a hot bath for the first 6 weeks.
The PT I had was more of a conversation and massage, test of balance and a coffee.
At 6 weeks I started seeing a sports PT, he did much more.
Was on my feet a lot from 6 weeks onwards, could not wait for the hot bath each day ( after my op 4 days later I sometimes was in the bath 3 times a day.
9 months on the bend is only around 120, but it's been like this for 40 years. Generally all good with the knee, can ride a bike , at work be on my feet for up to 12 hours.
So it does get better for most.
Good healing
The other thing they never tell you is kneeling might be uncomfortable for ever.
Stiff at post op 12 months. When I get up in the morning and after prolonged sits. Be patient.
Thanks Cheryl. We had a cold rainy day here in SoCal and I know now it is not a myth. It affected my leg.
I have even contemplated getting up at night to do excercises so it's not so bad upon waking up. More movement helped the last 2 days but unfortunately I walked a little too much yesterday and I am paying for it today. I have started using my pedometer app on my phone so I can track my walking exactly and find out how much is enough and what is too much!
Clive thanks for your reply. Right know just the thought of kneeling makes me break out in cold sweat. Lol
Somehow my knee doesn't respond to heat. Most of the time it takes painful exercise and stretching to get rid of it. I also had a lot of stiffness before the surgery. One day at a time...
Hi Milla - my knee feels very stiff in the mornings. When I sleep I feel a lot of pain. I cannot bend the knee past 115. The doctor wanted to do a manipulation, but I was almost at 4 months post op. My understanding that manipulations should be before 3 months so I opted not to have it done. Yes, sometimes my knee feels like a piece of wood. My concerns are that I still have pain after 5 months and that I cannot bend it to 120. Before the surgery I could bend it to 136. Thanks, J21370
Hi Milla
This is only a suggestion, but have you tried resting & elevating a bit more rather than MORE exercise?
We are all different but I found the stiffness eases if I rest it a bit. Apart from sitting in one position for any length of time! That still does it (BOTH legs).
I am on my feet a lot now, at work up & down on the step stool, I find just moving around better than exercise. Maybe that's just me though!
All the best
Marilyn
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I've got far less stiffness in that leg when I wake up than the unoperated one but it's weird. Sometimes when I walk it feels stiff yet at other times I forget about it and it doesn't. I almost wonder if I'm placing the foot differently sometimes. The knee itself doesn't feel stiff - it's a bump just below the knee that twinges if I bend it when the foot is at a particular angle as well as that excruciating pain at the back if I push the bend, but I've not done that at all for a couple of days on the advice of the physio. I really think this is all ligaments healing. But what do others think?
Kneeling?????? What's that?????? I literally haven't been able to do that for over 10 years LOL! Won't miss that! To be honest, I was told that kneeling wouldn't be ideal after the knee op and I think unless you do it carefully you can damage the knee (or please tell me if I'm wrong on that?) but I can happily manage without. It's stairs that will be my challenge once it's all healed and the other knee is done because I've not done those for 10 years either!
You could well be right Chris, there is still soooo much healing going on, have you mentioned it to your Physio?
I still have a point in my scar that twinges in the back of the knee when I massage it!! I assume it's the nerves repairing & taking other routes???
Other knee just doesn't want to bend or straighten & very stiff & painful. The operated knee always had more movement but much more pain!! Dreading the next TKR.
All the best
Marilyn
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Maryline, you've just confirmed something I was wondering about. My problem at the back of the knee started after I went on the recumbent bike and I did wonder if overdoing exercise pushes things too much when they're still healing. I guess it comes down to how hard we're pushing that exercise too! I read something on here that someone wrote recently - don't push it to the point of pain and my physio said that too. I know so many people have different views (like midwives when you have a baby!) but while we want to be stretching the scar tissue when muscles and ligaments are mending perhaps we don't want to be pushing those so much. The question is - SHOULD you need pain medication to enable you to cope more with exercise, or should you exercise a bit more gently???????? I don't know the answer to that one????? Or maybe this is another one where everyone is different!?
Kneeling no! But you will do stairs, you have good bend so stairs will be a doddle. Just take it easy, if you can straighten too you will be fine. Did the hospital physios not have you doing stairs before discharge from hospital? If you are in a bungalow perhaps not. I was told had to do stairs before they would discharge me! But it's easy so don't worry too much, just do it slowly with someone there with you. My husband used to go before me coming down, after
I think the answer to that is if you are taking 'normal' painkillers such as paracetamol ok, but don't go on the 'hard' stuff just to get the bend. So paracetamol good, morphine bad for before exercise. You could push too far when you can't feel your body saying NO! A little pain that goes straight away is ok, but to hurt for some time after bad. Don't do it!
Good luck, it's not easy is it, as we ARE all different, what works for me may not for you.
Take care
Marilyn
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Try STRETCHING and FLEXING your legs while you are laying in bed. I do this if I awaken throughout the night. It helps get me comfortable enough to drift back to sleep.
Just MOVING helps. You can walk around and do some stretches at night. Doing too many exercises MAY just WAKE YOU UP! If it DOES, go clean a drawer, do dishes, sort mail. I did those things to distract me early on. I figured if I wasn't going to SLEEP, at least I could get something accomplished!😁
Just saw the innovative way I spelled your name - sorry Marilyn! I never even dreamed of that one LOL!
I'm not actually taking anything apart from a couple of paracetamol at night, that I've always done since the arthritis. To be honest I don't think it does anything but help me to sleep better. Even then, if I take it for more than five nights, the effect wears off, so I stop it for a few nights, then go back to it. But your advice is so sensible. Thank you!!!!
No I haven't mentioned it but will when I go back. I'll make a list of all my concerns and little niggles to check them out. I've little doubt that they'll tell me it's all 'normal' LOL!
I am so sad that you're dreading the net TKR. I hope it will be a lot easier for you. They do say that the same op on the same person, but different knees, can vary hugely, so I hope yours will be MUCH easier and mine will be the same as this one because although there have been ups and downs, I am aware that I've had far less pain than most! You never know, you and I might be having our next ones done around the same time:-))))
Because we live in a bungalow with just a small front door step and back door step and one to the utility room they said I didn't need to do stairs. But the other knee is so bad that even when this knee is good I won't be able to. I did notice today that I came up the front door step with the operated knee first because I wasn't thinking about it LOL! So that was a good sign. I will use those steps to work on then:-))))) My plan had been to ask physio when they were signing me out on the next knee though:-))) My son is SO looking forward to me doing stairs to see upstairs in his new house!
Good advice Cheryl.
All the best
Marilyn
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