knee pain

Hi everyone. Hope you are all recovering really well. I'm now 9 weeks +1 day post TKR and I have done brilliant. I'm driving gardening etc. My knee bend is about 120 but the pain behind my knee is terrible when I exercise or walk or even stand for too long. Does anyone else have this?

Yes I do!  I get terrible pain behind my knee when I've walked for a bit, not even that much.  My physio said its because the muscles behind the knee have now started to work properly after years of not being used or something. I also have a back ache as I'm now walking more upright, or stooping not sure what it was.   He said a hot water bottle might help.  I can't do gardening tho, so we'll done to you. I'm 7 weeks. My other knee isn't great but I can't face this again.  X

Hi Shirley - do you have any swelling behind the knee? I have pain behind the knee when standing/walking for any time and its because of 2 things: I have a bakers cyst -pouch of fluid caused by surgery trauma and it does get quite painful sometimes. But its not considered a problem unless it bursts or gets v big. Second my surgeon told me the tendons and muscles behind the knee shorten when the diseased knee underfunctions and its painful when the new knee is straightening/extending the reange of the knee's movement, and it takes time and effort to allow them to stretch out again. Went to see an osteopath yesterday and he told me the hamstring was very tight and needed work and I thought I'd done really well straightening!! Hope you get the answers and remedies you need!

16 weeks, and strangely just recently I;ve been experiencing this too . .although the pain is not as bad as yours. . just annoying pain, not excruciating!  Hope it clears up for both of us soon!

Often times these strange pains are symptomatic of the horrible shape we are in before the surgery. We have limped, favored the bad leg, contorted our bodies in a multitude of ways to minimize pain. When we finally start walking correctly every part of the body has to start reworking itself and the realignment causes discomfort up to absolute pain. Given time and work you'll be over it in a few more weeks. Take your time and male sure each step is taken correctly. Slow, proper stride, heel, ball of the foot and toe. Being in a hurry and taking shortcuts just prolongs the process

Yes that's very true and trust me I walk slow trying my hardest to perfect my walk but it's impossible as I have foraminal spinal stenosis too which is debilitating some days yet I try to leas as normal life as possible and I don't give up. Maybe around 8pm when I can just about drag myself to the couch to lay down haha. I'm a stubborn old goat I don't believe in giving up that easy just when I collapse

No doubt about it, at very best, its a battle. I am continually amazed how lightly this surgery is taken by those who haven't gone through it. One of my coffee drinking group was always pretty loose about mine and a couple of others knee problems. Without much warning he got the wall with knee pain and finally had a couple of injections. To hear him now you would have thought he had undergone amputation with a dull axe. He has been a bit less verbal with my most recent situation

I found that massaging your knee & underneath with oil helps so much.  Loosens the muscles & helps prevent scar tissue. Don't overdo the gardening, or stand for too long, despite how tempting it is. Keep up your exercises as well.  Good luck

Yes I have been massaging with cypress oil my surgeon recommended it it's amazing. Physio said my scar looks about 9 to 12 months old it's healed brilliantly. I still can't reach my foot properly though to paint my toenails haha yes I'm vane but got to make an effort haven't we. Can anyone else reach their toes or is it just me

Yes I agree there people think it's a walk in the park this surgery. I've had THR too and I would rather have that any day to Knees but unfortunately I have the other one done eventually, that..."I am" dreading

I managed to cut my toenails for the first time at around eight weeks!  It takes time!  they were getting a bit long, but after the surgeon warned me to avoid chiropodists, I decided to let them grow!

I'm just happy to be able to see mine

Haha

Ooh why avoid chiropodist? I'm annoyed with myself that I can't do my nails on operated leg I'm really funny about people touching my feet though and paranoid about not wearing varnish haha silly me

Nothing wrong with being vain. I was just looking at mine & decided they could do with some colour. Was just able to cut my toenails at 5 weeks, so should be able to paint them at 7 weeks.