Hi Folks, I am almost 4 weeks post op and was doing really well, although I hard to get stronger pain relief in order to do the exercises. Had a really good week last week and the beginning of this week but on Tuesday because I was feeling so good I did a lot more reputations of the exercises than previously. Well I paid the price, the knee blew up like a balloon. Went to physio yesterday and she is quite happy with my range of movement and gave me more exercise to increase the bend and extension. She then massaged the knee unite deeply which was very painful and today I have been able to do very little. I have rested, iced and elevated today. I am wondering if anyone has other methods of reducing the swelling, which is bad at the moment. And I would also be interested to know if people are having difficulty getting back into a sleep routine. I was prescribed a sleeping tablet for 7 days but I am now trying to come off them but find that although I am exhausted, I can't sleep. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
Hi there
Sounds like you have overdone things. Its a trap we fall into when things are going well. The temptation to push further can often come back to bite us. Rest, rest and more rest along with ice and elevation should see improvement. Be gentle on yourself-its still early days. Your sleep pattern will improve with time. Around ten weeks I noticed an improvement and at five months Im sleeping like a baby. The symptoms you describe are common hurdles in the long road to recovery. Be kind to yourself, listen to your body, it knows best. Take care and good luck.
Hi back off the exercises. It can do more harm than good. Remember your leg has been cut off in two places and its a major surgery .. I am at 6th week and still have some stiffness. Try to take pain pills before going to pt at least 45 mins. Have therapist it ice on your knee for 15-20 mins before going home. It will help reduce the inflammation and swelling. Hope this helps. And spread out your home exercises to eliminate further pain.
Haven't had the dreaded TKR yet, but I am a veteran of balloon knees and legs due to a rare diease inside the joint. My advice to you in addition to ice, ice, ice....is to forget the pillows under knee while on a recliner, etc. and go sit on the bed and swing around your legs and put the swollen leg up on the headboard or even against the wll behind the bed. This way your knee is well above your heart which is what is necessary to drain the fluid out of your leg. Do this for 20 minutes or so multiple times a day. This way, I can get to be mobile faster. On sleepless nights, I even do it then.
My best to all who drag around swollen legs.
I made ginger turmeric garlic cayenne pepper juice with orange/apple. Hot and use ice pack on my tummy a couple times bit then the swelling went down. Also trying clean diet. Everytime I eat processed food or sugar my knee swells. So I limited them and doing raw or vegan right now.
Thanks for the chuckle Oconner. That visual of us dragging swollen legs got me laughing! All 2 true :D
Midge65
Dont be hard on yourself at all. We have all done that one. When you feel great you feel you can do more. Its just now your body telling you its still early days.
Rest and ice are the best. Slowly work into rehab. What your feeling is what we all call the "norm"
Best of luck
Its only onwards and upwards for you
Extreme elevation....foot on a wall, as someone suggests. Always elevate toes above nose if the aim is to reduce swelling. Look back through past pages of this forum for pists on
The sleep problem is common....so odd, because so tired. Try relaxation techniques maybe, look up "full lung breath" which is used in yoga...this can help relax the body. I put lavender oil on my pillow, this helped me relax too.
Hi Jenny I tried that this morning such a difference I can't believe it! I'm also 4 weeks post TKR and have been very very lucky with my recovery no issues sleeping and minimal pain and stiffness not too much swelling but your tip has helped tremendously thank you
Glad it helped. I got quite comfortable watching episodes of "hospital people" on my tablet. Nice for the back too! Its great things are reasonably smooth...even then, it's still a huge challenge, but pleased for you that not complicated!
Ithink pretty well all of us can relate to everything you are mentioning! You feel really good one day, so push ahead with the exercises. . and then spend three or four days trying to recover from that!, but apart from rest, ice, and ibuprofeno I don't think there is a great deal you can do to get the welling down. time. . . the sleep thing is really strange, and seems to affect pretty well everyone, and I'm pretty sure it isn't just the pain. there seems to be something working in us which makes it impossible to sleep! It finally resolved in my case when I was prescribed Lyrica for the nerve pain . . but obviously, lyrica is not something to be taken just to go to sleep! I now sleep better than I have done since I had children . . fifty years or so! I do sympathise though. it is just so frustrating to be dog tired, and not be able to sleep!
Hi, this happens to most of us, we think we are doing great so we get carried away and do more than we should. Best thing is rest, ice and keep it elevated for a couple of days. Your only 4 weeks post-op you still need to be taking it easy and not push yourself too much. I got carried away at my first physio appt and overdid it and paid the price but after a couple of days of ice and elevation i was ok.
Take care
Sleep eluded me for first 3-4weeks. 1.5hrs at a time. I was almost psychotic. This is one reason why depression jumps in too. Your brain NEEDS rest too. There are all biofeed back things that dont happen in our body when we dont sleep. Im a big proponent of natural stuff and meds if it doesnt. Someone mentioned lavender, and camomile works for sprays and camomille tea. Set a routine to trick ur body into sleep. Sometimes just get up walk around, lay back down and verbally say, "i am ok. Its ok to go back to sleep." Sounds hokey but we fill our brain w worry and then we stay awake!
I finally acknowledged ANY day after a PT would suck. So i planned nothing but rest, light stretches and walk in house - movement kept me from getting stiff although i was swollen.
Then other days, i did small amounts evey hour. Pick a set of exercises and break them up, rest in between. Bonus is, you feel good about doing stuff and taking charge of your well being.
Massaging really helps break up scar tissue thats deep. The manipulation causes terrible swelling but better flexibility in the long run. If you're predisposed to scarring,like i was, its so worth it in the end. I have 137 -140 right leg , 130 left which is still recovering(swelling) from an arthroscopy a month ago.
I love reading all the input. We are beating this thing! And its all pretty similiar experiences
Thanks everyone, your advice is great and extremely helpful. It does feel like every step I take forward I take three backwards.
It is definitely very individualistic, no two people the same.
I just worry the the bend and extension are not as good as they should be. I think the physio said bend was at 85 and extension
- 6 not sure is that makes sense.