*** I’m nearly 8 months post tkr on my right knee. I still experience stiffness which I realise is to be expected for some time yet – 12-18 months seem to be the agree upon time scale from what I gather on this forum. I basically function normally and well – up and down stairs (2 floors in our house), walking, usual household jobs also some easy gardening (not daring to kneel!). In fact, I find walking is the best thing for the knee. Some days are better than others and sometimes I feel some sensitivity above or below the knee – nothing painful or distressing, just sensations. Am I right in thinking all this is par for the course? Sitting for any length of time causes the knee to stiffen up until I stand and start to walk about. Ditto getting out of bed in the mornings. It’s generally more sensitive on the outside of my knee. Does this sound normal, that some days are better than others for no obvious reason? Another issue which has really bothered me: We are signed up for a series of concerts - prepaid and with fixed seats somewhere towards the middle of the row. Been to the first two. For the first half hour I felt nothing at all from my knee and then it started to be bothersome, really uncomfortable verging on pain, because I couldn’t stretch my leg out fully as the rows aren’t wide enough for that. I tried to once and found myself pushing against the seat of the person in front, so no room. The halfway break was welcome but then it started again. Yet the minute we got up to leave, the horrible discomfort was gone. Third one coming up in a week and I’m rather dreading it. Didn’t want to ask to change seats as we sit with friends who like the position. Anyone else experience this? One more thing. I am a candidate for tkr on my left knee too. In fact I originally went to the doctor because that was far more painful than the right, although the specialist said the right was worse – bone on bone and I could see from the xray he showed me. He said the left was more painful because my body was automatically compensating for the worse situation in the right knee. After the operation, after finishing all the medications my left knee was quiet for a while, but now has started acting up again. Now that my right knee is really good – feels firm when I walk and going up and down stairs while my left knee “gives” a bit, under me – I’m wondering should I do the left tkr and if I don’t am I likely to cause my good, right knee to then become my bad know. This was mentioned once on this forum. *
Looking forward to reading other replies on this! I had a left TKR 30th May and you have written exactly all the same issues that I'm experiencing. I'm not exercising enough - I have vertigo and a rotor cuff tear right shoulder.
My right knee was done 12 years ago and i stopped going to the theatre because of the pain. It has always been the same. Im ok as long as i can stretch the leg. i was at the hair dressers yesterday and had to keep stretching the leg to stop the pain. my left knee while bone on bone settled down and lasted another 11 years.
I had a RTKR 10 months ago and your symptoms are Exactly what I am experiencing. It seems to be the status quo at this stage of the game. Thanks for sharing.......and as far as the theater seating.....My wife and I went to a Broadway play last week and the pain from sitting cramped into a small seat with no leg room was the most I have experienced in months........yuk !! Relief was immediate upon standing up and moving around.
Sorry to hear you have vertigo chubbycho. I've had that in the past - long before tkr - and it's debilitating. Made me feel like u was losing my mind. Hope you can deal with it. Have you had vestibular physiotherapy? it can help a lot. As for exercising, do what you can, if the the vertigo interferes. Good luck and hope you feel better soon.
I swear this could be my post!! I am 6 months post LTKR and these are all the questions on my mind. The morning discomfort from the stiffness is terrible. I also struggle with the good/bad swings. Mine can happen within the day. I can have good flexion, then for no reason at all, the knee decides enough, and tightens up again I also still struggle with sleeping on my side. Still to much soft tissue tenderness.
I am eagerly following this thread to see all the other replies.I to am a candidate for right knee TKR, but at this stage of my journey, there is no way I'm going to butcher my body like this again.
Thanks Hopgo and also Jean02698. So I'm not alone in the misery of cramped (by tkr needs) theatre seats. i guess i will have to grin and bear it and hope that it will resolve itself, though not too optimistic about that.
i don't know about anyone else but i really knew very little about this op beforehand, other than a physiotherapist told me i won't sleep nights. The surgeon had explained what he was going to do and shown me a model of a joint, but i didn't even know what questions to ask. So this forum is really a great comfort and help. Thanks everyone.
I also get vertigo and understanding why you would not be comfortable exercising. I went to my physiotherapist who did a maneuver to corr ed ct this, but it was expensive to see him all the time and never in a timely manner, so I suffered until I saw him.
I decided that the procedure was simple enough that I could do it myself and now at the first sign of vertigo starting I lie on the bed and do the maneuver myself. Instant relief, in my case. If you google Mayo Clinic vertigo, you should be able to find the information on the maneuver and how to do it. Hope this helps.
Hi Jane, I'm coming up for a year and still have the problems you describe, although they are improving slowly. I'm back doing Keep Fit, Pilates and dancing with no problem, but my knee lets me know about it next day and will sometimes have various sensations without any cause that I can think of. I've been told the pain on the outside of the knee is due to the shortening of the Iliotibial Band, due to having a crooked leg, and will take 18 months to settle. You can google stretches that are supposed to help. Some mornings I wake up with a painful inside of the knee, other days fine. There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to it at times.
I find cinema and theatre seats affect my knee after a while too, but it soon disappears when I start moving again. Last time I tried moving my leg around more whilst sitting, but I can't decide whether it helped or not. I had decided I'd go for an aisle seat in future , but how that will work with 2 TKR's I have no idea!
My other knee is being done next week. Originally they were going to be done 4 months apart, but because it seemed to improve I delayed it. Like yours it improved after the first TKR, but at 6 months it seemed to be back to where it was and by 10 months I decided it was time. I'm hoping 2 straight legs will help my back, which has been very bad since mobilising after the first op. I'm also hoping by the time the new knee is 6 months old the first knee will be perfect, or as near as. My cousin's wife, who,had both knees done, says it was 18 months for each before all the aches and pains resolved, so,I'm keeping my fingers crossed!
- Everything in paragraph 1 is correct. Note that this is a lifelong recovery. Even years down the road, if you don't keep the knee active, it will stiffen up again. Make sure you do the muscle rebuild so that you maximize the strength in your quads, glutes, core and more to take the load off the knee. Click my name, Discussions, View All. It's one of 30 discussions I wrote.
- Same complaint from people who needed to get on an airplane for a 5-hour flight. I would suggest a lot of ice before going (and an ice bag at your seat) plus use some Voltaren Gel (diclofenac) to reduce the inflammation. Best topical out there.
- Doc was totally correct on the compensation. We do it subconsciously so it's tough to avoid. Before a second TKR, I would look into COOLIEF...Cooled Radiofrequency Ablation. It's a 15-minute, FDA-approved procedure under sedation that deadens the nerves around a joint carrying pain signals to the brain. Seems to be very successful as patients report at least one and sometimes two years of pain relief. Lots of people delay a TKR by doing COOLIEF. Go to their website for more info and to locate a certified doc in your area. If it works for you, it could be a way to avoid the TKR in the short-term.
Chico .....i never have problems on a plane with my knee and i just recently did a 9 hour flight. its only when the knee is kept at 90 degrees sitting and i cant stretch it out. As long as i can stretch ....no problems.
Good luck for your op next week. hope all goes smoothly.
I think COOLIEF is only in the States, from comments I've seen in previous posts. But if I'm going to have to have tkr eventually on my left knee I think I'd rather get it done sooner rather than later.
Agree with you about Voltaren. We always keep a tube of it at home for any joint aches and pains.
Thanks for your advice - I really appreciate the amount of knowledge you have - unfortunately learned the hard way!
In the weeks after my tkr I vowed there was no way I would ever, ever have my left knee done. But as that knee has reverted being painful again more regularly, I've decided that I'm going to go for it.
It's so comforting to see that other people are experiencing similar sensations. You think that maybe there's something wrong and then you come on the forum and find it's all perfectly normal and part of the very long healing process.
I've seen complaints about stiffness on a long-haul flight from a bunch of people. Again...we're all different and virtually everyone doesn't know how their knee will react in a very restricted space beforehand. Always be prepared!!! Glad you were able to do it without any negative effects...
After a few of these notes, I guess COOLIEF isn't available in the UK. Someone should find out why since it has a pretty good success rate over here. Then again, an option is to have your pal Jack Daniels always by your side.
Hi Jane, you sound quite normal to me! I had LTKR two years ago. Am very active, walking dogs 2,3,4 miles over rough steep ground, full on Pilates twice a week , a generally busy and active lifestyle and my new knee is still sometimes stiff for a minute or two if it has had to stay still. I think it's "normal" now.
With regard to concert, that too is, I think, something that you will have to think about as a long term thing. Now I am generally quite good, but don't like to feel cramped up for too long. If it is a problem, it might help to take painkillers beforehand, if this suits you. Shame to spoil your concert.
Your third point re other knee:- I went to specialist after 10 years of pain in both knees. X rays showed both bone on bone. He said only choice was two new knees, or live with it. I had already taken the heartbreaking decision to give up my business (livestock farming) because it was becoming a struggle, but wanted a life back. Decided to have both done 12 wks apart. First one was really tough going, because both knees so bad, muscle wastage etc etc. However, worked really hard and made progress. NHS then got really busy, and my second knee was deferred three times. My third date was 22 weeks after the first, by which time I was doing Pilates and gym both twice a week, fitter than I had been for several years, so I rang my surgeon and we decided to shelve the second knee. Have just had it done 5wks ago, 2yrs after the first, as it has been dragging me down again. The first knee complained slightly when the second was done, but so far, I am getting on much better than last time. I put this down to being much, much fitter than the first time, also generally healthier and half a stone lighter. Also knew what to expect! And still went ahead.
No-one can make the decision except you. Exercise is vital to keep your new and old knees as good as possible. It just depends what you want to be able to achieve. All of it needs work, I don't think there's an easy answer.
Sorry for burbling on, but maybe it might help.
Good luck.
Hi Ruth Your burbling is fine, and always good to know i seem to be on the right track. i was planning to take snti-inflamatory for 2 or 3 days before the concert, and then give the knee a good rub with voltaren. And then hope. You certainly keep active, goid for you. i do my physio exercises almost every day. Treadmill or walking, up and down stairs at home many times a day. Normal activities round house or garden incorporate squats, stretches, and so on. I'm getting my mind around having to do my left knee and all the pre-op stuff - tests, doctors, and as i did before the first op - cooking and filling my freezer, to make life easier for my husband after.
You could be talking about me. I had my right knee replaced 6 months ago and doing well but the left knee is now worse, probably compensating for the other one more. Think i will eventually have to have that one done too as I feel its hindering my full recovery. Just come back from a 9 hour flight which was much better than i thought it was going to be except walking when I got off the plane! I even went snowshoing on holiday and had never done that before and loved it. I deliberately always try and book aisle seats at the theatre, football,sporting events etc and I have done this since before my operation as I felt the need to move and be able to stretch, else I start to panic a bit. Awkward when you go with someone else who has booked the tickets. I am feeling very positive about my new knee except still struggling to walk downstairs properly but some of this is due to concerns about the other knee now. Got my 6 month check up next week so will be mentioning my other knee and see what happens! Good luck.
HI Jane Having read your review i totally sympathize. I am 20 months post operative from a Right TKR. I have done very well and for the first 8 months went to the Gym 3 times a week plus daily excercises from the PT. I have played tennis for the last 54 years and am now back playing indoor Tennis 2 times a week plus competitive tennis at my club during Summer. My knee is ok but i know my limitations and can achieve about 115 knee bend and my leg is virtually straight. I still get discomfort at times in the muscles around the knee but no pain in the knee joint. However last December i went first to watch Man Utd play and earlier this month went to Liverpool Phil for a concert and as you said there is no space in front of the seats and you are sitting with both your knees at 90 degrees. After about 30 mins my right knee was aching quite a bit and the interval was a welcome relief. I stood up for all the interval and did a few pushes against the barrier just to excercise People must have thought what is he up too lol I found in the 2nd half if i sat at an angle with my Right knee slightly straight to the left. this was ok and surprisingly did not ache as i was not bending it. In future i will get seats on the front row of the blocks with space to stretch out. This is not in the manual for Post operative recovery lol and i asume this will be forever or become easier as the years pass, so dont despair its all about adjusting to the situation as best you can, and remember your knee will never be the same as pre op but a lot less painful. Hope this helps Regards Howard