My knee is always swollen. I'm four months post knee replacement surgery and no matter what I try I cannot get the swelling to go down. It's always there, I'm not doing too much because I can't do much of anything. I ice, elevate, rest......
Is anyone else having similar difficulties or is there advice? I'm starting to think something is not right. I had PT for two months but lately can only do light stretches. I figure my bend is about 90+. Of course, it would be better if I could get the swelling to go down. Any help? I'm starting to get frustrated.
Are you walking a lot and standing a lot? You could try giving your leg a bit more of a rest by maybe using a stick for a bit and seeing what happens When you take the pressure off.
Swelling is still common, even at four months. In fact, some swelling can continue for 18 months...though usually when you push the knee too far any given day. Have you done activities to aggravate the knee? You can try Voltaren Gel (RX in the US)...second best topical anti-inflammatory on the planet. Use it multiple times a day, especially 15 minutes before bedtime. My doc prescribes 5 tubes at a time. Works great.
Hi Ozzie- I'm 8 mos out and i'm still swollen - I haven't been able to do any PT since March - 4 mos tho, are you doing too much? Does it hurt? I had mine drained twice, i'm bleeding into the joint, but my component is fine - xrays are fine - they are sending me to a hemotologist to rule out any blood disorders - might wanna check with the doc!
Hi im 4 mnths post op as well. Ive still got swelling mainly around the knee area, gets worse as the day gpes on. I can get 100° bend if i push it. Doesnt seem to matter if i sit around with my leg up or up & down all day, still swells up. Just finished 6 wks physio gym classes & am now goin tp the gym to try & carry on with the exercises. I still struggle to barely get all the wày round on a bike. Also do 2 exercise classes a wk, nothing helps tho. Physio said can take 6 mnths to a year for swelling to go down. Very frustrating. Im also due to go in for a shpulder replacement op in nxt couple mnths. More swelling & pain to cope with. What fun!!! 😯
I, too, am at 4 months post TKR. My bend is 122+ and I deal with pain and swelling all the time. I sleep with an ice bag on my knee! I am appreciative that it is not every day but I've been released from PT and want my life back. I don't know how much longer it's going to be like this. I take 2 Alleive when I need to but am tired of this "Groundhog Day" everyday. I am much better than I was but this is getting a bit much. I feel your frustration and pain. You are not alone.
You're in the same boat as me Suzie. Hope it's not that, "misery loves company" but hearing that others are having similar difficulties helps in some perverse way.
If this isn't significantly better in 2-3 weeks, I'd see the doc just to make sure nothing bad is going on. We've heard of swelling but not continuous swelling interfering with ROM at 4 months...but everyone is different. Yes, it may LOOK a bit swollen for a long time but not enough to cause pain and decreasing ROM.
Thanks Karen. Hopefully, I/we will look back at this one day and laugh. Right now that day seems a long way off to me. It seems impossible for me to have much bend because of the swelling and it's ALWAYS swollen.
How swollen is it? Is it say one inch wider than the other leg measuring from the back of the knee or a lot more than that? Is it red and swollen or just swollen?
I'm struggling with swelling, stiffness and poor bend as you may have gleaned from my other comments and posts - I know I'm just 11 weeks post op and expect some of it, but not making a lot of progress.
I'd love to know how to get the swelling reduced. I have a lipodema condition which makes my limbs more likely to swell anyway, but that usualy responds to RICE treatment, where this knee swelling does not seem to benefit as much as I'd hoped.
My physio has many years of practice and she says have to keep moving to reduce swelling, but of course too much has opposite effect. Sigh!
Finding it hard to make sense of TKR recovery. You hear of those doing super well and others not, others all different in between, but the question is why we get the recovery we get. It does not seem to relate to shape, size, past history or age particularly as far as I have observed.
I just measured. It's an inch "fatter" and because of earlier surgery it's usually smaller anyway. It's not red, just swollen. I had osteomyelitis as a boy. Had three surgeries on that knee then. I'm sure that's playing a part in my recovery.
I saw the Doc about 4 weeks ago, told him about my struggles. He didn't seemed worried but then again, it's not his knee. He took x-rays and said everything looks fine. Said, "keep at it" whatever that means and swelling should eventually go down. He did not recommend MUA. He basically said I should see improvement in the next two months and, "it is what it is".
The question is whether it just "looks" swollen or is the swelling severe inflammation causing pain and preventing you from achieving your ROM goals? Did my left knee look a bit bigger than my right at 4 months? Yes, but it didn't hurt that much, my ROM was fine and it did not interfere with my limited but growing activities. Did it still look bigger at a year? Yes...but zero pain and 0 / +133 ROM. Does it still look bigger at 15 months? YES...somewhat, but that's because there's this huge hunk of metal inside my knee!!! Will the two ever look the same? Put these three words together in a sentence: "snowball", "chance", hell". That's just something we all have to live with...like the scar. Yeah, women will do anything to get it to disappear. Us guys wear it like a war wound...the war of life. Be proud of it...OWN IT!!!
I know what you mean by being careful with the exercises. I'm only able to do light stretching and if I misjudge and do too much then I'm knocked out for a few days.
" Finding it hard to make sense of TKR recovery." Really? Just stop trying...there is no sense...and everyone is different.
You're not even at 3 months yet...and that's the worst of it. Most people report a real difference at three months but only when they look back on it. Time needs to pass...the body needs to heal. Get all of this out of your head...just makes it all worse. Be more Zen: "I'll be better when I'm better." Relax, ease your mind...makes life more peaceful.