Swelling and Stiffness

Bones, joints and muscles
1

Had TKR on 31/1/16 Still getting lot of pain, knee is still quite swollen and feels as if its getting even stiffer

This is despite doing exercises, resting and icing and a daily walk Only managing about 3 hrs sleep at night taking paracetamol and codeine every 4 hrs not sure what else I should be doing any suggestions very welcome

2

Hi Jenni

I think after a month I wasnt sleeping too well either. Im at about 13/14 weeks and still not sleeping perfectly. Wake up regularly in the middle of the night. Also my TKR knee is still half again the size of the unoperated one. As we keep getting told on the forum,it really is a big operation. I went to the gym today for some bike and swimming and a younger man who had had keyhole surgery reminded me of that and said he shouldnt have to tell me. I think he was telling me not to do too much. How far are you walking? Not saying you are but maybe too much. At 4/5 weeks i wasnt going too far at all.

John.

3

Hi Jenni

i had TKR on the 6th of January and went through excactly the same symptoms as you are which has improved but unfortunately the physiotherapist thought l have been too eager with he excercises and at the moment having a lot of discomfort at the back of my knee hopefully a tempory relapse. X

Im sure your recovery is quite normal. 

4

Jenni, you are still very early on. I am 8 weeks post op from my R TKR (after doing my L one in Sept). I feel like I've just turned a corner in the last 10 days. My quads are finally getting strong enough to walk up the stairs normally every time. I can go down normally once or twice a day before it starts hurting.

I'm still on 1/2 to 2 Vicodin a day depending on what I've been doing. I also still swell a little if I do a lot. Hang in there. There is a light at the end of the tunnel and it will start to glimmer soon. My first TKR is fabulous, strong, pain free, etc. no regrets here on either one. Don't forget to rest!

5

Hi Melodi

Forgot to say that to Jenni but i think you are right. I also think maybe we all tend to do too much,though its hard to know how much or how little to do.

6

Hi Jenni

I had TKR on 20 January: I recommend daily massaging the knee and getting a professional to give you a deep massage weekly.  Following the massage I then do the exercises daily: including walking.  Static cycling is great for loosening the 'stiffness'.  As for sleep....I have a bath every night and it does the trick.

Hope things improve soon

Claire

7

very early days jenni swelling take quiet a while to go down.  i hope your not trying to do long walks !! two short walks are better than one long walk .  stiffness is part of it as well im afraid  sleep with the tkr is another thing thats difficult .it takes a long time for things to settle down so try not to worry all that your feeling now is part of it .i hope your bend and straightening are progressing best of luck to you  xx

8

Jenni, you are pretty much just at the beginning of a long and winding road.  I am at 13wks post op and I felt the same way you did at 5 weeks (when will it end?  WAAAAAAAHHH).

After coming to this forum I found out that the recovery from this major major surgery will likely take about a year.  The best advice we all can give you is DON'T OVERDO IT!  Take your meds on a regular schedule, not just when you are in pain (which is basically all the time anyway).  As your knee heals, you will have what I call "thunder" and "lightening" pains.

Thunder pains are the deep throbbing pains from your hip to your foot. Lightening pains are the quick sharp stabbing pains around your knee (probably nerves re-attaching).

Advances will be incremental.  You may only notice differences week to week.  Even though I was released from PT after six weeks, I still had thunder and lightening until about the 11-12 week mark.  Finally, my thoughts were not all about THE DARN KNEE all day long.

It will get better, but you have to be patient with yourself and don't try to get too far ahead or do too much.  IT WILL COME!

Tim

9

Thank you for your reply it's good to hear from like sufferers I try and increase the walk each day but then maybe your suggestion of two short ones maybe better I'll give it a try, straightening is fine it's the bending I'm having the problems with x 

10

any idea what your bend is ??

11

Hi Claire and thanks for you reply

I certainly find massaging helps in the middle of the night when the pain wakes me up

I shall have to look and see if there is anyone locally that does professional massage 

Cant wait to get in the bath for a soak but was told this wasn't allowed until the 6 weeks post op were up so just over a week to go 

Have tried the cycling but tends to aggravate the "better" knee

Many thanks again Claire

12

Hi Deborah

Thanks for your reply and your possitiveness 

I shall wait for that glimmer at the end of the tunnel - I know it has to be there somewhere 

Cant wait to be pain free but I know it's a long road to get there

Thanks again

13

Hi Melodi

Thanks for your reply

The physio did tell me to drop one set of exercises as he thought I might have been over doing it 

Its just that I thought the stiffness might have lessened not increased 

I think there is a fine line between doing too little and not doing enough

Many thanks again x

14

Hi John

Thanks very much for your reply

I think it is quite easy to do too much 

I started off with 5 mins each way walking increasing gradually to 20 

I did think the stiffness would lessen but seems to have increased somewhat so tomorrow I will do less 

Thanks again for your encouragement it really does help

Jenni

Thanks for your encouragement it really does help

Many thanks for your encouragement it really does help

15

Hi Jennie

look up my post yesterday - you are on wrong meds

you need Tramadol for at least 4 weeks - 100mg twice a day to cope with post op paid like like 

best wishes Jude (UK)

16

You are still very new to the process. These things will slowly go away. Focus on The process and the results will take care of themselves. As you go through this there is the urge to beat the system and hurry through. Unfortunately, very few can do this stay faithful to the program of pain meds, excercise, icing, elevation and most important......rest.....any time You can sit down or lay down and elevate , do it and make sure you elevate the leg. Hydration is equally to or Maybe even More important than nutrition. A dehydrated body will not heal nearly as fast as a well hydrated one. Be patient....6 weeks is generally the 1st benchmark, then 13 weeks, then 6 months. Often times some of these areas of of pain will re occur for a short time then go away. You have to remember this is a traumatic surgery that has to heal in may ways and one of those ways, adjusting to a foreign object that s been inserted. Be patient. I'm on my 545th rehab and they don't get easier just because you know what's coming

17

Hello jenni86878

I think it is very early days at the moment. I am now 13 wks post op TKR and my knee is very swollen and feels tight, my bend is not at all good @ 66° , this is despite doing regular exercises!! . I have got to have my knee manipulated under anaesthetic on the 11 March so hopefully my bend will be better. I would say keep doing exercises, resting,icing and hopefully you will see an improvement, it takes time as I have come to realise you have to walk before you can run. It seems such a long process - however there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Hope the situation improves for you.

Regards

Janeyt34

18

Hi Jenni

You sound a bit like me at the beginning.  I was doing too much and definitely set myself back. If PT said do 10 repeats of an exercise I did 20.  If she said do PT twice a day I would do 3-4 times a day and would walk and cycle. Thought the more i did the quicker I would get better.  Just doesnt work like that.  I was told on this forum to cut back and start again.

I took 2 days off and did nothing and started again. Slowly this time and gently. Within a week it started to improve and started to bend and extend better. Possibly you should try this.

All the advice and good will you will receive here is beneficial, Some will be relevant to you some not.  We have all been through what you are going through and think it will never end. You are also coming to the weepy stage that we all seem to go through too.  Nothing much you can do about that, just know its normal and will pass.

The best medical advise I have found will come from Old fat Guy.  I read everything he says twice! He has been through so much and can answer most questions.

You will get better, but patience is the key.  Your not going to wake up one morning, which I thought would happen, and go right I'm fixed!

I'm 14 weeks post op now and getting there.  The light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter now. Still on meds, though not as many now, still doing my stretching, still walking and cycling, still icing and elevating, still not sleeping great, but feeling the benefits as my bend and extension is now good.

You will get there!

Best regards

Ann

The Irish One.

 

19

Hi Jenni

I had a TKR on 21/01/16 and I really feel for you!  My PT explained to me that the swelling is caused by fluid accumulating in the joint if you push it too hard.  She said that although icing the joint is very good, one should use a heat pack also to enable the muscles to relax.  Another point that she stressed is that when you rest (at least 2x per day) you have to put your knee up higher than your heart.  Lack of sleep is definitely a problem but I find that once I wake up after 3-4 hours I manage to drift off again for 30 minutes or so if I change my position every time I wake up.  Listen to your body and most of all - be kind to yourself!

20

Just happen to have reread this....Its my 5th not 545th. Auto correct has a way of exaggerating the truth.