TKR TKR - One year later...

[hurtin_unit]

Hello everyone!
It's been one year since my right knee replacement and I'm grateful for all the help I received from all of you here at Bonesmart through my previous thread: "Need better ROM, please advise". It made my recovery a lot easier. I'm happy to say that ROM is not an issue but now I'm feeling a pain below my knee, on the right side, since last week. My knee feels heavy and tight, as if I had a tight rubber band around the whole knee. This pain is a level 7 and it hurts the most when I walk up the stairs or bend my knee while sitting.

I get on my exercise bike everyday and do other exercises for ROM but had a family emergency out of state and was gone for 15 days. I didn't do any exercise during that period then I came home and noticed this pain started 2 days after I went back to my same exercise routine. I wonder if this is related to the inactivity.

I was thinking of making an appointment with my OS but since he's a firm believer in aggressive torture I decided to wait a bit and allow excercises to ease the pain.
Is it possible things could go wrong at this stage? Have Stryker knees been recalled or defects found a year after TKR? Hope the answer is no to both questions.
Please advise,

AL

 

[maryo52]

Inactivity does not cause pain. Exercises do not relieve pain either.

How great that you persevered through your ROM saga. I love these reports we get when people come back to tell the rest of the story.

You might go back to light activity for a while and see if that gives you relief (which will mean it's a soft tissue issue). Add NSAIDs and icing. If those measures do not provide relief, then a call to your ortho is in order. So try to remember: if pain then less activity; and you do not fix pain with more activity!!

 

[Jamie]

I think the key point here is that your pain started after you went back to your old exercise routine after 15 days off. Sometimes when you launch back into a fairly aggressive exercise program quickly like that, you can injure soft tissue and get things inflamed. The best way to find out if that's it is to ease off exercise completely, ice where it hurts and take something for the pain. Do this for a week or two and see if things improve. If they don't, then you'll need to see your doctor.

It would be extremely rare for there to be something wrong with the implant to cause the type of pain you describe, so don't worry about that.

 

[hurtin_unit]

Hi Maryo,
Thanks for your advise. I have ice packs which I already started using. What's that stuff you said to add to the ice?
My knee is already feeling better today so I will go easy on the exercise bike until there's no pain.
The numbness I used to feel on the right side of my knee is gone. I look back now that it's been a year and I'm so glad I had this knee replaced! The pain was unbearable. Life is not fun when you're in pain 24/7.
Take care!
AL

 

[hurtin_unit]

Thanks Jamie,
I didn't see your note until after I posted my last entry. Thanks, you and Maryo make a good point.
Time to do more icing and take pain medication. I will report back in a week.
Take care,
AL

 

[Jamie]

Sounds like a plan!!

 

[tashia]

Take care of that new part of you. It is great not to be in pain 24/7 isn't it. I know everything will work out but do keep us informed on how you are doing. Take care. Tashia