TKR Zanza's TKR

My knee is still so stiff coming up on 11 weeks. I can walk fairly well, but not for a great distance, and my knee is so stiff that it throws my gait off if I don't concentrate. It's not painful, exactly, just really stiff. Every now and then I take a few steps and there's no stiffness at all, but then it stiffens up again. Is this normal?
 
Yes, this is normal. My knee was stiff my whole first year (not trying to discourage you!) but it relaxed in my second year, enabling my ROM to continue to improve, even at that late date. 3 months is approximately 25% healed, in this year long, on average, recovery.
 
Being stiff was the last thing to go with my knee. The pain was minimal, but that stiffness was an aggravation. Just remember that the stiffness is caused by swelling and fluid outside and/or inside your knee. Fluid inside is really restrictive. There's not a lot of space inside that knee capsule and just a little bit of extra fluid will cause it to be tight.
 
As well as swelling, stiffness/tightness is also a normal occurrence after this kind of major surgery. Your surgeon did major carpentry work and disturbed every millimeter of soft tissue in this area. You aren't tight because your muscle is underused and needs to be stretched and rehabbed. You're tight because your tissue has been disturbed is healing...and full healing takes a full year or more.

So, there are lots of reasons for the stiffness, but ti does diminish over time, as you heal.
 
Being stiff was the last thing to go with my knee. The pain was minimal, but that stiffness was an aggravation.
It's aggravating, all right, and somewhat limiting. Not much pain, but I'm always afraid of falling. Still, my balance is so much better, and wonder of wonders, I wasn't paying attention today when I was washing the dishes, and I suddenly realized I was putting all my weight on the operative leg and letting the other leg have a rest. I haven't done that in years! Another milestone!

On another note, I have a silly question. How do I put @ a person's name? I haven't been able to figure that out so I always quote a bit of message when I want to reply to someone.
 
Mention the member you want to address by using the @ sign in front of their username (no space) and type your reply.

Happy Posting! :flwrysmile:
 
Wow, you are doing so well. Putting weight on that new knee all by itself! Yippee!
 
So there are some things I am confused about. I have a good ROM, 0 when I straighten my leg and 135 when I bend it. How is it possible to have a good ROM and have so much stiffness? I'm up to 4000 steps a day, why do I still get buckling on occasion?
 
ROM is not the only thing in this recovery. Complete recovery in all aspects takes an average of a full year.

Stiffness/Tightness is a normal occurrence after this kind of major surgery. Your surgeon did major carpentry work and disturbed every millimeter of soft tissue in this area. You aren't tight because your muscle is underused and needs to be stretched and rehabbed. You're tight because your tissue has been disturbed is healing...and full healing takes a full year or more.

The buckling could mean that you are doing more than your healing knee is ready for. Maybe cut back a bit, continue to rest, ice and elevate. At this point ice may be the least of these three, but definitely keep getting in some rest time with elevating.
 
The buckling could mean that you are doing more than your healing knee is ready for. Maybe cut back a bit, continue to rest, ice and elevate. At this point ice may be the least of these three, but definitely keep getting in some rest time with elevating.
I think you're onto something there, I only notice the buckling when I've been doing a lot of walking. And I have been doing a lot of walking this week, it feels so good to get up and be able to move around. I don't have pain, exactly, just that horrid stiffness, and I haven't gotten tired, so it's quite possible I've overdone it a bit.
 
It’s easy to overdo!

Don‘t look at resting as doing nothing, look at it as part of your rehab, and giving your knee the best opportunity in which to heal.
 
So today was my first day back at work and it was grueling. I was hoping for an easy day at the elementary school, and all I did was run all over campus to deal with children running out of class and children throwing tantrums and children hitting me and kicking me. Not fun. I didn't even get a break or my whole lunch. Now I'm so tired and sore and I just have to go back tomorrow and do it all again. Maybe tomorrow will be better. I hope so.
 
children hitting me and kicking me.
Wow! :yikes: This is not good for your recovery. What if they kick your new knee? Is there any way you can get more time off, or a different set of duties, temporarily?
 
children running out of class and children throwing tantrums and children hitting me and kicking me.
I can not imagine having to deal with this and healing a new knee, too. This is not good. You need to get away from this environment, if at all possible.
 
I had RLS for at least a couple of weeks during my recovery. It came on around the 6th week out. My surgeon's PA suggested a heating pad on my thigh and calf before bed. If it helped, it wasn't much. I also discovered through my own trials that Benedryl, which I was using to try to sleep was giving me restless legs. I now take only one of those as needed and do not get the RLS.

You can try icing those areas before bed, if the heat doesn't work.
Are you saying no heat on the knee? I use the heating pad under & on my knees often. Takes the pain away, same as the Hot Tub. Walking takes the pain away also.
I take Benedryl for sleep aid on normal evening and sleeping pills occasionally.
I find a Muscle relaxer works better for pain than all the heavy drugs they had me try.
One Surgeon said it was not my IT Band, it was the muscle running beside it, so I guess that's why the Muscle relaxer pill works.
 
I'm feeling so discouraged. I'm at week nine. Range of motion is 135 and 0. I was doing so well up until week 8, then a massive heat wave hit San Diego. I always have trouble with the heat, I retain water and my arthritis acts up and I get headaches. This time my new knee also started going bad on me. It's so swollen now that I can barely bend it at all and it's hurting so much I'm back on the codeine. And I have to go back to work on October 3, I can't afford to take any more time off. I work at an elementary school as a behavior technician and it's not an option for me to "take it easy" or do light work or desk work. I have to be able to walk around the school and address any behavior problems that come up. I'm just very low at the moment because I am having such a setback from the weather. Thanks for listening.
Behavior problems, lol. I was not the best behaved and for that I got the strap, slapped a few times, and today I thank them for tuning me in.
About the weather, after my second knee every time I would wake up with both knees tight, hurting right down to my toes, I knew it would be cloudy changing to rain.
When I mentioned that to the Surgeon, he said go apply at the Airport for a job as a weather man, lol. It is not the sun or heat that affects me. Maybe we should change locations.
Good luck with recovery and those terrible students.
 

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