Revision TKR Multiple Knee Replacements

@Josephine (or anyone else with any thoughts)

Since my surgery, the area in which I have the most pain, is on the medial side. It feels as if something is ripping in there when I try to do my ROM stretches and a lot of times it stabs and throbs. Today, I can't even put any weight on it.

I did do quite a bit over the weekend, but my OS does not think this amount of pain is "normal" at this stage of my recovery. I am 4 weeks yesterday. My OS thinks maybe it is nerve pain, but I have had that before and this does not feel like that. I know there is soft tissue in that area obviously... maybe it has something to do with that?

Anyone else have this sharp pain in that area?

I still cannot walk without crutches. My ROM is quite poor... at least that is what my PT and OS say. I have another appointment tomorrow (my 4 week) and I am already prepared to get threatened with the MUA again. I think my ROM is approx 70/+2. I still use crutches to get around.

I feel like the rest of it is probably "typical" TKR pain... stiffness, overall slightly painful, etc. But that medial area can be unrelenting; it's on a whole nother level.

I forgot to mention that anytime I am without ice, my knee is really red and hot. At my last PT session, it was so red and had patches of hives (raised red bumps) and my PT had the PA come look at it and they are not sure if it is an infection or some type of contact dermatitis from the ice machine cuff. Just in case, I was put on an antibiotic.
 
Momma-me, I have just re-read your thread from beginning to end and at times, I got quite heated at the treatment you received. And still are receiving. Let me give you some bullet points
  1. at 4 weeks 'most people' aren't rejoicing over fantastic ROM, quite the opposite. Most are still coping with 70 or 80 degrees of flexion and maybe even +6 of extension
  2. most people will take several months to get better ROM
  3. most people will be on pain meds for 3-4 months (I certainly was!)
  4. all of this improvement you will get and get faster if you ditch the PT completely and just do walks around the house, garden or street.
  5. above all do not fret about all this. There have been people who have waited a whole year to get good ROM
As for your pain meds, I can't recall if you've ever tried to illicit your GP's help with some Tramadol? If not then do so and if you have, perhaps try again. You'd be much better off with that and Tylenol, trust me.
 
THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART for your reassurance. It means a ton to me right now.

(And yes, I was yelling... LOL) :flwrysmile:

I will post tomorrow after my appt with OS and my PT, which is right after. I am going to have to be strong and tell them exactly what I think. I am seeing the NP again (whom I greatly DISLIKE). She is super abrasive, threatening and rough. I'll have to put my big girl pants on tomorrow. :eyebrows:
 
Did you mention this is a worker’s comp case?
 
I guess it was someone else.

I asked because I think it’s hard to refuse PT in a worker’s compensation case, since either the job is paying the medical bill or job wages while someone is off work, or something like that.

But since you’re not involved with one, you do not have that worry. You can confidently control your PT situation.
 
@Momma-me , good luck tomorrow! FYI, I had a lot of medial pain kind of at the joint line. It lasted a while and when I asked about it at my 6week appointment, the PA said that some tissue had to be pulled back in that area. Whenever I overdo it, the area still gets tender.
 
@Momma-me, good luck today. If that NP says you are "way behind" again, you just smile and pleasantly say that you are a member of the "slow benders club". (There are more than a few of us here.) That is what I told my PT when he said i should have been able to bend more by that time. Made him laugh. He did tell me that I "should get out of that club", but I told him "I like the company there". :wink:
 
I hope the appointment went well today. Your description of that pain sounds just like the one I had on the lateral side after doing a particular exercise at 4 weeks. It really put me back. I stopped doing it on advice from the forum. It took me quite a while to get over it, but I got there in the end.
 
@Momma-me,
Good luck today! Remember it’s your knee and your recovery! No one knows your body like you do :flwrysmile:
~Cynthia
 
Hi everyone!
Back from my appt! Much to my surprise and delight, I ended up seeing a different NP, whom I liked MUCH better! She only asked about PT and how things were going... said I looked "good" and just basically told me to keep on keepin on. LOL
At PT, my flexion is still at 73. Not great. But, I am getting a little stronger and can now do a straight leg raise (10 in a row actually) and my knee is not as red and hot. So, little by little, things are going in the right direction, just SLOW AS MOLASSES.
But as long as I get there... I'll be OK. But, you are all right. There is NO FAST TRACKING this. Your knee is the conductor on this runaway train and there is not much you can do or say about it! :tada:
 
Awesome about the straight leg raises! So interesting how the body just kicks in when it's ready!! I did little of the PT exercises around the leg raises and suddenly one day I could do it with no pain. Magic. I started following the flexion "stretching" exercise found on this website and have had steady improvement there since. No more pushing. When I do push, I end up being super stiff immediately afterwards. Slow but steady. I have what sounds like similar swelling on the top of my knee. Like a baseball sitting there and had a similar experience. My surgeon was not concerned though said to finish the Cipro. Also had a lot of medial (inside the knee right?) pain. This was due to my knee issues before the surgery I think as I had alot of pain there and was bone on bone on that side. My bend prior to surgery wasn't great either - I think this is another factor that comes in to play. Last I has that same extreme tightness on the inside of my knee! Felt like they'd sewn something together really tightly!! I had some energy work with a massage therapist and did an internal process that released that - psychosomatic healing - as we store traumas in our body that results in illness and pain in those area. I have no more stiffness there but still do in other areas! Wishing you the best and will be following you!
 
I'm glad you were able to see a different NP and have a better experience. Dealing with the medical staff should post-op should not be such a hard part of this recovery, but it's amazing how often that's turns out to be the case. I'm sorry things are progressing so slowly for you, but your attitude is wonderful. I'm not so sure I'd be as patient. :) Congrats on the straight leg raise, and I hope you progress starts coming a little faster for you.
 
Hello All,

Had my 6 week check up today. My flexion is around 80. They offered me an MUA; of course I respectfully declined. But they want me in some sort of brace that you wear 2-3 times per day and you "crank it" (PA's words) tight so it forces flexion and you stay in that position for 20 minutes.
Sounds somewhat torturous but I might try it and see how it goes. :shrug:
 
“Crank” and “force” are red flags, whether they are your words or theirs.

6 weeks. Way too early to worry about ROM.

My ROM is still improving at 2 years post op, in spite of my other issues.

I was so stressed about my ROM my whole first year because my surgeon made such a big deal about it.

All that stress was a waste of time. My ROM has come in just fine.
 
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If you try that at all I would limit it to GENTLY working your flexion. I have basically passed on all but very gentle PT which ended 4 weeks ago. I haven't been measured lately but based on Josephine's diagrams I'm at least at 120 flexion,my extension is probably still about +5, I may start working on that a little.
 
Hello All,
I need some advice please!! My revision to TKR was April 30, 2019. It has been 9 months. I have rehabbed very well; I am a member of a gym and am probably stronger than any other time in my life (except for maybe when I was a teenager! LOL). The arthritic pain/sharp stabbing, etc. is gone. I can navigate stairs with no problem. BUT.... despite my quad being very strong, I still have instability. I have to concentrate with all my mental and physical strength with every step and squeeze my quad so hard when ambulating so that it doesn't buckle. I finally went back to the surgeon's office today and saw the NP. She examined and her feeling is that the spacer is too small and agreed that it has too much play. I told her I feel as if from my knee down, sometimes, it is just not connected to my body. I feel with every step that it might buckle. It has made no sense to me, because at PT, I am always told that everything will be fine when I get stronger. WELL... I AM stronger and it has never improved.
The NP wants me to see the surgeon for a final analysis which will be in 2 weeks.
I have just started to read about spacer exchange and wondering if anyone has had that done and what the outcome was/is. This would be my 4th knee surgery. It turns my stomach to think of it, but on the other hand, if it works, I will be greatly relieved.
Any thoughts?
Thank you!
 
I’m sorry you might be facing another surgery, my stomach turns at the thought of my possible/probable future revision! We’ve had members who have had a spacer exchange, so hopefully they will comment if they see your post. Do you want to change your thread title to reflect that?

And, I was just looking at your signature and saw the OATS procedure again. We have a new member on the pre op side who is having that done next week. We have members who have had this procedure but haven’t posted much about the recovery. Would you stop by his thread and share your experience with him? Here’s his thread:
 
Oh, I hope the spacer fix goes easily and resolves the buckling! It must be so frustrating to keep having to revisit this knee when you’ve already worked so hard on it. Good luck!
 

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