TKR Can't straighten leg or walk eleven weeks post op

Hi again, a lot of people can walk with aids fairly easily after a knee operation. I can't. This may be because I have a fixed flexion deformity of some 10°, dysplastic hips and short Achilles tendons, due to being born with mild cerebral palsy. Having spent nearly 80 years with this condition it normally doesn't bother me but, after knee surgery, these defects together with extensive swelling of the leg(s) means that when I stand at the Zimmer with my good leg on the floor, my bad leg had quite a bend in it such that its toes are above the floor. So my effort goes into persuading the leg to go as straight as it can (~170° instead of 180°) From my RTKR I know I can achieve this although it took, as I recall some months. This time, things seem to be proceeding faster in that I can get my toes and most of the ball of my foot on the floor and although I can only put a fraction of my body weight on the foot, I can shuffle along with the Zimmer even if I can't raise my good foot of the floor, but rather slide it. There was an instance today when the leg seemed to relax for a moment, take more of my weight so my good leg almost came off the floor. This is encouraging and I will, of course, continue the exercises. I am not sleeping too well, I find it difficult to get comfortable and tend to want to change from sleeping from my left to right side and vice versa very frequently which can make sleep intermittent. In addition, I tend to be plagued with Restless Leg Syndrome from time to time, which doesn't help.
Still, things slowly get better, I have little pain around the knee but surprisingly the thigh aches a bit and the area above and below the knee while quite sensitive to a light touch doesn't mind a heavy touch.

Watch this space!
Regards, Jim
 
This time, things seem to be proceeding faster
There was an instance today when the leg seemed to relax for a moment, take more of my weight so my good leg almost came off the floor. This is encouraging
I’m so glad to read that you are improving and that you are encouraged. You‘ve been through a lot.

Best wishes for all that to continue! :flwrysmile:
 
Now, three weeks after the operation to resurface my knee cap, the swelling of my leg is diminishing day by day (despite spending most of my day at my PC) Pain relief is limited to a couple of paracetamol a day to cope with the odd twinge. The acute sensitivity of the leg, particularly the thigh, to a light touch is diminishing.
I can walk around the room with my Zimmer with little discomfort other than that due to the fact most of my bodyweight is supported by my arms. When walking and applying what weight I can to my bad leg, that weight is on the toes and ball of the foot, with my good leg tending to drag along the floor. This because of the difficulty I have in straightening the bad leg. However the leg is slowly straightening, becoming stronger and I can now almost lift the good leg clear of the floor when walking.
Frustratingly slow progress but progress nonetheless. Still no sign of the pain that prevented my walking since the RTKR in November 2018 :)
 
Frustratingly slow progress but progress nonetheless. Still no sign of the pain that prevented my walking since the RTKR in November 2018 :)
Unfortunately, slow progress can be very frustrating. But, you are improving, and that's the key! Arthritis doesn't happen overnight, neither does this healing. Thank God it isn't as slow as the growth of arthritis! Having no pain is wonderful! What a blessing!
 
@JamesAB You are doing so well! Yes, it's a long process. But you are no longer suffering from that horrid pain and you are seeing very positive results. Well done!
 
On another subject entirely, my stepson has severe back problems. It doesn't appear that backs are covered in this forum. Does anyone know of a similar source of information and support that I can give him?
Thanks, Jim
 
@JamesAB Hi Jim, Unfortunately I have a long history of spinal problems. As you can see in my signature I had spinal surgery in 2007.

There is a spinal forum here on BoneSmart. It is very small compared to the knee the hip area. But it is just now beginning to build. Go to "Other Joints" in the blue bar at the top of any page. Click on "Other Joints Forum" and you will see the landing page for all the other joints thread. At the top is a sticky about Spinal procedures. To find more Spine threads, click on the green Spine prefix on any of the spine threads. You will get a list of all the threads in the spine forum.

Also, my spinal surgeon recommended the site Spine-Health.com at the time. The site no longer has a forum. However there is a significant amount of information on conditions and treatments.

My sympathies to your stepson. Spinal issues are just not fun! Please encourage him to register here. We will do our best to support him.
 
James - I read thru your long difficult saga and just want to say how happy I am for you that a corner seems to have - at last! - been turned - that you are feeling much better and seeing progress. Yaay for you!
 
Great to see you are making progress! :friends:
 
@Jaycey. Thank you for the information, which has been passed on.

Today, I have been exercising my leg using a little pedal exerciser and by using the Zimmer. I get little or no pain while exercising but the leg is not straight enough or strong enough yet to put any appreciable weight on it.
It is interesting that the whole leg is quite sensitive: I rubbed some moisturising cream on my thigh this morning and the shock of its coldness nearly sent me through the roof. Strange that I can clean the leg quite vigorously using a sponge without any problem.
 
Hello,

It's now five weeks the operation to resurface my kneecap. I can walk about carefully on my Zimmer but the leg has yet to straighten and strengthen so, at the moment, it's a bit awkward. This happened when I had the TKR in 2018 and I think it was some two months before I could put my foot flat on the floor, so it's not unexpected. The knee aches a bit from time-to-time and the thigh is very sensitive to a light touch and the upper thigh muscle can feel quite sore. Fortunately this pain is now only intermittent.

Of some concern is that a 1/2"length of the scar seems to have opened by about up to 1/4". It is not bleeding, weeping or of a worrying colour, rather it is covered by scab material. I imagine it will fully heal in it's own time. It doesn't seem as if my walking or using my little pedal machine is exacerbating it.
I was looking forward to seeing my consultant on the 17th but it has been put back to the 24th.

Kind Regards, Jim
 
Good to hear from you @JamesAB ! Still very early days for you. Some discomfort is normal - especially post resurfacing.

Did they give you a number to call with any post op issues or questions. You might want to just get it on record that your incision has opened. If it's not showing any of the symptoms you listed I would be inclined to wait for your followup appointment. Do keep an eye on it though.

Let us know how your followup goes.
 
Did they give you a number to call with any post op issues or questions. You might want to just get it on record that your incision has opened
Agree this might be a good idea. You might be able to email or WhatsApp a photo to the nurse/ team. I was able to do that when I had a query about my scar and it was very reassuring.
 
Hmmm, I am strangely reluctant to contact the hospital. The incision is not giving me any problems so unless it does, i'll wait till I see the Consultant on the 24th.
 
Hello again,
I saw my Consultant, the excellent Mr. Helmut Zahn, FRCS, on the 24th of this month and despite me being in my wheel chair, I was able to report to him that, since all the pain that I had before he resurfaced my kneecap was gone, I thought that the procedure had been successful.

My recovery, due to my disability, was always going to be slow. The current state of play is that I can walk with the walker but, I would estimate that I am only putting about 20% of my body weight on the affected leg. This is due mainly to lack of strength (The leg hasn't done much serious work for over four years!) exacerbated by the slow progress is getting my leg to "straighten" - in my case "straight" would be to ~170° as opposed to the normal 180°.
When I first attempted walking with my Zimmer ~5 weeks ago, only the toes of my affected leg would touch the floor. Now the toes and ball of the foot touch the floor. It will probably be some time before, when walking, I can naturally put my heel on the floor but it will happen.

After surgery, virtually the whole leg was very, very sensitive to a light touch but not so with a heavy touch. that has largely gone now. My thigh muscles were, intermittently quit painful and "throbbed". That also has largely gone.
I reported that a small section of the incision had opened. This occurred slowly and was not accompanied by any bleeding, discharge or any discomfort as it scabbed over. Mr Zahn was not concerned about it.

I can get up and down stairs slowly but without too much difficulty. It would be difficult were it not for the fact that the stairs have bannisters either side. On arriving home from hospital, in January, it took two hours to get up two flights of stairs (14 steps) The second day, 15 minutes. Now, less than two minutes. I should mention that I spend the day in our attic room where my PC is (I spend a large portion of the day playing war games!) so I'm up and down the stairs daily. The room is big enough for me to walk around and I estimate that at the moment I am walking about 100 yards at a time, several times a day.
It's frustrating that my recovery, with regard to walking is so slow but every day the leg feels stronger and more flexible. I shall get there!

Kind Regards, Jim.
 
It's frustrating that my recovery, with regard to walking is so slow but every day the leg feels stronger and more flexible. I shall get there!
Yes, it can be a long and sometimes frustrating journey. But you have the right attitude my friend. It took awhile for your leg to atrophy. A bit of time and patience. Sounds like you are well on your way @JamesAB ! You will get there indeed!
 
You have a great attitude and positive outlook. What progress you've made with the stairs and it's wonderful that you're feeling stronger with greater flexibility. It's two months to date since your resurfacing. I hope it is a Happy Two Month Anniversary. Have a nice week Jim!
@JamesAB
 
@Layla Thank you very much for your kind words. The progress I am making is still, frustratingly, slow particularly with getting the leg to straighten but, as has been said, slow progress is still progress!
 
Hello,
I must admit to being somewhat disappointed and frustrated at the time it is taking me to recover from my knee surgery on January 5th. I did think I'd be walking about freely, maybe with a stick by now. But no, although I can manage to walk indoors with my Walker, using it outdoors is, so far, out of the question. I have only been out twice since the operation, those times for hospital appointments and I have needed to use my wheelchair!

In my naivety, I had forgotten that the last time I walked, unaided was some five years ago. In that time my leg muscles have atrophied and although I can support my weight on my left leg, I cannot do so with my right (the one with the knee!) On the bright side, I so believe that to operation too resurface my kneecap was a success. Every day (once I get going) my legs feel stronger. I notice this (although frightening to watch) particularly when using stairs.

One of my problems is that, from birth, I have extremely tight hamstrings and I have always had difficulty in straightening my legs particularly the right one. So, on first trying to walk with the Walker some weeks ago, only the toes of my right foot would touch the floor. Now I have progressed to the point where all or most of the ball of my foot touch the floor. Once I get to the point where my heel touches the floor I will be quite pleased.

I walk what must be several hundreds of yards every day (round and round my attic room where me and my PC, spend the day) plus Pilates and I'm up and down four flights of stairs three or four times a day. I do notice small improvements every day and my consultant said I was unique and recovery would take time but, O Lord, the patience of a Saint is difficult to maintain!
 
Patience is a really hard muscle to exercise, especially when things seem to be going so slowly. But, look back on where you were 1 month ago, and 2 months ago! Things have definitely improved, maybe not as fast as you'd like, but they are headed in the right way!
 

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