TKR 3 weeks post op

crhdeh

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It's been 3 weeks, I am getting around (slowly)with a walker and normally just need to have the pain meds so I can sleep at night. Went to the OS on Thursday and he was happy with my progress. The knee bends at 90 degrees and I can get the leg to almost straight, the biggest problem I have is that I don't have much strength in the thigh muscles. Even though I am constantly icing my knee it's still swollen and it feels like it weighs about 100 pounds. Tomorrow I start with PT (again!), I'm ready.
 
Hello @crhdeh - and :welome: to recovery.

It sounds as if you're doing very well.

Your range of motion (ROM) is already pretty good. Don't worry about the PT and, above all, don't let the therapist over work your knee or push on it.

Here is your post-op reading:
Knee Recovery: The Guidelines
1. Don’t worry: Your body will heal all by itself. Relax, let it, don't try and hurry it, don’t worry about any symptoms now; they are almost certainly temporary
2. Control discomfort:
rest
elevate
ice
take your pain meds by prescription schedule (not when pain starts!)
don't overwork.
3. Do what you want to do BUT
a. If it hurts, don't do it and don't allow anyone - especially a physical therapist - to do it to you
b. If your leg swells more or gets stiffer in the 24 hours after doing it, don't do it again.​
4. PT or exercise can be useful BUT take note of these
5. Here is a week-by-week guide for Activity progression for TKRs


The Recovery articles:
The importance of managing pain after a TKR and the pain chart
Swollen and stiff knee: what causes it?

Energy drain for TKRs
Elevation is the key

Ice to control pain and swelling
Heel slides and how to do them properly

Chart representation of TKR recovery
Healing: how long does it take?

Post op blues is a reality - be prepared for it
Sleep deprivation is pretty much inevitable - but what causes it?

There are also some cautionary articles here
Myth busting: no pain, no gain
Myth busting: the "window of opportunity" in TKR
Myth busting: on getting addicted to pain meds

Please don't be overwhelmed by the list. The articles are not long and they and contain information that will answer many questions and help you make your recovery much easier on your knee and on you.

We are here to help in any way we can: answering questions and concerns; supporting and encouraging you from start to finish.

We try to keep the forum a positive and safe place for our members to talk about their questions or concerns and to report successes with their joint replacement surgery.

While members may create as many threads as they like in a majority of BoneSmart's forums, we ask that each member have only one recovery thread. This policy makes it easier to go back and review history before providing advice.
 
Welcome to Bonesmart! We have all been through what you are going through and know what works and what doesn't work. Be sure and read the articles Celle left for you. If you follow our guidelines, you'll have a much quicker and less painful recovery!

Many of us never took formal PT or did exercises. I am one of them. I had 11 knee surgeries, 2 of them kneecap removals and 1 tkr. Even after those I never took PT. But, I didn't just sit around and do nothing. I took care of myself, my house and yard as my knee allowed me to do. As I healed, I did more. But, my knee was always in control! This was enough therapy for me and would be for any tkr patient. All the awful pain of PT is so unnecessary.

All you have to do is use it in your daily living! Your knee knows how to rehab itself and doesn't need anyone telling it how. Just use it and it will come back like new! You have to be patient, though, it doesn't happen quickly! ADL,(activities of daily living), going to the bathroom, brushing your teeth and bathing, fixing a light meal, getting something to drink and or a snack, those kinds of things will be all the exercise your knee needs. If you just use it daily in your living, you will have a quicker and less painful recovery. We know what works, we've been there!
 
It sounds like you're off to a great start! Welcome to the club! Best wishes for an uneventful, full recovery!
 
The feeling of weak thigh muscles is normal at this point. And I well remember the big ball of swelling that was my knee at first. Keep on icing and elevating and gradually that will diminish. Congrats on the 90 degrees! You're doing just fine. :thumb:
 
Sounds like you are doing really well for 3 weeks! I am having problems with my quad muscle also. It's frustrating for sure, but hoping I can get it to wake up soon!
 
Thank you .... I'm now 5½ weeks out, I have been going to PT but they don't really do anything that causes me pain.

I don't really have any pain but my knee is still a little swollen and it feels tight, one of the worse things is that I have no feeling on the right side of my knee. If something touches that side of my knee I can't feel it I just have a sensation that something is touching it.

I can bend it to about 95 but I'm having a little trouble getting my leg straight. So we are working on stretching the muscles so it will straighten out.

Plus I just found out that my insurance has approved the gel injections to my left knee, so I should be getting those soon!! Last time I had a gel injection in my left knee I had 6 months of relief, so I'm hoping for the same results so I can delay having to get my left knee replaced.
 
one of the worse things is that I have no feeling on the right side of my knee. If something touches that side of my knee I can't feel it I just have a sensation that something is touching it.
I'm afraid that numb area is normal. It's an inevitable consequence of the surgery.
This article explains:
Numb area after TKR: how long will it last?
 
Thank you, this was a good article. Seeing that everything else has been going pretty good so far I am going to remain positive :fingersx: and that it will get better.
 
I'm five months out of btkr and the outside of my knees are still numb. The outside of my left knee is slowly coming back. Starting at the top of my incision it has feeling at the top 1/3 of knee. My right knee (my bad knee) is still numb along the whole of the incision. It doesn't effect anything so I'm not worried about it.
 
I don't really have any pain but my knee is still a little swollen and it feels tight
Then you need to be taking your pain meds on a regular schedule because those are manifestations of pain. I hope you are and icing and elevating, of course!
 
There has been a little set back to recovery. A week ago I went to sit down and had terrific pain in my left knee, according to the doctor it will need to be replaced sooner then he thought. We are in the process of doing the gel injections but the doctor is pretty sure that it won't work, but for insurance reasons we have to try these things before surgery.
 
It was always seem a little odd why insurance companies spend money on “conservative” treatment that usually doesn’t work, just to “ check off a box”
 
How is your Thigh muscle doing? I'm 8wks today and mine won't work either. it will do somethings like move side to side and when I stand I can pick it up but lifting it straight off the bed nothing. I just started getting some kind of feeling in it about a week ago. It feel like when you've been working your muscles and they ache. I had something similar happen when I had surgury on my shoulder that took 2 months to "wakeup" Both my Dr and PT are baffled by it. I just say well thats me. 90 Dregree bend is great ,mine is stuck at 73. But I keep hoping and working for more.
 
@MJ61 My thigh muscle is getting better, at first I had to work hard at it just to lift my leg off the bed. Because the chances are real good that my left knee will be replaced soon I have had to concentrate on getting my right knee in a good spot. So I have been working out more and to help bend it I walk the wall. I just lay on the end of the bed with my feet on the wall with my knees bent (looks like I'm sitting in a chair), then my foot does a controlled slide down the wall bending my knee, gravity seems to help.
 
@crhdeh I was given that "wall walk" exercise too. I don't do it very often though - I'm nervous that my foot will slip and my knee will bend more than it really wants to lol
 
hmmm I might have to try the wall slide
 

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