TKR 6+ weeks post op

[Layla]

My scar was a nice pale colour until I used bio oil, then it turned bright red and is now a purple colour. Anyone else experienced this please?

Hmm, never heard of this one, but I wonder if it is / was some type of allergic reaction? Thankfully there are other products to use if interested.

Some of the more common creams and lotions used on a healed incision are Vitamin E Oil, E45 Cream, Palmer's Cocoa Butter Lotion with Vitamin E, and Coconut Oil and Bio Oil as you've tried.
I used the Palmer's Cocoa Butter Lotion with Vitamin E and really liked it.

Happy Sunday! Have a great week, Hippalong!

 

[Layla]

Oh by the way...HAPPY THREE MONTH ANNIVERSARY!

 

[Hippalong]

Oh by the way...HAPPY THREE MONTH ANNIVERSARY!

Hi Layla, hope you are well! You're speeding me up, I'm only 9 weeks today (wishing it was 12) I'm not going to use the bio oil again, although no sign of an allergic reaction on my normal skin surrounding scar, it's very strange indeed. I might try the Palmers and see how it goes. Thankyou as always for your valued advice, enjoy your week too, hope you're getting better weather than us

 

[Layla]

Oopsie! You're right! I was a whole month early.
Happy Two Month Anniversary...as of yesterday, Hippalong! I don't count weeks, only because it will take too much time, so I go by day of the month, but no excuse for being an entire month off, lol.
Thanks for your kindness and for sharing your journey with us all. You're appreciated here!
@Hippalong

 

[Hippalong]

Hi there to everyone, I hope things are going well for you all! I'm now 11 weeks in!! Can't believe it really, it's passed so quickly. I feel I'm doing ok but this bending/ROM malarkey will be the death of me. Straightening isn't so bad but the bend will not pass the 90° mark for love nor money Anything I do to 'push' myself along a bit causes swelling and pain, so I don't do it again for a couple of weeks. I am hobbling around without a crutch indoors trying to weight bear more, but would appreciate some pointers please?
Thankyou

 

[benne68]

Range of motion returns more slowly for some of us than for others. You are not alone. Here are progress charts made by two members whose ROM returned slowly but surely.

Bertschb’s ROM history
2 months - 80 degrees
4 months - 90 degrees
6 months - 110 degrees
7 months - 120 degrees
8 months - 125 degrees
9 months - 130 degrees
10 months - 135 degrees
12 months - 140 degrees

TortiTabby's ROM
6 wks: 85
7 wks: 90
10.5 wks: 95
14 wks: 100
17 wks: 105
20 weeks: 110
26 weeks: 120

At less than three months, it is probably internal swelling that is restricting your bend; as the inflammation reduces, you will gain more flexion.

Are you still icing and elevating frequently? That's one of the best things you can do to reduce the swelling.

 

[selketine]

Sounds like you are doing very well other than the bend being a source of frustration. Not sure I'm any good at pointers for that - other than I found it frustratingly slow, then it picked up. Seems like you had a 90 bend fairly early on so you think it hasn't changed? Has the surgeon or the PT had any insight for you?

I don't know what you've been trying, but I liked doing the seated heel slides vs. the ones you do lying down. Sitting in a chair like normal and slide the heel in until you feel that's about it, then slide it out. I would do it until I felt a bit of resistance but not pain. It didn't seem like I made much gain that way but it got things going and I eventually could do the heel slides lying down without pain. I didn't use a strap or push on my knee to make it go farther to the point it hurt. Just wondering if something gentle that you could do several times a day (sort of not even having to think on it too hard - like watching tv or something) would help?

I feel like I'm in the minority of people who find icing my knee to be irritating and make it stiffer. I think the refrigerated cold packs work better for me but even then I don't use them much. Elevating is good though! I felt a lot of tightness around my leg and would just massage it while in the recliner and also while bending it (while seated) just to maybe try to trick my mind into relaxing my muscles so the bend would be easier. I hope you can find an answer!

 

[Hippalong]

Thankyou for the reply/help @benne68 Its makes for interesting reading and is reassuring to know I'm not totally behind with thing! I do elevate whenever I'm sitting relaxing although haven't iced for a while, I'll start to do that again from tomorrow

 

[Hippalong]

Sounds like you are doing very well other than the bend being a source of frustration. Not sure I'm any good at pointers for that - other than I found it frustratingly slow, then it picked up. Seems like you had a 90 bend fairly early on so you think it hasn't changed? Has the surgeon or the PT had any insight for you?

I don't know what you've been trying, but I liked doing the seated heel slides vs. the ones you do lying down. Sitting in a chair like normal and slide the heel in until you feel that's about it, then slide it out. I would do it until I felt a bit of resistance but not pain. It didn't seem like I made much gain that way but it got things going and I eventually could do the heel slides lying down without pain. I didn't use a strap or push on my knee to make it go farther to the point it hurt. Just wondering if something gentle that you could do several times a day (sort of not even having to think on it too hard - like watching tv or something) would help?

I feel like I'm in the minority of people who find icing my knee to be irritating and make it stiffer. I think the refrigerated cold packs work better for me but even then I don't use them much. Elevating is good though! I felt a lot of tightness around my leg and would just massage it while in the recliner and also while bending it (while seated) just to maybe try to trick my mind into relaxing my muscles so the bend would be easier. I hope you can find an answer!

Hi, I do find the lying down heel slides harder than chair based ones too! But my pt measures my bend whilst lying on the treatment couch, which I find really difficult? My leg does go stiff, almost as if my lower leg is going to cramp, but it doesn't, I do massage it to get it moving. I feel I'm doing ok other than that, in fact quite pleased with myself some days haha. Nice chatting to you, thanks for the advice

 

[benne68]

Here's another member's story from member JusticeRider, that you might find helpful:

"I just want to add, for all those coming along, a note on ROM. I want to share this because nearly all of us have a tremendous amount pressure put on us to increase our ROM by certain deadlines, or else.

Mine has been extremely slow coming. First I had to wait out the swelling, which in my case took more than 5 months. Yes, months. At that point I began to see real progress. It has continued to this day. I have seen improvement in the last 2 weeks. It’s still going. A this point I think the limiting factor is tight muscles, ligaments, and tendons from 3 yrs of very limited ROM and actually about 25 yrs of somewhat limited ROM. Those tissues are slowly stretching.

I have had to be willing to let my flexion improve at a glacial pace, be very patient, and tune out the dire warnings of my surgeon, PA, previous PT, and some well meaning acquaintances. I refused painful PT and refused a MUA. I have absolutely no regrets. I know my body, and I believe those things would have caused a domino effect of swelling and pain that may have derailed my recovery long term and even possibly have torn soft tissue, etc. I now know I have the added challenges of hypermobility and an immune condition that causes an inflammatory reaction. I think a MUA would have been very harmful to me.

Instead of forcing it, I have relied on weekly massage and using my stationary bike as a stretching aid every single day. I have been very active, but I have ramped up really, really gradually. I have not measured my flexion, because honestly I feel almost a PTSD type of reaction around it. All I care about is function and what I can do. My knee is very functional now, and still improving. I love my new knee. I’m glad I let it heal on its own timeline even though it was so much longer than everyone (most of all me!) would have liked."

You can read her full recovery story here: https://bonesmart.org/forum/threads/justicerider’s-rehab-adventure.71459/

 

[selketine]

But my pt measures my bend whilst lying on the treatment couch, which I find really difficult?

Same! Boy I hated those lying down heel slides for quite awhile. Eventually...they started feeling almost good but it was a long time. I didn't bother with doing the lying down ones for quite awhile except at PT. I also always came back from PT worse than I went in - and was set back for days. I finally stopped going because everything she had me do, I could do at home. The other thing was doing the same exercise 20-30 times at a time - then moving to a new one and doing that one 20 times, and so on. I remember coming back from PT and feeling like I had lost so much of my gains. Not sure if that's what is happening for you but by 8 weeks or so I had stopped PT because of the frustration with it. I started going back to work at 8 weeks and was back full-time by 12 weeks (desk job). Just the standing up and sitting and walking to the copier and what not was fine and helped me along.

Hopefully you will see some progress as the weeks go by as well!

 

[Jockette]

I feel I'm doing ok other than that, in fact quite pleased with myself some days haha.

This is the most important thing! As was said, we each recover our ROM at different rates, and that’s fine. A ROM number is only one way to “measure” our recovery. And, just so you know, after a tough first year, ROM-wise, I had a lot of improvement, in many areas, in my second year, as my whole leg continued to relax and heal.

 

[sistersinhim]

I think it's silly to measure the bend while lying down. You use your knee much more while being upright! I found putting a plastic shopping back on the floor and moving my let back and forth gently helped most with my bend.

 

[mendogal]

I agree with @sistersinhim that measuring flexion while lying down isn't meaningful for one simple anatomical reason: the HIP is fully flexed as well, which affects the quads and hamstrings and - in my experience with two replacements - the hip flexion is what limited my knee ROM on the bike and getting into the drivers side car seat.

 

[Hippalong]

Well here I am a little late to the party after a long hiatus! Almost 1 whole year since my Op! I would like to say that I'm completely pain and problem free, but unfortunately I can't. I'm clearly much much better than I was, BUT....and it's quite a but, I am still suffering with stiffness and swelling, my Operated leg being quite a lot bigger, I'm still at just less than 90° bend but it still hurts to bend it. I'm also getting a bit of pain still too but no inflammation around the knee. So personally not as satisfied as I'd hoped I'd be, but plodding on in hopes of improvement

 

[Layla]

Better late than never! Thanks fro the update, Hippalong.
I'd like to wish you an early Happy One Year Anniversary. I am sorry you're still struggling a bit, but please know that many still enjoy improvement into their second and even third years post op. Hopefully that's the case for you.

We're thankful you're a part of the BoneSmart community. Recently we shifted to a subscription model and we're encouraging members to take their experience here to the next level. For an enhanced experience here, we'd like to encourage you to join the Insiders Club which allows special perks above the basics, making the most of what BoneSmart has to offer. If you're interested, we'd love to have you join us.

Upgrading not only unlocks full access to all forum features, but also provides valuable services like assistance with locating a surgeon, helpful downloads, and entry to the BoneSmart Library filled with videos and in depth articles to support you on your joint replacement journey. Please join us!

Here is a link to check out basic membership vs Insider Club membership - Become an Insider

Stay in touch and have a great weekend!
@Hippalong

 

[Hippalong]

Hi @Layla lovely to hear from you again, hope you are well! I'm also hoping I'm going to improve over the next few months. Regarding the membership and subscription I won't be taking advantage of the offer as I dont feel I will get the benefit as I wouldn't be using the site much anymore, only to touch base occasionally, but thankyou for bringing it to my attention. Wishing you a fab weekend also.

 

[Layla]

No worries!
It's still a pleasure to hear from you and hope you'll drop by periodically with updates.
Happy Summer 2025!
@Hippalong

 

[Jockette]

@Hippalong
After a tough first year, I had a lot of improvement in my second year, as my whole leg continued to relax and heal, which also improved my ROM, at that late date. I hope you will see the same.

 

[Hippalong]

@Jockette Thankyou! It's helpful to know that sometimes things that seem slow and unattainable do end up improving despite the time elapsed. I wish you continued success!