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TKR 7 months out and still painful

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Hi Jesse, Thanks for the update. That's great that Jane's doing so well!! Hopefully she'll be able to adjust to the monotonous regime. Please tell her I'm wishing her well.
So glad you and Jack are adjusting to her being layed up! :)
 
Hi friends,
Jane is now 34 days post operation and doing quite well. Last week Jane stopped using CPM. She has 122 deg rom without machine and 2 deg extension. Because of "drop foot" syndrome, she uses a special prosthesis that fits inside her shoe and attaches to calf when walking. She is starting to see a very small upward movement in that foot. I understand, it takes a very long time for "drop foot" to correct. She is going to the hospital PT course every other day, and likes it very much. Each patient is assigned one therapist for the duration. Jane really likes her PT. We no longer use the DonJoy Iceman, but now use ice packs stored in the freezer. Pain level most of the time is 3 or less. If it wasn't for the drop-foot, Jane's PO would be awesome! All for now...I have to walk Jack and grocery shop.
 
Excellent report out!! :SUNsmile:
Thanks for keeping us informed.
 
[Bonesmart.org] 7 months out and still painful


It is now 41/2 months LTKR. Jane is off pain meds during the day, but still takes 2 Hydro-Codone tabs and night. Her rom/130deg, ext/0deg. Jane, "Jack" and I walk about 1 mile every day when not raining. She has little pain when walking. But still has pain in the knee-cap (C, L2 & L3 area.) Towards the end of her physical therapy they started knee-bends for quad strength, which she has continued to do here at home. Her doctor told us to message the area, which we have been doing to no avail. A few minutes ago I suggested to her to stop the knee-bends to see if the pain diminishes. She said she would.
Jane has been very good doing the suggested exercises, walking when we can, and some light housework. That said, she still spends majority of time in bed, watching t.v. and sleeping. She says she has no ambition to do anything. She thinks her depression is a combination from the tkr , drop-foot, pain & gray rainy days we are experiencing here in Port Angeles, Washington. The "drop-foot" syndrome is 75% better, with some numbness around the toes, but way better than what it was. I don't think Jane realized the time needed for complete tkr recovery.
Regards, Jane, "Jack" & Jesse
 
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LTKR Nov 18, 2013: rom 130deg, ext 0deg. I still have sharp pain in the band right above knee-cap, when standing from toilet or from any other sitting position. I walk about a mile each day, as well as my exercises including knee bends. I'm satisfied with "rom" and "extension" and walking without help from medication or mechanical device. I am very disappointed that pain has not gone away after 7 months. I do not have swelling or infection by observation. And, I'm not sure if this is normal or if I have some kind of internal problem. I did have "drop foot" after the operation, but that has cleared up, thankfully.
Any and all information from "Bone Smart" readers would be much appreciated.
 
Here is your post:
"Hi Pumpkin. Also, yes., sharp pain happens when I get up from sitting. It pretty much goes away when I start walking. I still have slight pain when walking.
Please point me to where I can learn how to reply to reply to my post (if that make sense)
Jane & Jesse"
Just scoot down the page to the box with your avatar on the left, and start typing your response.
@Josephine may be able to address your sharp pain at the top of your knee cap when you stand up.
 
Hi Pumpkin. Thanks for fast response. I just remembered how to reply to a post 10 seconds after I sent you a email.

Yes. I experience sharp pain in the band where Femur meets Patella. Once I start walking the sharp pain disappears. That said, I still have slight pain when walking. I will be seeing the surgeon next week. The last time I saw him he said that part of Femur goes through a lot of trauma during a tkr. Hopefully, I have nothing wrong and all that is required is more time to heal. I'm paranoid about needing a revision. Yes., hopefully Josephine can help.
Nice hearing from you "Pumpkin".
 
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Sounds like you had one of these moments :doh:. We all have them :heehee:.
Glad you are seeing your OS.
 
I had TRK done on 11-18-13 too. It's been a roller coster ride! For a week I've had swelling and stiffness to the point it's hard to bend. Getting up from sitting and toilet still is challenging. Going up and down stairs is painful! I use no cane and rarely take pain meds but now I need pain meds. The swelling is what causes the pain. I've been icing and elevating several times a day and right before bed. I saw my do for last Friday, he said everything looks good that it takes a year too heal. This has been along 7 mos! I've have good days and bad days but this last week is really a challenge. BoneSmart community had assured me that I'm not alone. Good Luck to all.


Sent from my iPhone using BoneSmart®
 
I'm in the same boat! Had my surgery just a few days before you. I still have pain at the top of my knee and the back of my knee. The pain at the top of my knee only hurts when I'm lifting my leg (doing a leg lift or going up stairs, and the back of my knee hurts when I bend it past 90 degrees. I am able to walk with very little pain (it just gets a little sore after about a mile). I do think it is getting better, but ever so slowly. I'm sorry you are still having pain, but it helps to know someone else is having the same issues at this point. I hope it's just because we're slow healers and not because there are problems.
 
This is a fairly common complaint after knee surgery. For some people, it just takes a lot of time for the soft tissue to get over the surgical trauma. Your surgeon is right. But....I'm glad you're going to see him to get a confirmation that all is well. From what you describe, I'd say this is just "normal" surgical pain. Please do let us know how your appointment with your doctor goes.

You may notice that I have merged your two threads. We like to keep our members' recovery posts all in a single thread. That way it's easy for us to go back and read your history before responding to a question or concern. In addition, the thread becomes a journal of your recovery for those who come along later and want to read about you. So, please post in this thread from now on when you want to give an update or ask a question. If you decide you'd like a different thread title at any point, you can change it by using the Thread Tools button at the top right of your screen or just post what you want here and we'll get it changed for you.
 
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Pumpkin, Redlipstix, Vhoudy, Jamie, and everyone else, THANK YOU! Jane. and I, have been very anxious about this lingering pain after 7 months, thinking impending doom (revision) was around the corner. Jane, for the last 7 months has religiously followed her in and out of hospital physical therapy, in home exercises, coupled with all the BoneSmart information, and surgeon's implant choice, has contributed to the 130+ deg ROM & 0 deg extension. It will be interesting to hear Dr.Gouge's opinion when we visit him next week. I have just printed all of your posts and will give them to Jane when she wakes up.
Everyday, we walk "Jack" near the Port Angeles airport, where we can let him off leash, so he can sniff, run and play and not get into trouble.
Thanks again for all your posts. You have made our day!
 
We'll see what Josephine says, but if it's like what some of us have experienced it could be soft tissue rather than the implant itself. You might try taking it a little easy and icing the area if it is sore.
 
I'm surprised @Josephine hasn't been here to respond, so I'm tagging her again. It may be she didn't receive the alert.
 
Sorry, I never got the previous tag.
Jane&Jesse said:
Jane, for the last 7 months has religiously followed her in and out of hospital physical therapy
Click to expand...
I am surprised that after 7½ months and with a ROM of 130/0, that you are still doing your therapy. You don't need to do it forever! By now you should have abandoned it totally and just got on with your life.
Jane&Jesse said:
I still have sharp pain in the band right above knee-cap, when standing from toilet or from any other sitting position. I walk about a mile each day, as well as my exercises including knee bends. I'm satisfied with "rom" and "extension" and walking without help from medication or mechanical device.
Click to expand...
So what kind of PT/exercises are you doing? How much and how often? (and detailed details would be appreciated, please! Reps, sets and session and all that) and how much walking?

Note:
If you're not familiar with this, it goes like so:
1 lift of a 500kg bell bar = 1 rep or repetition.
Doing 5 reps and then a brief rest = 1 set of 5.
And doing 5 sets and finishing = a session.
 
Josephine, Jane is doing two sets / 10 reps each of the following: laying flat 0 deg extension leg raises, laying flat foot slides to 130 deg rom, sitting to standing weight on knees and 1 to 2 mile walks with dog "Jack" and myself in a large field. She does feel pain using our stairs to second floor. She has not been using pain meds for two months.
When standing from sitting she still is experiencing a sharp pain (for several seconds) around the horiz area where Patella meets Patella. She continues to do some exercises hoping this will eventually eliminate the sharp pain.
Jane, has an appointment with her surgeon in several days. To this date he seems to be very pleased with her outcome, now that the "foot drop" has cleared.

Respectfully,

Jane, Jack & Jesse
 
Jane&Jesse said:
two sets of 10 reps each of the following:
- leg raises
- laying flat foot slides to 130 deg rom
- sitting to standing weight on knees
1-2 mile walks with dog "Jack" and myself in a large field.
Click to expand...
Quite so - she has spiffing ROM of 130/0 and doesn't need to do these any more. There comes a point where she should be forgetting she's had surgery and just get on with her life.
Jane&Jesse said:
She does feel pain using our stairs to second floor.
When standing from sitting she still is experiencing a sharp pain (for several seconds) around the horiz area where Patella meets Patella. She continues to do some exercises hoping this will eventually eliminate the sharp pain.
Click to expand...
The pain is caused by the exercises and doing more exercises is not the way to get rid of it. Quite the contrary, it's a perfect way to end up making it a LOT worse and maybe even becoming chronic and therefore very difficult to get rid of at all.

My suggestion is that she uses Tylenol 1,000mg 3-4 times a day for 2-3 weeks and stops doing the exercises. They're unnecessary and more likely to cause harm than good. It actually never ceases to intrigued and worry me how people think the way to treat these exercise induced aches and pains is to exercise more! :shrug:
 
Josephine, We will start the Tylenol today.
Thanks for the advice.
Jane "Jack" Jane
 
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