TKR 8 months post op still minor pain and swelling

rick*j

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I had TKR done 8 months ago and still have morning stiffness and pain after standing for long periods of time.
I did 10 weeks of PT and have excellent range of motion 130+ degrees. Went back to my Ortho after six months and described the issues. He stated that I still had some swelling in surrounding tissue and this was the cause of the pain and swelling. It appeared to be minor as I could really not tell the difference between my two knees. He stated it could take some time for the swelling to subside, but would eventually go down. He injected the knee with cortisone to help reduce the swelling which it did bring it down for about 6 weeks and helped with pain and swelling but seems to be back to were it was before. My knee also clicks bad first thing in morning but lessens as day progresses.
Is this normal and will my knee ever feel better?
 
:welome: tgo BoneSmart

Almost certainly just a time thing, knees continue to improve for months and years after surgery. Gentle stretching first thing will help that stiffness, and as for standing - well I bet you did very little of that pre-surgery, because of pain. It takes time for that ability to return.

General 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
ice
take your pain meds by prescription schedule (not when pain starts!)​

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. At week 4 and after you should follow this

6. Access these pages on the website

The Recovery articles:

There are also some cautionary articles here


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.
 
Hi rick*j I am just 7 weeks post op form right medial PKR so i cannot offer any insight but my old boss had a TKR just over two years ago and is still improving it took him over a year for him to start seeing the benefits. He mentioned last week was a tough couple of days where he had swelling again he put it down the unusually hot weather here in the north of England.
 
Rick, my Sister had both knees replaced a few years ago and it took a full year for the swelling to disappear - now she’s fine and SO happy she had the surgeries. I’ve had both knees done this year so I’m still experiencing swelling, stiffness and pain, but I know it will all resolve in time. Hang in there!
 
Hello @rick*j - and :welome:

Please will you tell us the full date of your knee replacement and which knee it is, so we can make a signature for you?
Thank you.:flwrysmile:

Normally, complete recovery from a knee replacement takes a full year. Even though you can do most things by about 3 months, healing is still going on beneath the surface.

Give your knee time and most of your problems should resolve. You still have plenty of time for improvement and where your knee is now is not where it's going to end up.

That clicking of the knee is normal. It can last for a while, but usually goes away eventually.
Clicking/clunking knee joint after surgery
 
Had left Knee replaced Oct 8, 2020. I had 4 weeks of PT in Ohio and finished up in Florida. We went to Florida in Week 5 and hung my cane up and have not used since. My PT in Florida was very impressed with my ROM. She said your calf is hitting the back of your leg and you won't get anymore. I had been performing leg stretches for my back for 30 yrs Pre opt so I am sure that helped with my ROM. I pretty much do everything I did pre opt but knee get sore quickly. Sore not the pain I had before. I have second guessed my decision to have it done but appreciate the words of encouragement I have received from you folks. I was discouraged as my first PT told me it might three months to get back to normal, which has since passed. My Florida PT stated it could take up to one year, so the conflicting info has been discouraging. The first Ortho I had seen said I would be back playing golf in 2 weeks. Boy was he off base. Needless to say he did not perform my TKR. I ended up with the top rated guy in Columbus, OH. The Clicking really bothers me and seems to irritate the surrounding muscle and ligaments, hopefully this will go away. My PT would message my Quad muscles that were always knotted up and the clicking would go away. Anyway thanks for all the great info
 
In my own case it took the second year of recovery to get full ROM @rick*j. You already have achieved that, but you still have healing to do. Your knee will continue to improve with time. There is no “window of recovery”; that’s all a myth. If you have an active day, icing in the evening will still help. Patience is tough, but this really is a 12+ month recovery.
 
Playing golf in 2 weeks ? :rofsign: This doc needs to have a knee replacement!
 
Playing golf? Seriously. This type of miss information upsets me to no end. Its no where near the realm of realistic.
 
Hi Rick, my ltkr was is October also. This has been a looong recovery. Honestly, I am still at the point that I wish I had my old knee. Pain and tightness more often than not. I will say that month over month there is improvement; however, it is slow as molasses. I finally managed a 3 mile hike yesterday. First one since the replacement. It was glorious. I am waiting for the year mark to reevaluate. Good luck.
 
campcol, could you do a 3 mile hike before the surgery? I sure couldn’t with the bone on bone arthritis...I hope you feel differently when the year has passed.
 
Some days it felt good pre opt. and others days I could barely walk. That is why I put it off.
 
I get it. But it would only have gotten worse and the TKR will improve with time, so try and keep that in mind.
 
I have a very high pain tolerance. Prior to tkr, i routinely hiked 3 miles with pain and swelling following the hike. If I hiked 5 miles, I couldn't walk when I got home. i was laid up for 2 days. However, normal activity was tolerable. It was the swelling and stiffness that prohibited me from longer hikes which prompted the tkr. Surgeon indicated by 4 mths, I should be able to do easy hike. No way possible.. At 4 mths, I couldn't do stairs, squat on toilet or stand. KNee was in constant pain, unable to take long walks on flat surface or stand for long periods of time. The fact that at 6 months I could do a 3 mile hike without pain and swelling is huge!!! The knee is still somewhat painful, and is stiff but definitely slowly improving.
 
And will most likely continue to improve! I find many surgeons very unrealistic :heehee: .
 
@rick*j Add me to the list of people who took a full year before swelling after exercise reduced to near zero. Ditto on clicking and stiffness. My second knee resolved faster, which just shows how variable the recovery can be. I'm delighted with my new knees but like you worried for many months that full recovery seemed to take so long.
 
I seem to get better in stages. 3 steps up, 2 back. It's discouraging that at 8 months I still have pain and stiffness. I had never heard "it takes a year".
 

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