TKR 8 weeks out

Kells

new member
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Feb 1, 2019
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Age
76
Location
Teesdale Australia
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I am 71 and had TKR eight weeks ago. I do the exercises from physio twice a day , walk for ten minutes (not counting the walking I do within the home - making beds, washing sweeping floors preparing meals) - am walking unaided.

I take just two ibuprofen during the day and one codeine at bedtime.

Once a week one hour physio & twice a week in hydro pool both at a rehab center.

My question is - is it normal for me to still have pain when walking (worse in the morning or if I try to walk longer) . Also recently am using exercise bike - slowly but can only use heel on operated leg.
 
Hi and Welcome to Bonesmart!

It is normal to still have pain at 8 weeks, especially with all the activities you are doing.

I am going to tag @Josephine
our forum administrator and nurse director to address your concerns.

I will leave you our Recovery Guidelines. Each article is short but very informative. Following these guidelines will help you have a less painful recovery.

Knee Recovery: 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

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

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 the 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 the member’s history before providing advice, so please post any updates or questions you have right here in this thread.
 
Hello @Kells - 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:
 
You're a lot more active than I was at 8 weeks. It didn't take a lot of walking for the knee and muscles to feel sore.
 
My question is - is it normal for me to still have pain when walking
In order to answer this, I'd really like to offer you some structured advice but in order to do that, I also need to ask you some questions. Are you willing for me to do that?
 
@Kells - I see that you are now following me, but you haven't been back to your recovery thread to tell us your surgery date, or to answer Josephine's question. She's offered to help you and she does need an answer, please.

If you want help from us, we do need to have input from you.
 
Thank you & I'm sorry I'm still trying to find my way around this site. It is my left knee that I had replaced on Dec 10 2018.
 
Also recently am using exercise bike - slowly but can only use heel on operated leg.
Any way you can get the pedals round is fine! Using a bike to gain ROM is pretty simple:
  • Set the bike to zero resistance
  • Set the saddle low enough so that a single rotation is a challenge; difficult but not painful. When a rotation becomes easy right from the start, lower the saddle a max of 1cm.
  • Gently turn the pedals, through discomfort but without pain.
  • Continue until the knee is 'warmed up' and the rotation is now easy, or for 2 minutes, whichever is the shorter time.
  • Repeat several/many times a day, but don't go mad. Diminishing returns will apply; my guess is that half a dozen reps would be enough
  • Do not pedal fast or for more than 2 minutes, this is a stretching exercise, not training.
  • And if you get any pain or swelling in the 24 hours after doing this, cut it down until you don't
Here is a bit more chat and some pix and how 'healing' and 'training' are different

My question is - is it normal for me to still have pain when walking
Yes.
or if I try to walk longer
If something causes pain, stop doing it. It's your body's built in warning system telling you to slow down.
 
After saying that I am walking unaided I am concerned after reading various posts that like a lot of them even though I am walking unaided "mostly" I walk with a limp & it is painful. I'm thinking I should still be using one crutch or a cane ~ I do walk much better with the one crutch ~ guess my pride is getting in the way especially when I walked into my six weeks check up with the surgeon & he commented "still on a crutch ~ you need to do more walking ~ more walking with pain but the more you walk it will go !!" I don't understand that theory how can more pain be good !!
 
More pain is not good. Pain is telling you your body is not ready to do whatever activity is causing the pain.

Use whatever aid you feel helps you walk the best, and helps you feel secure, no matter what anyone says. I used my cane for at least 4-5 months.

I do understand the pride thing about using a walking aid, but you will feel worse while having pain and limping, not to mention what will happen to your pride if you fall! :console2:
 
I do think you should still be using a cane, @Kells . Use it until you can walk without limping.

It's just a tool, so try not to feel to bad about using it.

As for your surgeon's comment, there are no prizes for giving up walking aids too soon. Use a cane as long as you feel you need it. Try not to lean on it, but use it to help you walk properly.

And no, more pain isn't good. It's bad. Pain is a warning sign that what you're doing at that time is too much for your knee. If it hurts, don't do it. Discomfort is OK, but pain is bad.

It's your knee. You decide what's best for your knee.
 
Oh thank you lovely people ~ I'm so glad I joined this forum. It's good to get this support & make me feel 'better' about myself.:) :-) (::thankyou:
 
Kells, when you've quoted a post, you can write beneath the quote. You don't have to start a new post.
 
It is hopeful! I'm just a little ahead of you but I'm finding that I can coast along at one level for a while and then all of a sudden there is an improvement. Sometimes just a little one (mostly) and sometimes quite major, like doing stairs foot over foot. They're right, marathon not sprint!
 
@Kells yep, I can relate to that. Sometimes walking seems quite natural and other times not! My literature said that we should continue using sticks until we can walk comfortably without a limp. The physio I saw just before I was discharged wanted me to go down to one stick and said to do away with the other asap, but I disagreed. I brought both sticks home. Mostly I use 1, sometimes none, but if I feel I'm not walking properly I go back to 2 for a while.
 
Here's a really good example of the rate of recovery for this surgery:

the-road-to-recovery-jpg.57877
 

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