TKR 90 days Post Op Limping

Mom_2_4

new member
Joined
Jun 3, 2019
Messages
2
Age
51
Country
United States United States
Gender
Female
Deleted post
 
Last edited:
@Mom_2_4 Welcome to BoneSmart and the other side of TKR surgery. Returning to work post op is very challenging for most. Yes, recovery from TKR can take a year or more.

Are you icing and elevating that op leg when you can? If you can do this at work - even better.

Let me give you some guidelines for this recovery. The chart representation of recovery and how long does healing take articles might give you some insight as to where you are in this process.

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. At week 4 and after you should follow this Activity progression for TKRs

6. Access these pages on the website

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 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.
 
Howdy: Yep, it sounds very familiar. I limped and had hamstring issues with both surgeries. First time around I pushed for extension and ended up with more hamstring pain and spasms. I was more relaxed with the 2nd knee, gentle PT and simply doing everyday activities. In the end both knees took about a year to get back to "normal" . The limp, hamstring and extension issues went away as I walked more and increased stride length.

Take care
Chemist
 
My main concern is the hamstring pain and inability to straighten my knee out all of the way. In the beginning of PT I had great extension,
Welcome to Bonesmart!

If you had great extension earlier, you will again. Your leg is probably swelling more now that you are back at work, I would imagine you are on your feet a lot at work and it’s still really early in your recovery for your knee to handle that well.

Same thing about the hamstring pain, your leg still has a lot of healing to do.

I hope that when you are home that you can rest and elevate your leg a lot so it can calm down from the time at work. Don’t think of this resting as sitting around doing nothing, think of it as giving your knee the best circumstance in which to heal. It’s important to give your knee this rest so you can have a good final outcome. If you keep making demands on a knee that is not ready, it will stay upset and you just make your recovery longer, and sometimes continuing to do too much too soon can affect the outcome.
 
Hello @Mom_2_4 - 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 say you work in an ICU. Is RRT Renal Replacement Therapy or Rapid Relief Team? That's not an abbreviation we see much here.
Whichever, it probably means that you're on your feet for most of your shift. Right?

That's demanding rather a lot of a new knee, particularly as you went back to work a bit early. We usually recommend taking about 12 weeks off work, and then light or part-time duties for a while, even after 12 weeks.

Work is going to stress your new knee and probably make is more swollen, which will have an adverse effect on both flexion and extension. You know that your leg can straighten fully, because it did before. It will again.

If you can, when you get home from work try to do very little, except rest and elevate your leg. Ice may be helpful on your knee, but you may find that a warm pad or wheat bag my help more with your hamstrings and quads.
Don't go to PT - you're getting more than enough exercise at work.

The muscles and tendons at the back of your leg need to be stretched slowly and gently. You can't rush that. Let them calm down now, and don't go doing lots of exercises.

There's no need to rush to get Range of Motion, either flexion or extension, because it can continue to improve for a year, or even much longer, after a knee replacement. There isn't any deadline you have to meet:
Myth busting: the "window of opportunity" in TKR
 
Deleted post
 
Last edited:
Thank you for your surgery date. I've put it in your signature now.

I do understand about the financial need to go back to work - very necessary, but not too good for a recovering knee.

I think this is going to work out all right for you, as long as you get sufficient rest after work.

It may just take longer to achieve full flexion and extension. That may not matter too much, as there's really no vital time frame you have to meet. ROM can continue to improve for a year, or even much longer, after a knee replacement. There isn't any deadline you have to meet:
Myth busting: the "window of opportunity" in TKR
 
Sorry you had to go to work so soon and 12 hour days no less. :(
For most things with post tkr, slowly but surely seems to work. I hope that will be the case for you.
 
I returned to full duty 65 days post op.
That makes me shudder! Returning to work F/T after only 2 months? Our recommendation is at least 12 weeks but I suppose what's done cannot be undone.

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?
 

BoneSmart #1 Best Blog

Staff online

  • mendogal
    Staff member since November 10, 2023

Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
65,179
Messages
1,597,053
BoneSmarties
39,363
Latest member
HikerWalker
Recent bookmarks
0
Back
Top Bottom