Don't stop the pain meds, stop the PT! You don't
need PT but you do
need the meds!
I'm going to ask you some questions and it would be very helpful if you would answer each one individually in as much detail as you can then I'll come back as see where you are ....
1. what are your pain levels right now?
(remember the 1-10 scale: 1 = no pain and 10 = the worst you can imagine. And don't compare this with the bone-on-bone pain you had before surgery!
)
2. what pain medications have you been prescribed, how much are you taking (in mg please) and how often?
3. how often are you icing your knee and for how long?
4. are you elevating your leg, how often and for how long?
5. What is your ROM - that's flexion (bend) and extension (straightness)
6. what is your activity level? What do you do in the way of housework, cooking, cleaning, shopping, etc., and
7. 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)
Note:
If you're not familiar with this, it goes like so:
1 lift of a 50kg 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.