TKR Angela’s LTKR Recovery<

AngieBaby

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Hello all. First time joining a forum and wish I had thought to do so prior to my surgery on November 14, 2018. But better late than never. I have read a number of other posts as well as the collateral provided by the moderators on recovery. It’s all been very helpful. I feel like my progress has been fairly good in the first week and a half. Pain management seems ok, had 2PT sessions that went well, sleeping not great, but I expected that. I am using walker and was at times using just a cane. Last night however, without doing anything or falling, I felt a significant change in my knee accompanied by bad pain. Since then, the pain is a 7 whenever I put any weight on my knee, take any steps or move the leg in general. And it feels like an elastic band is tightening up across the front and outside of my knee. Today all of the recommended exercises are nearly impossible to do. Did I just do too much or could I have done some sort of damage to my new knee? I don’t see my Dr until Thursday (11/29) and no PT until the week after. Thoughts?

Thank you for having such a collaborative environment to share, vent and encourage [emoji2].

Sincerely,
Angela


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Hello there and welcome to Bonesmart! What surgery did you have and which knee was it?

More than likely you have upset your already upset soft tissues. They have had a tremendously traumatic surgery and it takes very little for the pain and swelling to increase.

I will leave you your very own recovery articles. Following these will help you to have a less painful recovery.

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. Here is a week-by-week guide for Activity progression for TKRs


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.
 
Welcome to the forum @AngieBaby. Your surgery was the day after mine. It's been my experience (this is my second TKR) that our baby new knees are easily ticked off so perhaps you have been too active this early in recovery. Hang in there - this recovery is a bit of a slog. :flwrysmile:
 
What surgery did you have and which knee was it?

It was Total Knee Replacement on my left knee.


I will leave you your very own recovery articles.

Thank for my own version- much easier to find.


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Welcome to the forum @AngieBaby. Your surgery was the day after mine. It's been my experience (this is my second TKR) that our baby new knees are easily ticked off so perhaps you have been too active this early in recovery. Hang in there - this recovery is a bit of a slog. :flwrysmile:

Thanks @kmak81230! I will try to remember to baby it more. Wishing you a good recovery as well [emoji3]


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I hope things are feeling better today. Sometimes our baby knees get painful and unhappy for no apparent reason. Sometimes we do a little too much, but that’s easy to do. It doesn’t take much. Hope some rest, elevating and icing helps your knee settle down.
 
Thank you @SusieShoes! I hope that is the case as well. I have been doing just that since the change. I see the PT tomorrow and the nurse asked them to refer any concerns directly to my doctor.


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So now at around 12 weeks out from surgery. All has been pretty smooth and progressing well. I have had numbness on the outside of the knee for a while now but two days ago the numbness spread across the whole knee and the joint itself feels numb. To the point it is difficult to put weight on it. The joint is very stiff and uncomfortable, but not really painful to walk on. No strenuous exercise or injury to speak of. Any thoughts on what this might be? I can’t find any info on sudden numbness in TKR’d knee. Thanks!!


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I'm not sure, either, Angie, so I'm going to ask @Josephine to advise you.
 
That will be connected to this Numb area after TKR. It's possible that the nerve area that's been affected could be wider than usual.

Can you show me the area using this chart?

aa knee-references-horz.jpg
 
Yes it was C-LF1thru E-LF1 for the first 11 weeks but now it’s that plus C-LF2 thru E-LF2. Hope that makes sense.

Also realized by title shows RTKR but actually it was my Left knee that was replaced.


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Last edited:
Yes, Illustration is accurate except on the left knee [emoji106]. I read your numbness tracking too. Makes sense. I only got concerned because the patch seemed to increase rather than stay the same or decrease.


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I've corrected your thread title. :flwrysmile:
 
You quoted LF1 but there is no LF1 on that chart. Only LF3 and 4!

Oops!! Obviously I can’t read the chart!! Apologies. See if this makes more sense:

auploads.tapatalk_cdn.com_20190208_e65df24006d56bc2af752fff9eb7b5d5.jpg
auploads.tapatalk_cdn.com_20190208_dd13b59ae38c141ae6457c113ba5ae1c.jpg



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Images could have been smaller! :wink:

So you're 13 weeks out.

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?
 
Yes but my eyes are bad too [emoji23]. Ask anything you like. Happy to answer.


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Here y'go then!

It would be very helpful if you would answer each one individually - numbered as I have done - 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 forget to factor in other forms of pain such as soreness, burning, stabbing, throbbing, aching, swelling and stiffness).

2. what pain medications have you been prescribed, how much are you taking (in mg please) and how often?

3. how swollen is your leg compared to these?
ai63.tinypic.com_eta39s.jpg


4. what is your ROM - that's flexion (bend) and extension (straightness)

5. are you icing your knee at all? If so, how often and for how long?

6. are you elevating your leg. If so how often and for how long?

7. what is your activity level? What do you do in the way of housework, cooking, cleaning, shopping, etc., and

8. are you doing any exercises at home? If so what and how often?
This is the most crucial question so please help me by using the format I have left as an example
(which means please make a list and not an essay!)

Exercises done at home
- how many sessions you do each day
- enter exercise by name then number of repetitions of each
etc., etc.

Anything done at PT
- how many times a week
- enter exercise by name then number of repetitions of each
etc., etc.
 
1. Pain ranges from 3-6. Better when I take meds, worse when I have been sitting (work from home at a desk). No stabbing or throbbing, but aching. Worst pain level is burning and stiffness.

2. Take one in the morning and one in the evening of 5/325 Hydrocodone. (Norco). The script is for 1-2 every six hours or as needed but I have decreased this as its not as awful as it used to be. Also take 200mg Celebrex twice daily.

3. Slight to no swelling.

4. ROM is 125 and Flexion close to 0

5. Icing Twice during the day and at night. I leave it on for 60 min or longer at night.

6. I elevate in a under desk “hammock” while at my desk for about 30 min at a time about twice during an 8 hour period. Only elevated by recliner chair in the evening but it’s more at my hip level and not really raised up.

7. Doing moderate housework, most of the cooking, cleaning and shopping. Pretty active but take time to rest when I get worn out.

8. Exercises done at home - 2-3 times a day
Leg lifts x10
Leg slides x10
Flex and point x10
Heel slides x10
Knee bends/stretches x10
Knee flex stretches x10

PT is only once every other week now. Only have two more PT appointments likely left according to the therapist.

Bike 6 min
Recumbent Cross Trainer 6 min
Leg presses 3 sets x12 both legs and then one
Marching on trampoline 1 min, x2
Stair practice with step 3 sets x12

I walk dogs 2-3 times a week for 3½ miles

Thanks for the time and help Josephine! I do appreciate all you do!! Let me know if I left anything out or wasn’t clear.


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