ACL/MCL Repair arthroscopy recovery

[siobhan]

hi had my surgery on 9th jan. recovering well but alot of muscle pain in calf and thigh, have to have other knee done then total hip replacment. guess this not uncommon among my collegues here as arthritis affects common joints.

 

[Jaycey]

@siobhan Welcome to BoneSmart! Which knee had the surgery. I'll put the information in your signature for you.

Are you icing and elevating that op leg. Ice is a natural pain killer so it will help ease that calf and thigh pain.

I'll leave the knee recovery guidelines for you. They refer to TKR but the recovery process is very similar.
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

the BoneSmart view on exercise​

BoneSmart philosophy for sensible post op therapy​

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

6. Access these pages on the website

Oral And Intravenous Pain Medications​

Wound Closure​

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.

 

[Helizabug]

I had an ACL repair in the late 80s, and, while I needed some ongoing maintenance surgeries, as you can see in my signature, the ACL repair was a very good choice for me. I got decades of active living out of it. I hope your outcome is even better!

 

[loneshark64]

My daughter had a repair in June last year. It takes a while to recover but it is a great result. If they can do a repair vs reconstruction it is better but it depends on the tear. I had a reconstruction 20 years ago with a patella graft and it was not great but there were a lot of other problems with the knee and I just had a replacement on it, at last. Congratulations and good luck

 

[siobhan]

Thank you for the helpful replies. recovering ok, some ongoing pain however met with my surgeon yesterday and the damage from osteoarthritis quite severe so outcomes not as good as hoped. He said im going to have to have tkr. the plan is to have steroid injection and assess if that helps. ive been reading blogs on post op recovery from this procedure and am much happier re outcomes.
The arthritis has affected both my knees and L hip. I will have to have all eventually replaced. Ive a high pain threshold therefore only very recently discovered this fact, from your experiences is it better to pain manage as long as possible or option two go for the surgery. Im 54 work full time and have very active lifestyle.
Thank you in advance

 

[Jockette]

When making your decision about going for the TKR, keep in mind the recovery takes an average of a year. Bonesmart recommends taking 12 weeks off work to give your recovery a good start. Some members go back to work earlier and do ok, others pay dearly for it.

Your knee will recover in its own timeframe and you can’t speed that up, but you can slow it down by doing things earlier than your healing knee is ready for.

This recovery is a huge commitment and our medical teams are often very poor at preparing us for it. But if you accept your knee’s needs, and give recovery the time it needs, you will have made a wise investment for your future.

 

[Roy Gardiner]

is it better to pain manage as long as possible or option two go for the surgery

This is my personal take on things.

- if your knees rule your life , it's time
- take charge, don't be dictated to; it's your knee, your future
- don't believe in either horror stories or miraculous recoveries that happened to 'a friend of a friend'
- there is no such thing as too young or too heavy or even obese for TKR
- choose a specialist surgeon who does several hundred TKRs a year. Ask the nurses, if you can; they know who's best
- all replacement knees are very similar, don't believe that a special new one will give magical recovery -- it's the skill of the surgeon that counts
- if you need two done, think carefully about the time gap between surgeries, it's not a trivial decision
- try to plan for at least 12 weeks off work
- your recovery is your time to be selfish and idle; plan to embrace this, you'll need it
- don't think you can work hard (even if you're an athlete ) to speed recovery, healing works at its own pace
- look at our FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) thread and for full reference the Library index.

- finally, if there's any part of this that you aren't clear about, ask here; it's what BoneSmart's for.

 

[siobhan]

thank you for the very helpful replies. im in the very fortunate position that taking time off work isnt a major issue i can take as much time as i need. im also in the unfortunate position in that i require three replacement surgeries, both knees and L hip.
i am under the care of a surgeon but will research his background some more.
what im thinking is approx one year between surgeries but if it was feasible would prefer to have them closer together.
ive recentally discovered also that a newer hip replacement procedure called a tri lock bps system this is preformed by one consultant in irl. introduced from usa. Is this procedure common in usa if so any comparisons would be helpful as im thinking of making an appointment.
thanking you all so much for the support i cannot tell you how immensely helpful im finding it.

 

[Roy Gardiner]

one year between surgeries

surgery, wait a year, surgery, wait a year, surgery, full recovery starts? That would not be for me, I'd want to have them, as you say, (much) closer together. Knees can be done on the same day, as I had.

im thinking of making an appointment.

Do. I advocate knowing as much as possible before making a decision.