TKR Back of new knee pain when sitting

[CBeebe]

I had a total left knee replacement on 9/30/19 after a fall that also broke my femur. I’m well into my recovery and the only significant pain is when I’m sitting with my left leg at a 90 degree angle and there’s pressure from behind, i.e chair, car seat, couch, etc. The pain continues to build until I’m able to stand up. I wonder if the rod that replaces 9” of my femur is being pushed into my knee when I’m in that position. Any ideas?

 

[Jockette]

Hi and Welcome!

I have passed your question on to our medical experts.


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: 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 to these pages on the website

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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 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.

 

[Celle]

I’m well into my recovery and the only significant pain is when I’m sitting with my left leg at a 90 degree angle and there’s pressure from behind, i.e chair, car seat, couch, etc. The pain continues to build until I’m able to stand up. I wonder if the rod that replaces 9” of my femur is being pushed into my knee when I’m in that position. Any ideas?

Hi @CBeebe

I only had a knee replacement, without the added complication of a fractured femur, but I used to experience a pain like that whenever I sat on a dining chair. I found that it was because my legs are short and the chair was a bit too high for me. Consequently, there was more pressure on the back of my leg (just above my knee) than there should have been.

What relieved it for me was using something (such as a couple of books) under my foot, instead of having my foot on the floor. That relieved the pressure at the back of my leg and knee, and took the pain away.

My mother had a rod inserted into her femur after a bad fracture. It ran up the inside of her femur, like this illustration:

Yours is probably similar. I don't think they leave the top of the rod sticking out of the bone, as it's shown in the picture, though.