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Extreme pain 5 month post op

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lalyfa welcome to the site! Oh WOW! I am sorry to hear that your OS is so insensitive! I won't say it again since so many have already expressed my sentiments.

Rest, ice and elevate! Stretches work wonders too!

Take care!:flwrysmile:
 
OMG! this is a horror story.....I'm at 7 weeks, your doing brilliant. In Australia I would tell your Dr to FFFFF Off. He has no reason to do what he's doing, causing that sort of pain, he's so unqualified. Get a new Dr, you will be surprised with the difference.
Go girl.....This is the best place for recovery, I was so messed up, before I found this site, my recovery has improved 100% because of all the support . Keep posting and let us know how your going. Regards Leonie, from Down Under. XO
 
You poor girl, you have definitely experienced cruel and painful treatment from someone who should know better. Please, please do not go back to him, ever!! There is no cause or excuse for this kind of abuse. You are doing really well, recovery is very slow, I know, I had both knees done in May. Do your therapy and do the exercises you can do at home, and ice and elevate often. Everything else will come if you work slow and steady. Oh, and welcome to the forum, glad you found us so we can all be there for you with words of encouragement and advice from our experiences. Take care and keep us updated as to how you are progressing. Hugs across the miles.
 
I had my evaluation with the out patient PT and told her I did not want her pushing me to the point that I would be screaming. She said not to worry that isn't what they do there! She said that she would go as far as I let her but as soon as I say stop, she stops. That made me happy and allowed me to enjoy the remainder of the session. She even had me on a stationery bike that I was able to go all the way around backwards! I was excited! Can't quite get there yet with my bike (recumbant bike) but I know I will soon. My biggest problem now is that I have to wait for 2 weeks before going back to therapy due to waiting on my insurance approval. I am shocked at this and afraid that time wait will set me back. I am doing my exercises and hoping it will be enough to gain some flexion on my own during the next week.

DWhit, we are almost neighbors! I am in Groton, MA!

Thanks again everyone for your support. I will report back after next week's appointments!

 
Oh, I have another question! Lately I've been having problems sleeping due to a lot of aggravating aching going on in the front of leg below my knee. Sometimes it's under my knee (where most of my pain is anyway). Even if I take a vicodin, it often doesn't help so I am losing a lot of sleep. I usually get up and elevate my knee/leg on the couch. Sometimes that helps but not always. Has anyone else had this problem? It seems as though as soon as I get in bed it begins and just won't stop unless I am up walking around. Does anyone have and great tips for relieving this?

Thanks again,
Laura
 
Count me in with "Recycled" ..... I definitely want to come along when we give this sick sadist a dose of his own medicine! RUN, FAST .... DON'T WALK AWAY ...... RUN.
abby
 
I am 6 weeks post op tkr. I have noticed a huge difference in my ability to bend my knee while sitting in a chair verses laying on the floor or doctor's table. It seems while I am laying down my ROM is much less. My therapist measures me sitting but doctor does while I'm laying on the table so its always less. Has anyone else noticed this difference? Which is the most accurate way to measure for flexion?
 
My thought would be to measure using one method consistently, but doesn't matter which one. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the one that gives the highest number is sitting on a table, legs dangling over the edge, and pushing ankle back under the table.
 
I would not even worry about the ROM---let the PT and the OS worry about those numbers. AS long as you are making progress---and remember---progress and recovery is like a roller coaster---you are doing fine.
 
:yay: I agree, sitting on table great measure. I only ever measure on :yay: the table. I try not to compare my Rom, so many different measurements, with so many people at different stages. Lol hate it when Pt measure after exercise, and I'm all swollen, such not a true reading....
It's all such a long journey, one day at a time now. Have a great weekend. Regards Leonie from Down Under.
 
Knee pain said:
Lol hate it when Pt measure after exercise, and I'm all swollen, such not a true reading....
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My PT's would measure me when I got in---I would ride a bike to loosen up and to warm up my muscles, but nothing more---they would measure me and then let me get on with the PT session.
 
Oh the ROM measurement! Sometimes this ROM business is like grades, or getting weighed, or maybe bra size. As I was told when I was young and at most a AA, "Anything more than a handful is wasted!" OK, jokes aside, are you worried? Otherwise, it's good practice to do your best to ignore ROM measurements. I refused to be measured because my ROM was poor for months, and when I got bending beyond 90, I was so happy I didn't care what the number was. Better yet, you can eyeball it and tell for yourself. As long as it's progressing, life is good.
 
Yes I noticed that my bend is better with my legs dangling off the table or even sitting in a chair than lying down. Makes me angry when they measure with me lying on the table. :skep:
 
These folks are right. Please don't worry about the numbers. The real measure of how you're doing is how much of your daily activity you're getting back as you progress in recovery. As long as you're moving forward, the ROM numbers will come.

And....to answer your question about the "right" way to measure.....there really isn't one. Some people do it with you sitting and others with you lying down. The numbers can vary based on your swelling at the moment or the way the person positions the measuring tool. It's not a perfect thing. So that's why it's best not to get too excited about the numbers.
 
My home PT last year measured by having me sit in a chair, scoot my bum forward and then slide my stockinged foot back on a wood floor as far as it could go. The inpatient rehab PT this year measured by putting my foot on her shoulder and leaning in until I invoked my "safe word;" occasionally she had me sit up, dangle my leg over the side of the massage table, hook a leg-leash over my foot, pass it back beneath the table and have me pull it myself. My home PT this year (different agency) claimed that measuring sitting up sometimes involves hip flexors and can give an artificially high reading, so he had me lie down supine on my daybed, place a baggie over my foot, move my foot back as far as I could and then let him take over until I told him to stop. My outpatient PT has me lie supine on the massage table and instruct me to move my own stocking foot as far back as I can. (120 thus far at a bit past 2 months--she says she could push it farther but why torture me?). As far as extension goes, it's doing a quad set till the back of the knee firmly touches the table--I got to 0 pretty quickly with that.

It's all just numbers. True ROM is the extent to how well you are able to do the things you need and want to do in your life!
 
The reason I worry about the numbers is because they report these numbers to the surgeons, and then the pt's get in trouble if our numbers aren't good enough. The surgeons expect a certain set of numbers by a certain time or they start talking about MUA.
 
scaredinCA said:
The reason I worry about the numbers is because they report these numbers to the surgeons, and then the pt's get in trouble if our numbers aren't good enough. The surgeons expect a certain set of numbers by a certain time or they start talking about MUA.
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Yes, it is true that the PT's report the numbers. But when you see your OS, he will most certainly measure your ROM, and will do so in the position that he deems appropriate.

Roger
 
Our recovery and success should not matter or be based on what numbers the PT gets. Honestly I get that ROM is a way to compare and track progress, but that is all it should be - not the gold standard. I'd prefer to see a list of functional skills that help people early in recovery see that type of progress. To me the numbers are all irrelevant. Just last week my PT measured my extension sitting on my bed and laying on my stomach - there was 5 degrees of difference for both knees. What I see is that my walking is getting stronger, I can move into more positions comfortably and each day my function is a little bit better. Because of all the hype about ROM, I find myself needing to lecture myself that "IT IS NOT ABOUT THE NUMBER"!!! I honestly wish the US would take a lesson from other countries and not even bother with the measurements, especially early in the recovery process.

Stacie
 
Thank you everyone! The reason I worry about my ROM measurement is because my OS wanted me at 120 degrees flexion 2 weeks ago but I was only at 100-110. He wasn't happy and he bends my leg back to where I am screaming in pain. I have an appt tomorrow and am very afraid to go knowing what I am in for. I haven't had PT for over 2 weeks because I'm waiting on insurance approval. My degrees doesn't seem to have increase any since the last time I was measured even though I have improved in other areas. I just know what's coming from the OS and don't even want to go!

Laura
 
Oh Laura, I cringe thinking about you going to the OS tomorrow...that just doesn't seem right!!!! My therapist has me ride the stationary bike then puts the seat all the way down and has me pull back as far as possible. Later we measure with me sitting on the table. Unfortunately it hasn't been all forward progress. Last Wed. I was at 115 and Friday I was a little more swollen and only at 107. I felt quite discouraged, but she reminded me again that the road to recovery is not a straight line and that happening is not unusual. Please don't let them bully you...and good luck getting back to therapy soon!
 
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