TKR Increase of stiffness and back of knee pain<

[roboknee]

@Josephine it just seems like it’s been a long time that I’ve been at 120 and while I do work st trying for more it’s not happening at all.

I’m at work full time this week so I’m following your guidelines for the Tylenol and it is helping! Thank you.

 

[roboknee]

@andpeaches
Hi surgery buddy!!! How’s your work week going? I am doing much better thank you and thanks to Josephine’s advice on taking my meds more regularly has helped with that. I’m having my nagging pain night just waiting for them to work tonight.. I’ve been really trying to keep my knee on my forefront of what I can do at this point and resting it when I can. I am even icing at lunch if I need to. It’s been a long week! Boy I’m exhausted! I wasn’t quite sure on how much going back to full time was going to be so tiring! I have a day off tomorrow I’m just going to take it easy! Do some ice and remind my self to set a timer when I should leave work! I ended up with a ten hour day today!! Hope your work week is going well?
Robo

 

[andpeaches]

Well @roboknee I’m finding I tend to forget about my knee a lot at work and then after standing and walking too long it lets me know loudly!that it’s unhappy and sometimes I just say out loud “I gotta rest!” And my coworkers have been great as they remember “0h Yeay she’s had a TKR” and everyone runs for a chair and takes over whatever I’ve been working on. It’s hard driving home after long days! R knee screams! So I have an ice bag on it as I drive. I’m going to try Josephine’s more frequent acetaminophen and see if it helps. Because right now as I’m home and off today I’ve got it elevated and iced because she’s not happy today. I’m not sure if this would help you or not but my PT taped my knee up with KT tape prior to my first week back at work. It’s off now and I think that darn tape really helped!!! I’m going to buy myself the KT tape as she showed me how to apply it. Ill let you know if it helped again!

 

[roboknee]

@andpeaches I totally hear my knee saying umm you’ve done too much! I think for me it gets pretty stiff by the end of day. Then I have a screaming knee at night. It’s better now that I’m taking my Tylenol and naproxen regularly but I sure felt it today I forgot to bring them with me to work! My co workers are pretty good I try just to do my office work but I do have to be up and down they are like “you know your limping right now” and I realize that it’s so tight and stiff then I go up stairs to ice for a while.. sometimes! I just got a fit bit to track my walking and stairs each day so it’s pretty eye opening how much I’m on my feet all day! I’m back at my house which has a lot of stairs to get into and inside too. I can so tell a difference trying to carry my grocery’s in with all the stairs! I probably should make several trips instead of hauling it all at once. Ugh I’m now waiting for my night time meds to kick in so I can sleep. Hope you finished and have started your week well. I did notice that my foot is swelling kind of weird this last week of full time. It’s right on the top? Only on my TKR one?
Robo

 

[Josephine]

while I do work st trying for more

What does this "st" mean?

 

[roboknee]

@Josephine I’m working at trying for more range and it’s not happening. Sorry typo from my phone..

 

[Josephine]

Okay, then you need to let me post my questions so I can advise you. Will you do that?

 

[roboknee]

@Josephine of course!
Robo

 

[sistersinhim]

Believe it or not, but more range will come if you just stop worrying about it. It happens all on its on as time goes on. Trying to get more just inflames your knee, causes swelling and lessens your ROM.

 

[Josephine]

Here y'go then! But this time, these are only for the last 6 weeks, okay?

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?

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.

 

[Jockette]

My bend is better now at 21 months than it was at my one year check up. It truly does get better all on its own!!

 

[roboknee]

I have moved back into my apt Sunday night. What a difference a sets of stairs make! Ugh it’s like I stepped back weeks. I’m so glad Josephine suggested regular meds and how often, it’s been a challenging two days. With having to grocery shop and up and down the stairs to get to my apt let alone the stairs inside. I sure didn’t realize how much work a set of stairs is! I’m trying to get everything fixed so I don’t have to go up and down so much. Makes me so very thankful I had the opportunity to stay with my sister in a single story for so long! I can’t ice tonight I wish I could.. had my last laser treatment today.

 

[roboknee]

@Jockette
I’m really not sure why I was so upset that my flexation wasn’t improving. My sister thinks it’s because I’m an overachiever. And I’ve been focusing on my last doc appt when she said you only have three months.. even my PT said that’s not true. I’m more relaxed about it now hearing from everyone here. Managing my pain / stiffness better has helped.

 

[traceys]

Hey @roboknee

We have the same surgery date and I am a classic type A overachiever so I totally get your drive and frustration with the rom thing. 3 months is such a drop in the bucket in the big picture view.

Rom is the hardest thing to stop focusing on as it seems to be in your face every day. I have gotten a lot of great advice and support on my thread tho so seems we are not alone!

The stairs are still my Achilles heel tho as I’m not even close to going foot over foot yet so kudos to you for getting thru them every day!

And happy 3 month anniversary!!

 

[roboknee]

@Josephine
1. my pain including stiffness most days after work is a 1-2. Today was a bit higher because I over did things moving. Much better since I really am paying attention to timing of meds.

2. I’m taking Tylenol 1000mg 4x in the day and Naproxen 500 mg prescription twice a day

3. Swelling is still light to moderate.

4. I was just measured today extension is 0, flexion was 127. A increase finally! Although my PT doesn’t measure me very often I asked him to today.

5. Only like twice a week since returning to full time work.

6. I elevate only when I ice

7. I'm fairly active doing my own shopping cleaning and walking at work. My fit bit says I walk around 6000+ steps a day.

8. Exercises at home
Heel slides once a day. After all day at work it’s all I have. Now that I am home I have a stationary I got on yesterday for 5 minutes.

PT once a week exercises: (I only have one more appt next week then I’m done.)
Stretching hamstrings
Squats with ball against wall
Balancing on affected leg x3 30 seconds
Side step with band at ankle
Weighted leg lifts 3 sets of 10
Lunges onto ball 3 sets of 10
Leg press 3 sets of 10

Roboknee

 

[roboknee]

@traceys
Happy 3 month anniversary to you too!!

Oh my the stairs scare the **** out of me!!! all of the time on my stairs I’m holding on for dear life and going down or up like I used to one at a time and very slowly! I’m afraid of falling as I have slipped on them before. Especially since I overdid the moving home thing! My knee has been screaming today even with my meds!


Robo

 

[andpeaches]

@roboknee HI!! Oh my! when I read your post I feel like I’m reading my own!!!! Except I truly don’t care anymore about my flexion. I think if we can walk that’s all that matters. Your stair challenges and your knee reaction is same as mine! I have a Fitbit too and slowly have found my step counts increasing. 6000 steps??? daily? That’s almost 3 miles. Mine screams if I go over 5000. But are you finding you’re forgetting your knee a little more in the past 1-2 weeks? I hope despite moving back to the dreaded stairs that you are really planning those trips up and down. The price of independence !! I keep a basket at bottom and top of my stairs that I put stuff in and wait to only make the one or two trips/day. And whenever carrying anything go back to only one step at time. Slow but so much less painful. Hey!!! You’re doing great!!!! Cheers to our 3 month knee birthdays !!! - Carrie

 

[Celle]

@Josephine I’m working at trying for more range and it’s not happening. Sorry typo from my phone..

It's only 3 months since your surgery and you're back at work, doing long days.

Give your knee time. You said your knee flexion is already 120. That's great, considering you're only a quarter of the way through a year-long recovery and your knee is doing so much.
There's no need to rush to get ROM (Range of Motion) because it can continue to improve for a year, or even much longer, after a knee replacement. There isn't any deadline you have to meet:
Myth busting: the "window of opportunity" in TKR

If you're still doing exercises as well as going to work, I think you might be working too hard at trying to increase ROM.
It's not exercising that gets you your ROM - it's time. Time to recover, time for swelling and pain to settle, and time to heal. Your ROM is there right from the start, just waiting for all that to happen, so it can show itself.

 

[Jockette]

I agree with everything Celle said.

 

[Josephine]

Me too!