TKR June TKR newbie

[Jockette]

My arms were achy because I was using them a lot more because the surgery took my leg strength away for a while.

I also realized one day that I was gripping the walker handles too tight, from pain and stress. That can affect parts of your body, too.

 

[sistersinhim]

Yes, quite normal. It seemed like just about everything on me ached. Having a new knee throws your whole body out of wack and it takes months to adjust for most people.

 

[Disney Mom]

Pt seems to think it is piriformis muscle bothering my hip and sciatica. I have read the piriformis article here. I have a hard time doing the exercises because most involve the knee that was replaced and it doesn't bend like that. Went 3 times to Chiropractor and every time I feel worse than when I went in and takes a few days to feel better from it so not going anymore. Pt used an ultrasound on my hip the other day and may do it tomorrow. Not sure it really helped but willing to try anything. It is awful. My whole leg hurts and sitting is the worst so very difficult to be comfortable at all. Really wish this would get better and I only had 1 thing...my knee...to deal with at a time.

 

[sistersinhim]

Ultrasound helped me quite a bit. Keep up with that and you should feel better. I didn't do any exercises for it.

 

[Disney Mom]

This past Friday I ended up going to a pain management person...also an anathesiologist...same person. I know i spelled that wrong...haha. my surgeon recommended going because of the buttock and leg pain i have been having. He ended up doing a lower back injection, actually 2 of them, to hopefully help the butt and leg pain. It was done friday afternoon around 3 pm so been a day so far. He said it could take a few days to help. I think it is a but better but definitely still there. I am supposed to go back this coming Friday. I am afraid it won't get any better and they will want to do more. They offer the injections with sedation but I would have had to come back and not eat for 8 hours and have someone drive me home. Plus, I had the same sort of thing before surgery and tolerated it plus years ago epidural having kids. Wasnt to bad but obviously not enjoyable. I remember having cortisone in my knee years ago when it still worked and it was literally an immediate relief response. This has not been like that and why it is concerning me right now. I realize it is is a different body part and also larger. Lots of places to inject in back to give nerve relief pain in my hip and leg and sciatic stuff.

Anyway, that is my recovery update for now. This is also my last week for scheduled pt...2 days this week. The Dr may order more but we will see. I will want to know if insurance will pay for more if I opt to do it as that will make the decision easier.

 

[Mrs. Ciz]

@Disney Mom
I hope the pain management specialist and back injections help you. It stinks that you are dealing with that on top of TKR.

A few posts ago you asked about stairs. I’m 7.5 weeks post op for bilateral TKR. I can go up stairs normally now. I’ve been able to do this for a couple of weeks now, but I have to be careful to step up straight with my right leg (my worst leg). If I’m not paying attention, I sometimes swing that leg out and around from the hip and then up.

I can’t go down stairs normally yet. I’m still going one step at a time. I mentioned this to my therapist this week, and he told me my range of motion and strength are just not there yet. He had me do a step down exercise on a 3 to 4 inch tall wooden box (about half the height of a regular stair step), so I can get used to stepping down. I step down with the left leg, go back up and step down with the right leg - while lightly holding on to a railing for balance and support. As I expected, it was harder with my right leg than with my left. As I get better at it, he’ll increase the height of the boxes. I’m really glad he has me working on this now.

I hope you get your pain under control and continue healing well.

PS - I’m a big Disney fan too. I’ve been a member of Disboards, a forum much like this one, for 11 or so years. I’m looking forward to trying my new knees out in the parks once I’m healed and the pandemic has passed.

 

[Disney Mom]

Mrs. Ciz. Thank you for your response. Sounds like you are doing good. Bilateral tkr....wow....you ate a strong woman!! The stairs are hard. Going up is easier for me too...but still an effort. The hip pain doesn't help and I have to be careful about the hip swing too. Of course before surgery the hip swing was an every day occurrence so that doesnt help. Do you practice the mini stairs at pt or hoe would you do that at home? I do that at pt too...they have like 3 normal stairs on one side, a platform, and then mini stairs on the other side. Of course the mini stairs are fine but when i try to go down the regular stairs in is super hard. Part of the reason it fear I think but I also feel it kind of buckle. I just don't have much strength in my quad or hip. Having babies it for years before didnt help any. Good luck with your recovery! And thanks for the encouragement about my hip. Ugh....I didnt expect to be dealing with this as well and I really think it has hindered my recovery on my knee since it causes pain doing the stretches and walking and everything.

I am active on DIS boards too...well...usually only when planning a trip and immediately afterwards. I can't wait to get back as well but after I am well enough to walk that much plus the pandemic stuff. I certainly don't want to wear a mask in a hot.park plus would rather go when everything is available again. I may be going to Orlando in a couple of weeks to visit my son and wife for a few days. Won't go to the parks but may try disney springs for a few hours for dinner and a little walking around. Plus i always have to go to the Disney outlets! Last few times I went i had to wait in a line to get into store. It was crazy! That was at the bigger outlet. Hoping with tourism maybe not as large right now it won't be like that but we will see!! I was last at Disney for the Christmas party.. just one night this past December and before that was 5 days in October with my 23 year old daughter who is my Disney companion

 

[Mrs. Ciz]

My PT clinic has the same mini staircase yours does. I haven’t practiced stepping down on that yet. I just started stepping down from the 3 inch wooden box this past Wednesday. I’m not sure how I’d practice this at home as I don’t have one of the wooden boxes. Once I get better at it, I’ll practice on my own stairs.

My right leg is not recovering as quickly as my left leg. I’ve been dealing with pain behind the right knee that radiates down to the calf, around to the shin and down to the foot. It’s been causing my lower leg to knot and cramp up. I had to take muscle relaxers during the first 2 weeks after surgery. At about week 4, my therapist figured out that the pain was being caused by a super tight hamstring in my right leg. He gave me a bunch of stretches and exercises to address it. I’ve been doing them faithfully, and it’s finally getting better. It’s not 100% gone, but it’s getting there.

I hope the same thing happens with your hip pain - that it finally starts getting better.

 

[Disney Mom]

My leg hurts behind the calf too and I told pt and she gave me just a couple hamstring exercises. Perhaps I should be doing more. I had to edit my last post because I didn't see your disney comments so I commented about that as well but think maybe it hasn't posted yet? I saw something about it was waiting for moderator approval. Maybe because i edited it i don't know. I didnt think you would have those stairs at home but thought maybe you had something useful like that. Would be nice to be able to practice on those more than the couple times a week we are at pt for 30 min

 

[Disney Mom]

Ugh. What do people.do for this buttock pain? I'm about to lose it. The injections I had 3 days ago have not worked. I called dr and they said to come back Thursday and they can do injections again. I mean, they arent the most fun thing to have and especially if they don't work. Sitting is so painful and also hurts and pulls when walking.

 

[sistersinhim]

Have you tried any of the stretching exercises? Is this the area of the bad pain? Sciatic nerve pain

 

[Disney Mom]

The pain is definitely deep in my buttock. It also hurts on the side of my hip and upper thigh area and goes down the leg. I called the dr office that did the injections and they said sometimes you need a couple to make it work and sometimes they just don't work. I have tried some of the exercises pt gave me but they were difficult to do. I think they dealt more with piriformis muscle or SI joint though....not the stretches from the link you sent.

 

[Mrs. Ciz]

I sometimes get pain in my right butt cheek. When that happens a heating pad helps. I am so sorry you’re dealing with this extra pain. I’m hoping your doctors can figure it out.

 

[Disney Mom]

This is nasty pain. Heating pad feels good while it is on there but can still feel the pain through it. With the pain going down the side of my leg so bad I am beginning to wonder if it is the IT band thing someone references earlier. Does that cause such intense buttock pain while sitting? And is this something that will just eventually go away on its own? I have had this since the very beginning so if it goes away on its own...it doesn't leave very fast as t has been 2 months already.

 

[kneeper]

Have you tried alternating ice and heat?

 

[Disney Mom]

You mean ice and heat one after the other?

 

[SpaceGirl]

When I was having some sciatica pain a few weeks ago, my pt did a good massage on the areas that hurt, did an ultrasound and also applied a heat pad while I did my leg stim/icing at the end. He also had me use a tennis ball on the back of thigh for some stretching of the area that hurt. I also did a heat pad that night before bed, in a couple days I was feeling much better. Sorry you are still struggling with that, it's no fun at all.

Speaking of Disney - I too am on the disboards lol I miss Disney so much, we last went in 2018 for 2 weeks for my oldest girls high school grad trip. I was 6 months post op on my right knee back then.

 

[Disney Mom]

SpaceGirl....did your buttock hurt? Literally every time i move my leg and walk or do anything with it, it hurts like where your leg attaches to your hip...like really sore like I've pulled all the muscles. It has been this way for weeks. I'm wondering if everyone else that has knee replacement feels this way or is it because of whatever hip, buttock issues I am having. I can't imagine only having knee pain without the rest of my keg hurting.

I am supposed to go to Orlando in a couple of weeks. No parks although I would thibk about 1 day if I rented a scooter...which i have never done before.

 

[SpaceGirl]

It did some, but not as bad as the back of my thigh but it was deep down and I didn't know until he pressed on it! I was like ow! lol I was walking funny when I went into PT that day and he could tell something was hurting. I am sure for me, it's a case of I have been walking funny for years due to the pain in my knee, ya know?

 

[Disney Mom]

So far no one has been able to get rid of any of this pain. It is really wearing on me.