TKR knee pain

BITE1

new member
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Feb 23, 2021
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65
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I just had right knee replacement 2-12-21. i have a very sore place on the right side. It is stopping it from being wt berring. it is on the right side in the lower section. anybody else have this.
 
I also had a spot of pain on the outside right side of my knee. It didn't stop me from weight bearing. I'm 14weeks out and the pain is gone probably the last couple of days. If I get tired I can feel it so I ice up and it's gone. It's the last warm area of my knee but the hotness is lessening along with the pain. I thought it would never go away but with healing and time it has. I don't know why it hurt or what this area is called.
 
thank you for your reply i guess i'll wait it out. otherwise its great.
 
@BITE1 Welcome to BoneSmart! Early days for you. This is post op pain. Are you taking your pain medication as prescribed? Icing and elevating several times per day? Ice will help reduce the swelling that is causing this pain.

Here are a few guidelines for you:
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
ice
take your pain meds by prescription schedule (not when pain starts!)​

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

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

6. Access these pages on the website

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.
 
Hi @BITE1 we had RTKR on the same day! Same age! I hope the soreness subsides. It is v early days. Mine is going quite well so far, feels strong, just swollen and stiff but I’m able to do my gentle exercises. First formal PT this afternoon, but I have to say, here in the UK they definitely follow BoneSmart guidance it’s all very gentle.

Good luck with your recovery we will be able to compare notes!
 
Welcome @BITE1! It is probably too early to worry about that pesky pain on the right side of your knee. As your knee was deteriorating, your leg muscles, ligaments, and tendons, made adjustments to compensate and keep you upright. It may be that now that your leg is straight again, there is some inflammation or stretching at a muscle attachment as it adjusts to the new vertical you. I had developed a severe valgus condition (think knees together, feet out to either side). Over the years of deterioration, this effectively caused the IT bands to get a bit shorter. After I had my knees replaced and I was again upright, there was a lot of stretching and I think often that pain was worse than the knee pain itself. :censored: But I worked on stretching them and am good as new. :dancy:
 
how long did everybody take pain pills
 
You'll notice that I have merged your newest thread with your original recovery thread. For several reasons, we prefer that you only have one recovery thread:
  • That way, you have all your information in one place. This makes it easier to go back and review your history before providing advice.
  • If you start new threads, you miss the posts and advice others have left for you in the old threads, and some information may be unnecessarily repeated
  • Having only one thread will act as a diary of your progress that you can look back on.
So please post any updates, questions or concerns about your recovery here.
 
The time varies for how long each of us are on pain pills.

I was on prescription pain pills for 11 days. I didn’t stop them because I didn’t need them, I stopped them because my vision had drastically changed practically overnight at the time of my surgery and we wondered if that had to do with the medication. From then on I took Tylenol and ibuprofen alternately for months. My vision never did return to what it was before surgery.
 
With my TKR I needed at least some pain meds into my sixth week @BITE1, as previously mentioned everyone is different. By four weeks I wasn't taking them often during the day, just for flare ups, but I still needed something more than Tylenol to sleep.
 
@BITE1 I actually stopped pain pills too soon after 2 weeks cold turkey and flared to pain levels of 10 and couldn't function. I was prescribed Oxycodone and Tramadol. I really didn't want to get hooked on the Oxycodone but took a few more for a few days. I rated my pain level and if in 5-7 range took Tramadol 1-2 times a day over 6 weeks then tapered to a couple times a week as I felt I needed them, epecially as I was trying to get back to regular sleep (insomnia for 8 weeks). I still have some left at week 12 if I have a flareup but mostly take Tylenol. My advice is don't try to power through like I did. They say to stay ahead of the pain which was true for me and I didn't at first!
 
Like others have posted - we all differ and respond to the pain and medication differently. Since my 2nd knee was scheduled 7 weeks after my first, I tried to cold turkey after about 2 weeks, thinking I would be able to be stronger by the time of the 2nd knee. HUGE mistake! :bignono: - big depressive withdrawal and, like @RIT387, pain through the roof. BoneSmarties cautioned me on how to get back on them and then how to gradually wean myself back off gradually. I was down to just Tylenol and Tylenol PM right before the 2nd knee.
 

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