Rockgirl4
Former BoneSmart staff member
It truly depends on the person. Most people need a full year to recover from a TKR, and the stiffness/swelling can easily last up to 18 months from what my surgeon told me. Some people swell more and stay stiff longer, for all sorts of reasons.
Personally, I am prone to severe stiffness and continued swelling, as I learned from 10 other knee surgeries. My surgeon's advice was to keep riding a stationary bike 5 minutes a day, each morning, to keep the knee loose. This has sometimes helped and sometimes not, depending on my circumstances at the time over the last year. I will be 1 year post-op in a couple of weeks. I also found a walking routine was great for getting my full extension back and no longer limping. The "heel-toe" step was crucial though, and it's better to go slower and walk correctly than to try walking quickly and incorrectly. It easily took me 8-9 months to get my full extension back, and on high-swelling days (we moved recently), I had trouble getting completely straight again until I iced more and got the swelling back down.
I just want to say I KNOW it's frustrating though. I'm sitting her trying to decide whether to settle for a teleconference with my knee surgeon for my 1 year follow-up or insist on an in-person appointment. I'm still aggravated with my bend. I have 90-95 degrees and CAN exercise, just not the way I want to.
Just keep in mind everyone is different and there's time for improvement. All of us are our own little science experiments. As for me, I KNOW I have mild Arthrofibrosis plus an Autoimmune disease (Psoriatic Arthritis). It took LOTS of history and trial/error to determine this, and I had a major scarring disaster after my ACI surgery in 2015/16. Luckily this taught me to be kind to my knee. I rehabbed slower than most, following my Dr's orders to get the best outcome for ME----I know if I hadn't listened, I'd probably be stuck at 75-80 degrees of flexion instead of 90-100.
So please don't give up on your knee yet. There's plenty of time for improvement.
Personally, I am prone to severe stiffness and continued swelling, as I learned from 10 other knee surgeries. My surgeon's advice was to keep riding a stationary bike 5 minutes a day, each morning, to keep the knee loose. This has sometimes helped and sometimes not, depending on my circumstances at the time over the last year. I will be 1 year post-op in a couple of weeks. I also found a walking routine was great for getting my full extension back and no longer limping. The "heel-toe" step was crucial though, and it's better to go slower and walk correctly than to try walking quickly and incorrectly. It easily took me 8-9 months to get my full extension back, and on high-swelling days (we moved recently), I had trouble getting completely straight again until I iced more and got the swelling back down.
I just want to say I KNOW it's frustrating though. I'm sitting her trying to decide whether to settle for a teleconference with my knee surgeon for my 1 year follow-up or insist on an in-person appointment. I'm still aggravated with my bend. I have 90-95 degrees and CAN exercise, just not the way I want to.
Just keep in mind everyone is different and there's time for improvement. All of us are our own little science experiments. As for me, I KNOW I have mild Arthrofibrosis plus an Autoimmune disease (Psoriatic Arthritis). It took LOTS of history and trial/error to determine this, and I had a major scarring disaster after my ACI surgery in 2015/16. Luckily this taught me to be kind to my knee. I rehabbed slower than most, following my Dr's orders to get the best outcome for ME----I know if I hadn't listened, I'd probably be stuck at 75-80 degrees of flexion instead of 90-100.
So please don't give up on your knee yet. There's plenty of time for improvement.