TKR Mireille's RTKR 4 months

[Josephine]

I've noticed when I lightly massage right above the knee, bottom of thigh, my knee loosens up and my flexion gets a lot better. Is there a reason for this or is it mental?

Yes, massage is good and relaxes the tissues. It can also dissipate areas of tendinitis Acupressure massage

 

[Mireille]

Thanks @Josephine

 

[Mireille]

@KarriB Hello, today I woke up with some slight to moderate swelling on the inside, left side of my thigh, not directly behind the knee but more on that muscle right above the knee bend. It's also very sore to the touch. Should I be concerned? It's new and my knee is not really swollen at all. I can't remember if the PT massaged me yesterday. Should I place a heat pad on it? I'm 6 weeks tomorrow. Thanks in advance.

 

[Mireille]

Oh, ignore the baby's face that looks like it's going to burst out of my left knee bone spurs.

 

[KarriB]

I never used heat at all. Some people find heat helpful on other areas like thighs, hips or back. At just 5 weeks you will experience a lot of aches and pains without explanation. My guess is you've antagonized the soft tissue with the massage or something else you've done and the best thing you can do is rest it. I'll tag @Jamie to see what she says. I think Josephine is fast asleep in th UK.

 

[Mireille]

@KarriB Thanks so much for the quick reply. I will most certainly do that. Have PT tomorrow but will have them just do TENS. Can't stand for my knee to be touched right now. Have a good night!

 

[KarriB]

Since you said it was swollen today and wasn't yesterday, I'm not sure heat is the answer because it can add to the swelling.

 

[Mireille]

I totally get it. It's a different feeling because it hurts when I touch it, I will stop touching it, and the rest of the knee doesn't. Of course, now I can't bend it as much because it's swollen. Also weird that's the same side where I sometimes feel my knee "jams" and I have to wiggle it a little and it goes away. Doesn't happen all the time and PT checked and said nothing seemed out of whack. I am discussing with the OS when I see him on 2/2.

 

[baclectic]

I had a hip replacement 3 months ago and thought "this is it. My life is over"
I truly understand your fears. But listen to everybody. Baby your knee - listen to your body.
Ice, elevate and when the swelling goes down because you've rested, iced, and elevated - your knee will be strong and stable. Hugs Sweetie - you have nothing to fear.


Sent from my iPhone using broken link removed: https://r.tapatalk.com/byo?rid=75543

 

[L.I.T]

@Mireille, that cracked me up! Beautiful bundle of joy! Actually, I didn't even notice until I read your post - I had to go back... Seriously, I love that we can laugh at ourselves!

I have no idea what the swelling could be, but I've been experiencing somewhat localized swelling, too, at week 5. My joint doesn't catch, but then again, I usually can't bend my leg walking more than 45 degrees before my 'band' brings it to a screeching halt. Swelling is quite literally a pain! Wish you could get an answer from OS before February. Did you have the swelling when your PT looked at it?

Wishing you the very very best - and we should form a protest (since they seem to be en vogue these days) against swelling. "swelling be gone!" "swelling, swelling, go away" "swelling is NOT swell... Hmm I think I am swole" (my favorite Texas back-woods word!)

See, bonesmart already has a jump on sign making!

 

[Mireille]

@baclectic Hello, hope you're recovering well! I had hip arthroscopy 6 weeks prior to tkr and v that was not fun. I can imagine what hip replacement is like.

Thanks so much for the encouragement. I really do listen and try to follow the mantra. The problem is if my knee gives me an inch, I take a mile. I'm working on that. I'm not naturally a patient person so it's been extra rough. I'm resting, icing and elevating as we speak. Hugs back at you!

 

[Mireille]

@L.I.T Yup, I think it's hilarious. My son actually pointed that out last year. It's a running joke around my house when I wear shorts or a bathing suit. Poor baby!

Swelling is the pits! I get so frustrated! I could call the OS but I figured I'd give it a few days and see how it goes. The more I dwell on it (mind races a mile a minute), the more I think it was a PT massage. Oh well, tomorrow is not going to be a good PT day. I'm not cancelling because it's last minute but I'm not doing much. Just TENS.

Yeah, protesting is the "in" thing to do. That's a great idea! Maybe I'll walk into PT with a sign that says, "No Torture", "No Pain=Gain", "Back off", "Bite me"

 

[Jamie]

I would definitely not use heat on the area that's swollen. It will draw more fluid to the area. Ice would be okay, though, if that's comfortable for you. Elevation and rest are good too, of course.

You're still fairly early in recovery, so be sure any massage that is done (you or the therapist) isn't overly aggressive. Gentle rubbing of the tissues can work well to help dissipate fluid. When I had my second TKR, I did my own lymphatic massage. With that, you do sweeping rubs from the base of the knee joint upwards over the thigh to your groin. The theory is the movement works fluid toward your body's core where your lymph system can more easily process it out through the kidneys. Lymph processing is notoriously slow, so this may speed things up a bit. If you can do this with no pain to the area that's swollen, you might give it a try. Of course, if it's sensitive to your touch, it's best to just leave it alone for now.

 

[Knees4Me]

@KarriB Yes, it's definitely too soon to take a bath. I'll settle for sitting on my shower stool and letting the warm water soothe my aches and pains...which three weeks post-op feel like they'll never go away. Especially the sciatic pain in my back/hip/leg that developed Dom having to sleep sitting up in the hospital. Sciatica keeps me up at night. My kingdom for a god night's sleep! I'm too tired even to read a novel. And my poor knee is so swollen (can't take Celebrex, other anti-inlammatories: allergic) that I can't increase my low 90 degree flexion. The PT said I'm likely growing scar tissue that we have to break up. And yesterday, she threatened to call my surgeon if I didn't let her push and pull beyond my comfort zone. Oh, why did I sign up for this? And my right knee needs replacing soon because it's also bone-on-bone and is trying its best to be strong through this left knee replacement recovery. Meanwhile, my best friend and her sister flew off today on a one-week beach holiday in Oaxaca, Mexico. I googled the weather there and it's going to be warm and sunny all week. Toronto is bone-chillingly damp, cold ( though not freezing!), grey, dark and dreary. I'd rather be on that beach than here, not feeling much progress with my recovery. I thought I'd be feeling great by now, with a pain-free, bendy new leg! Sorry for the pity party...but I know many of you in a similar situation can empathize. That's one of the reasons BoneSmart exists, isn't it? Now, if I could only get some decent sleep tonight, my mood would improve and I'd have more energy for exercise and physio! I've got my cryo cuff on for the umpteenth time today, my legs are elevated and I' waiting for my iPhone to tell my to take my midnight painkillers (Tylenol and Hydromorphone).

 

[Mireille]

@Jamie Thank so much for the quick reply. I am not going to use heat. I've been icing and elevating as usual and did not do any exercises today, just light ADL's. I've been massaging in the manner you describe but I haven't actually massaged the area that is now sore and swollen. I'm now pretty sure the PT did when I went yesterday. I massage usually right above my knee (scar) and move up towards the groin which actually has helped me quite a bit. Thanks again and I will do as advised and see how it goes the next couple of days. PT tomorrow will be very limited and light. I don't want to cancel at the last minute so I will just be requesting very light, gentle moves and TENS which I love! Thanks again and have a good evening!

 

[KarriB]

Hopefully you'll have a bit of relief tomorrow after an easy day today.

 

[Cratchit]

@Celle @Josephine Hello ladies, I'm just curious, I've noticed when I lightly massage right above the knee, bottom of thigh, my knee loosens up and my flexion gets a lot better. Is there a reason for this or is it mental?

I'm late to the party as usual! I had a little knot of muscle in the area that you describe and was advised to massage it. Since l started it has improved as has my flexion so l can only think that the two are related.

Love the baby-face knee!

 

[Mireille]

@Cratchit I agree, massaging that area has worked wonders. That baby face is screaming to be replaced with a new knee. Don't want to think about it yet!

 

[KarriB]

I wondered about that baby face knee, Mireille! Does it hurt? My knees are too fat to see a face in them! How is your thigh today?

 

[Mireille]

@KarriB lol, Nope, doesn't hurt at all. My whole left knee is covered in spurs. When I flex you can see them more. That knee has worse arthritis, bone on bone, than my right knee but surprisingly the one that always hurt, bothered and would swell terribly was the right one. Go figure!