My 5th week after tkr

Status
Not open for further replies.

Bailey

new member
Joined
Feb 7, 2008
Messages
8
Location
United States
I've been doing my exercises faithfully twice a day and icing. I have just 2 more points to go before my knee is straight and I can bent it to 107. I have so much pain behind my knee and very sharp pains in the inside of my knee. My PT had me using a 5 lb weight. I thought perhaps this could be causing the added pain. I have since stopped using the weight, hoping this would help. Is this pain normal and if so when can I expect it to ease up? My knee is very stiff and sore in the A.M., but after a while I can walk fairly well, but as I said, the pain behind the knee is very bad.

Bailey
 
Hi, Bailey. I have the same pain behind my knee and inside. The doctor told me it was the hamsting tendon causing the pain. I use heat on the back of my knee and massage the area. pain meds help with the inside pain. It tends to hurt more when I push my leg to lay straight as it pulls on the area where the tendon attaches.

Skeet
 
Hi Bailey,
I am 5 weeks also and I do experience the same pain, especially today but I worked last night on my feet for a few hours. My PT is great and does massage on my knee and then stretches, then the exercises, ending with the bike. He starts with the electric stimulation thing (forget what that is called at the moment) and ice and then ends with ice. He does not use weights as of yet. I am about the same points you are, but my bend is a little less. It is better now already then I had in years before, I walked so awful like a weeble wobble before and barely did anything, so my muscles are very tight. My dr. gave me a little thing to do that has helped me. Put your foot up on a coffee table or something that height and just let your leg sag. It helps straighten your knee without really trying, easier and less painful for me than some of the PT stuff and I think it has helped. Are you taking pain meds? I was worried I was taking them too long and called my doctor office this morning for a refill, and she said that is just fine and actually expected and normal to still be taking them. So I decided earlier this week after a really hard weekend last week (when I found this forum) that I am done trying to brave it. I take my pain meds regularly and I feel so much better. I am able to do so much more and complete more PT without the severe pain. When you have terrible pain you really can't accomplish anything.
Also as soon as I feel that stabbing pain on the inside of my knee I massage it myself and grab the frozen bag of peas. It works.
Good luck, I really hope you find relief.
 
As the lady says "keep taking the tablets"!!
ai21.photobucket.com_albums_b286_flagady15_smilies_whistling.jpg
 
I am right there with you guys now...as far as the pain and all the rest of the things discussed. Some mornings it is so hard to walk. Still not sleeping through the night and I am trying to do it without the use of sleeping pills (though my PCP prescribed some for me). Pain meds do help me a great deal with physical therapy....(since I broke my finger this week too--closed it in my daughter's car door--I really need them!!) I am going to try the coffee table thing that Kath described...
 
Ladyblue,
ouch, in the car door, oh that must have really hurt. Good luck with that, hope it heals quickly.
 
Hi Bailey...your right where your supposed to be. No pain-No Gain. Its gonna be sore for a bit...Keep up the PT and home exercises and dont be afraid to take a pain pill before PT as long as it dont effect your driving ability! Im a wuss and If I made it through the pain and soreness, you can too!
Respects,
Chuck
 
Well I'm glad to hear that I do not stand alone. I was beginning to think the doctor did something wrong. I must admit that I have stopping taking my meds. I've been taking Tylenol for the passed three days and it does help with the pain, but since I've heard from all of you, I have second thoughts about not taking my meds before I go to my first visit with out patient PT today. Believe me, I am not brave. I will try the heat method and massage.

Thank you so much for responding, it has helped me knowing that my condition is normal and it will soon pass.

Bailey
 
Bailey,
I am at 5.5 weeks, I still take Vicadin and Advil. I take 2 before therapy and 2 before I go to bed. I sleep now and my PT is going so much better. My doctor told me to add the Advil, 2 tablets 3 times a day because I was having such a terrible time with my back. Things are so much better this week. Don't be afraid of the pain meds, you can do so much better with them. Of course if you don't have pain don't take them.
Have a peaceful night
 
I am also at 5 weeks and have all the aches and pains that everyone else describes. I am at 125 bend and reading what everyone else is at I feel really good. Still can't straighten it. My PT says I still have a lot of work to do to achieve that. I was quite ative today and it feels real good right now. It will be interesting to see what it is like in the morning. I was concerned that I still have to take pain med occasionally, but sounds like that is normal. Thanks to all for shring your stories.
 
12 weeks down the track of a PKR....... Thought I was going well, but at 9 weeks post op - around the time I started back at work 4 hrs a day - the whole knee started to ache. My PT suggested laying off land exercises but to keep the hydro exercises going. A couple of weeks later, just when I thought I was back on track, a horrid ache in the back of the knee accompanied by an ache in the side of the knee - opposite side to PKR - started up. Pain extends into the side of the calf and thigh. Found myself stumbling from the pain, unable to walk anywhere near the distance I could at 9 weeks. The operated side of my knee seems virtually pain free. ROM is fine too. Just this darn nagging pain.

My PT diagnosed it as problems with my hamstring. He gave me this stretching exercise which I diligently started doing three days ago. It involves stretching the leg out slightly angled out with the heel on floor then bending from the hip. After doing this to stretch the hamstring - just four stretches three times a day for the last three days, I now have a pain in the hip!

Feeling totally miserable, sorry for myself and getting very weepy. .......... I'm starting to think that if I lay still and stop walking and exercising maybe it will all go just away. Has anyone got some advice on what I should do now?
 
Hi Skeet,
Thanks for the info. That is very interesting about the hamstring. Maybe I hurt it when I started using the weights. My PT was not sure what was causing the pain, so I will relate your info to him. Did your Dr. say how long it would take for the tendon to heal?

Thanks again, this was very helpful.

Bailey
 
Kath,
Thank you for your info. My PT was not sure what the pain was caused from. Skeet said his DR. said it was from a hamstring. Did your DR. mention what may be causing your pain? I appreciate your input, I know it will help.

Hope your pain has subsided.

Bailey
 
Hi Chuck,
I guess I should not try to be so brave. I have tried to just take Tylenol. I will take your advise and take my meds. I know it will help during my PT. and sleeping.

Thank you for your help.

Bailey
 
Bev55
I really feel for you. I too have the same problem and get very weepy at times. My PT has not yet diagnosed me with a hamstring problem, but I will take it up with him today. I will also ask him what would cause the problem with the hamstring. If we are doing everything we are suppose to, then it seems to me we should not have this problem. At least your PT has you on track and correcting the problem. I do have faith and I know we will soon be over this hump.

Best to you
 
No, my doctor only said it was a hamstring tendon. I find that heat helps it feel better.
 
Hi Bailey,

Thanks for the sympathy....... Even though you say "At least your PT has you on track and correcting the problem." I seem to have my doubts. The pain in my hip caused by doing a bend from the hip to stretch the hamstring has been making me limp, so I've stopped the hamstring stretching. Feel I am caught in a loop that I don't know how to get out of..... Has anyone got a magic cure for any of my 'bits'?
 
I can tell you at 12 weeks post op BTKR, that it should get better every day. It is ever so slightly you may not realize it. I too have hip and lower back issues, I think it is from walking normally now instead of wobbling as I had before. All those muscles need to readjust to your new gait. They are used to holding you up in a completely different way. At first I could not stand in the shower..... I am now able to get in and out of my bathtub with out any help. Which is like standing up from the floor! I do not have to prop myself up by leaning on the sink while brushing my teeth! I can stand for longer periods. There is still a limit that when I reach that point it hurts, hips and back, but it is taking longer to reach that limit! After I have cooked a complete meal, when it is time to do the "clean up" is usually when I reach that limit. ( how convenient?)
I live in a three level house so I am getting lots of practice climbing and declining the stairs. I still need the support of my cane and the handrail. Going up is much better than going down. There is still quite a bit of stiffness across the patella area, but that is all. For a long time post op I thought that they must have implanted straps all around my knee, but all that tightness is gone. And MOST of all, there is NO joint pain!!!! Hope my testimony helps some.
 
Keep journal. That's my advice. Chart your progress and grade your pain on a 1-10 level -1 being no pain and 10 being "God take me now - I can't handle it anymore!"

You will be surprised how much you have progressed after 4-6 weeks.
 
Yesterday I saw my surgeon for my three month check up.... He listened to my woes of hamstring pain, remedy exercises given by the PT and the ensuing pain in the hip. After a push and a poke, he seems to think this could be tendonitis, but is unsure. Rather than launching into a radical plan to deal with this, he has suggested that I go back on anti inflammatory meds for a month in the hope that this will reduce the pain I'm experiencing and give me some pain free time to continue with hydro, swimming, walking increasing distances and returning to some non weight bearing cycling to build up quads, and all the other bits and pieces that we are meant to be working on. Has anyone else followed this kind of routine to get through recovery?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

BoneSmart #1 Best Blog

Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
65,179
Messages
1,597,054
BoneSmarties
39,363
Latest member
HikerWalker
Recent bookmarks
0
Back
Top Bottom