TKR My 8 week post operation setback

[Tkrrecovery2022]

Hi my name is Rob 59 years old. 8 weeks after TKR I was doing quite well. Completed PT 120% ROM and doing my own daily exercise’s consisting mainly of gym workouts and stationary bike. 2 days ago something has happened & now I am in pain and can’t bend my leg. Not sure if I have overdone it with the exercise? Stopped all exercise for now and just icing, elevating & hoping for the best. Are setback like this normal? Very painful hip & outer knee (I think tight IT band)

 

[Susie-Q]

Hi Rob and welcome to Bonesmart!

Even though you are 8 weeks post-op (2 months into a 12 month recovery) I will leave you a copy of our guidelines . It's likely you did what a lot of us have done, you're feeling pretty good and so you overdid something and caused a setback. It's very common. We want to get back into life and there's a fine line that's easy to go over and not know it until after. You are doing the right thing of icing, elevating and resting. Things should resolve soon and if not, check in with your doctor.

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​

elevate​

ice​

take your pain meds by prescription schedule (not when pain starts!)​

don't overwork.​

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

the BoneSmart view on exercise​

BoneSmart philosophy for sensible post op therapy​

5. At week 4 and after you should follow this

Activity progression for TKRs​

6. Access these pages on the website

Oral And Intravenous Pain Medications​

Wound Care In Hospital​

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.

 

[Susie-Q]

Let us know when your surgery date was and which knee and we'll make a signature for you.

 

[Tkrrecovery2022]

Thanks for the quick response. Surgery was 16th May 2022. Left knee. I am an Aussie who has been living & working in the US for the last 7 years & hopefully will be pain free enough for the 17 hour flight home in November

 

[WFD]

@Tkrrecovery2022 , 17 hours, wow.

Any chance you can get one of those ‘lie flat’ seats? It would help a lot.

 

[Susie-Q]

You should be much better to travel in November. 17 hours!

 

[ski_bum]

Hi my name is Rob 59 years old. 8 weeks after TKR I was doing quite well. Completed PT 120% ROM and doing my own daily exercise’s consisting mainly of gym workouts and stationary bike. 2 days ago something has happened & now I am in pain and can’t bend my leg. Not sure if I have overdone it with the exercise? Stopped all exercise for now and just icing, elevating & hoping for the best. Are setback like this normal? Very painful hip & outer knee (I think tight IT band)

IT Band, I have issues on both legs / knees. The 13 month old knee, felt like it was pushing out the side and as the swelling went down it would pop as I walked. The pain was from my hip to below my knee.
I bought a roller and that helped rid of the pain in hip, but still pops when I walk.
Second knee, surgeon put a button under knee cap for better movement and try deal with IT Band. Well 3 1/2 months and as swelling is reducing, IT Band issues are the same. I us the roller on it as well.
Another Surgeon said the pain is not the IT Band but the muscle running beside it, walk it out.
Good luck with recovery and hope it's not the IT Band because it can be sore from hip to below knee.
About 4 weeks post op left knee, I was walking down the stairs backwards, missed the bottom step, twisting my leg. The extreme pain in my quad was IT Band.

 

[Tkrrecovery2022]

Thanks for the information & I will check out the roller. I currently have pain on the hip and knee however in between feels ok

 

[Tkrrecovery2022]

What ever I have done to annoy my knee has resulted in swelling behind my knee also. Is that normal?

 

[sistersinhim]

swelling behind my knee also. Is that normal?

Yes, unfortunately, swelling all around the knee areas is normal. My swelling even went down to my foot, which ended up peeling. Did you increase your activities? Most of the time that will cause increased pain and swelling. Sometimes some way you moved in your sleep will anger the knee. Many times we can't point at the cause of the added pain and swelling, but that's normal. Just combat it will more icing and elevating.

 

[WFD]

When I had knee pain and elevated my knee a lot, I would often end up with swelling and pain behind the knee, because (I think) I was stressing the hamstring and calf tendons that cross the knee. I was elevating on a flat foam wedge that didn't have support behind the back of the knee. I added a rolled-up towel there to give some support and that seemed to fix it.

You might take a look at how you are elevating your knee and see if there is enough support behind it.

 

[Tkrrecovery2022]

Thanks all for your replies. This is very frustrating as I was doing quite well up until Friday. Do I lay off trying to bend for now. I have probably gone from 120 degrees last week to 10 today . Should I attempt any form of exercise for now?

 

[WFD]

120° to 10° is a really big setback.

If it were me, I would stick to ice, elevate and the minimum necessary ADLs for 3-7 days. If it gets better, then I would continue and gradually add some gentle bending.

If it didn't get better, I would call my doctor.

 

[sistersinhim]

Do I lay off trying to bend for now.

Yes, I think you should until that angry knee settles down. As the pain and swelling go down, your bend will come back. Doing too much too soon can cause setbacks, that is why we suggest when you try something new that you do just a little of it and see how the knee reacts. If badly, just stop it for a few weeks before trying it again. It might be perfectly OK then.

 

[Tkrrecovery2022]

Ice and elevation for 3 days now. Swelling and pain slightly better until I attempt to bend slightly. When I do attempt to slightly bend most of the pain appears to be from the inside & underneath of my knee and my hip. I can walk stiff legged with out pain however I am worried this may make things worse? Very frustrating

 

[Jockette]

Yes, it’s frustrating but try not to worry. Setbacks can happen quickly but take a long time to settle down. You were most likely feeling so much better that you inadvertently did more than your knee was ready for, and the knee doesn‘t hesitate to let us know it’s displeasure.

 

[sistersinhim]

I think you have joined the ODIC, (overdid it club). No one wants to be a member, but unfortunately, almost every one of us has joined it, sometimes even more than once! Take it very easy with icing and elevating until the pain settles back down and be careful when you go back to your activities to not overdo.

 

[Tkrrecovery2022]

Thanks all. Pain seem to be settling however stiffness is now the issue and walking with a straight leg which now causing back issues. When should I attempt bending and stretching. It would be nice to achieve some ROM improvement

 

[sistersinhim]

I think you can try bending a little bit as long as it doesn't cause a lot of pain. You need to be using your knee walking around some. Keeping it completely straight isn't a good idea unless your doctor tells you to. Do you have a small bend in it when you are icing and elevating?

 

[Tkrrecovery2022]

Slightly when elevated. Not so much icing. I will increase with both. Thanks