I am 44 years old 17 days post total knee replacement due to stage 4 osteoarthritis in a 3 compartments. My knee feels good and my ROM is good. I am having trouble with my quad reactivating, I still cannot lift my foot off the bed without assistance. I know this can be normal but my concern is, I am having extremely painful episodes of nerve pain that at times start at my mid thigh, right above where the nerve block was placed, running down the inside of my leg to my calf and foot. I also have a burning sensation the wraps around the top of my upper thigh. I was having an episode when I went for my 2 week follow-up. My doctor put me on gabapentin which does help some. I still have these episodes when I am active at home or after therapy. I have called my Dr. back twice since the appt. But haven’t received a call back, I was just notified that ibuprofen was called in to the pharmacy. I am beginning to worry something could be wrong. Is this a normal occurrence or should I be worried
TKR Nerve pain
- Thread starter acrockett
- Start date
@acrockett Hi and Welcome!
I will leave you our Recovery Guidelines. Each article is short but very informative. Following these guidelines will help you have a less painful recovery.
Just keep in mind all people are different, as are the approaches to this recovery and rehab. The key is, “Find what works for you.“ Your doctors, PTs and BoneSmart are available to help, but you are the final judge as to the recovery approach you choose.
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:
3. Do what you want to do BUT
5. At week 4 and after you should follow this
6. Access to 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 the 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 the member’s history before providing advice, so please post any updates or questions you have right here in this thread.
I will leave you our Recovery Guidelines. Each article is short but very informative. Following these guidelines will help you have a less painful recovery.
Just keep in mind all people are different, as are the approaches to this recovery and rehab. The key is, “Find what works for you.“ Your doctors, PTs and BoneSmart are available to help, but you are the final judge as to the recovery approach you choose.
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!)
If you want to use something to help heal the incision,
BoneSmart recommends hypochlorous solution. Members in the US can purchase ACTIVE Antimicrobial Hydrogel through BoneSmart at a discount. Similar products should be available in the UK and other countries.
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
6. Access to 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 the 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 the member’s history before providing advice, so please post any updates or questions you have right here in this thread.
At only 17 days post op you really need to be careful with your activity, and with the PT. Overdoing these things can indeed bring on more pain. Some PT’s give us more rehab than we need, early in our recovery, because they don’t understand the healing process from a joint replacement.
Right now you need a lot of elevation while resting, and many members found ice to be a great pain reliever, just be sure to have a cloth between you and the ice source. Short walks and gentle bends are all you need in these early weeks. There is plenty of time for more rehab later.
Please tell us the date of your surgery, and which knee it is, and we’ll make a signature for you.
Welcome to BoneSmart, @acrockett. So glad you found us while you are still early in this recovery.
I've had both knee replaced and I can tell you that the pain you describe is relatively common during the early weeks and months post-op. But you could be making it worse by overdoing things. I second Jockette's suggestion that you cut back on any activities that cause pain afterwards. It's important to get pain under control because it can interfere with healing.
Are you icing and elevating? Are you taking your pain medications on a regular schedule or are you waiting until you have pain?
At 17 days post-op, your body has barely begun to heal from the trauma of surgery. I encourage you to read the articles she shared above. The advice there helped me have two successful recoveries.
I've had both knee replaced and I can tell you that the pain you describe is relatively common during the early weeks and months post-op. But you could be making it worse by overdoing things. I second Jockette's suggestion that you cut back on any activities that cause pain afterwards. It's important to get pain under control because it can interfere with healing.
Are you icing and elevating? Are you taking your pain medications on a regular schedule or are you waiting until you have pain?
At 17 days post-op, your body has barely begun to heal from the trauma of surgery. I encourage you to read the articles she shared above. The advice there helped me have two successful recoveries.
acrockett
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Update to post. I did start scaling back on activity. My quad finally reactivated and 2 days later I rolled over in bed and ended up tearing my quad tendon. I had surgery 1 week ago to fix the tear. I am now in an immobilizer and limited to walking with crutches. My question now is if anyone has had a quad tendon tear after knee replacement? My doctor and therapist haven’t really discussed my rehab or time frame and I am just curious. I am definitely taking it easy and my brace is locked out at 40 degrees so I will pretty much be starting over on rehab when I am able. Any input or advice for the future would be appreciated
I'm so sorry to read that you tore a tendon and required another surgery, @acrockett. That's just not fair!
Glad to read that you taking it easy. In terms of recovery timeline, I don't have specific experience with a tendon repairt, but can tell you that tendons can take up to 3 months to heal completely.
We do have other members who have dealt with tendon tears after a knee replacement. You might find some helpful information in one of these threads:
bonesmart.org
Glad to read that you taking it easy. In terms of recovery timeline, I don't have specific experience with a tendon repairt, but can tell you that tendons can take up to 3 months to heal completely.
We do have other members who have dealt with tendon tears after a knee replacement. You might find some helpful information in one of these threads:
Search results for query: quad tendon tear
bonesmart.org
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Hello and a belated Merry Christmas to you! Hopefully it was a good one.
It's one month, to date, since your quad tendon repair, how is it going? I hope you're doing well.
Wishing you happiness and healing in the coming year!
@acrockett
It's one month, to date, since your quad tendon repair, how is it going? I hope you're doing well.
Wishing you happiness and healing in the coming year!
@acrockett
