TKR Pain in my operated knee

[coachpaul74]

I had a complete left knee replacement 5 months ago. I am still in pain and if has affected my sleep patterns. Every time I move my leg the pain wakes me up. I am STILL walking with a limp and pain radiating from the knee replacement surgery up the calf and down to the ankle. The doctor has taken X-rays twice and said all in fine and that some people take longer to heal then others. I ride my bike 2 miles every morning and do 50 laps in my pool every afternoon. I go up and down my stairs at least 10 times a day. I am wearing the swivel strapped brace with 4 straps above and below the knee and it helps. I wore it before the surgery. However, I am wondering if I am preventing healing by using it? I refuse to take pain meds, but have used Advil or Alive sometimes. Is there anything I should or shouldn't be doing to stop this constant pain? When I am relaxing I do have my knee raised on a reclining chair as I am in one now typing this.

 

[Sisterpat]

Welcome to BoneSmart . Here are our guidelines and some useful articles.

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.

 

[Sisterpat]

Please give us the date of your TKR and which knee so we can create a signature for you.
At 5 months you are less than halfway to complete healing. It sounds to me that you are doing way too much, too soon, and your continued pain attests to that. Try stopping all that activity for a few days, ice the knee and elevate many times a day and see if that eases your pain some.

 

[Celle]

I agree with Sisterpat. I think you've been working your new knee too hard. It's been wounded by major surgery, not lazy or unfit. It needs gentle exercise, but not so much of it.

 

[sistersinhim]

I ride my bike 2 miles every morning and do 50 laps in my pool every afternoon. I go up and down my stairs at least 10 times a day.

Oh my, that is too much for a knee that isn't even halfway healed yet. You are keeping your soft tissues inflamed and that is resulting in pain. Cut out everything extra that you are doing for at least a month and you should see lots of pain relief. You will not lose what you have gained, just have pain relief. Isn't that why we all have had this surgery in the first place...pain relief?

 

[Jaycey]

I ride my bike 2 miles every morning and do 50 laps in my pool every afternoon. I go up and down my stairs at least 10 times a day.

I recommend you stop all this and focus on ice and elevation. Your knee is telling you it is too soon to be this active. Reset your expectations and plan on a one year recovery. You are not in training - you are healing from major surgery!

 

[Ghostpipe]

Can’t agree more with the above advice. I am 5 months out too, and that amount of activity would also leave me in great pain. I do maximum 20 lengths of gentle kicking in the pool, half breast stroke leg kick and half freestyle kick. If I feel the need to do more, then I just do freestyle with no kicking. And that is the formal exercise for one day.
Next day gym, upper body and core only, maybe 10 mins of gentle rowing for my legs, or fifty careful leg curls with the lightest weight of 11lbs.
Next day, 20 minutes fast walk.
Any pain, then a complete day off.
This is, of course, in addition to normal daily activity, nothing strenuous.
Any sudden increase in any of this just causes a day or two of misery.

 

[kneeper]

Unless the doctor has recommended a brace you probably don't need it. It could be it's giving you a false sense of security and so you overdo and then pay for it later.