TKR Painful knee

[Bfan]

I know pain can appear out of nowhere and be more intense than the week before. The last two days I have a specific pain that is quite intense. I had TKR left knee. The pain is in the indentation just below the knee on the left side. Walking is tougher than it has been. Nothing out of the ordinary?

 

[Nay Nay]

Happy Sunday!
Well, I seem to be in the ODIC again! I really thought I took it easy in the pool on Friday, but this weekend my knee is very tight and sore. I have really laid low, barely doing any exercises yesterday. Today, I did TENS around my knee, my husband massaged it, and I am elevating and icing. I think I will do some stretching later today in hopes that it helps somewhat. I took Tylenol yesterday and again this morning to see if it will ease some pain.
Boy, there really is a very fine line between working/exercising the new knee and over doing it! I have yet to figure it out! Tuesday is week 15 in recovery for me and still waiting for that magic moment where I wake up one day and my knee doesn’t hurt!

 

[dubloosh]

Boy, there really is a very fine line between working/exercising the new knee and over doing it! I have yet to figure it out! Tuesday is week 15 in recovery for me and still waiting for that magic moment where I wake up one day and my knee doesn’t hurt!

Hi. My surgery was October 13 so we're sort of close in time. You replied to my post about comfrey salve. I, too, am waiting for that magical moment. Around the end of December it was starting to feel like a real knee or maybe the swelling was masking pain. All it took was an aggressive PT session to set me back. I hope you feel better and hope for us both the comfrey salve works.

 

[mendogal]

@Nay Nay - I haven't had any water exercise or swimming, but from what I read here it's REALLY easy to overdo it in the water - it's the combination of feeling free and weightless versus the reality of water being so much denser than air!

What I have definitely experienced is being on the bench in the ODIC and you're just right for entering the danger period: we feel a little better, we're tired of the careful regimen, we're tempted by a more "normal" activity level, we might be slacking off on rest, icing, and elevation. And in truth, it's to be expected to a degree: we can't accurately guage our changing capabilities without sometimes exceeding them!

 

[sistersinhim]

I really thought I took it easy in the pool on Friday, but this weekend my knee is very tight and sore.

I got in the pool when I was 3 months out and did only 1 lap and walking to and from the lap lane, changing room, showers, and to the Y to and from my car. My knee threw a fit and took a couple of weeks to settle back down. I waited another month before I tried it again, and my knee did well.

This recovery is definitely an individual thing that is very slow for the vast majority. Patience is the biggest muscle we have to exercise!

 

[sistersinhim]

I could use my recumbent bike long before I could use the upright one.

 

[Nay Nay]

I so appreciate all the responses from everyone!

I just don’t know what to do anymore! I do my stretches & daily living activities ( besides personal grooming, driving, watching my granddaughter & doing activities with her, shopping, cleaning….) but I don’t feel like my ROM is improving. I know I have read on this forum that you don’t lose ROM, but I feel then that inflammation & tightness is preventing me or decreasing my ROM. I feel like I can’t bend my knee beyond 110? ( not too sure bc I am not being measured anymore by PT. I bought one of those measure things for my husband to use. However when he measures me it is so much worse than when I went to PT! I know he probably doesn’t measure the same way….but it is discouraging!).

I don’t know if I should continue trying to do my own pool therapy, or just stick to my stretching at home and just the bike when I go to the gym. I don’t want to keep overdoing it! I seem to not be able to stop myself from doing too much! I am tired of the achy, tight, painful feeling in my knee….

 

[mendogal]

It's really a long slog to recovery, isn't it?

I just went back to look at my notes from around 4 months post op. My tone is rosy but I was definitely on a plateau, and attempts to increase activity put me in the ODIC.

In terms of flexion, are there things you could do in daily life a couple of weeks ago that are significantly harder to do now? Are there things you can't do now?

If you're on a plateau, then there really is no way forward except to reduce the activities that create pain and swelling. Ice and elevate more. Frustrating? Heck yeah!

Please understand that I'm not telling you to "just deal with it" - ugh!!! - it's a lousy feeling to be stuck, frustrated, and darned uncomfortable as well, and this is 100% the place for venting about it!

Be kind to yourself and your knee. It will get better.

 

[MSuki]

If you go back to the pool, I liked doing balancing exercises. My PT had me stand in the water facing the deep end, stand on one leg, and do arm circles (just making a circle in the water, arms staying down, each direction). Then leg circles. When that got easy she had me close my eyes. Key is to tighten abs and glutes to help with balance. Also, I would go to the deep end with a noodle supporting me behind back and under my arms, then cycle forwards and backwards, then do a small jumping jack movement with legs, then a cross country movement where one leg goes forward snd the other back. Don’t do these for long, they are where you’ll overdo it. A few minutes each is plenty. Then my favorite - hang with the noodle and let your back decompress.

 

[Layla]

Hi and Happy Friday!
At not even four months post op, you have time on your side in this often year long recovery . Please don't lose sight of that.

Try to refrain from engaging in movement that causes discomfort or pain. While your range of motion is currently limited, it will naturally increase as the swelling subsides and the pain eases. Possibly some type of movement you're engaging in is contributing to the tightness / stiffness. If you don't feel hubs is measuring correctly and it's stressing you out, please refrain from doing so and allow time for your body to heal and bring the desired result.
I hope you have a nice weekend, Nay Nay!
@Nay Nay

 

[benne68]

bought one of those measure things for my husband to use. However when he measures me it is so much worse than when I went to PT! I know he probably doesn’t measure the same way….but it is discouraging!).

Please don't be discouraged!

My surgeon says those silly things are useless because no two people use them the same way to measure! If you can't replicate a measurement, it doesn't have meaning. The PTs use them to try to show their sessions are helping you improve, but even they don't measure the same way twice in a row.

 

[MSuki]

I bought one and played with it myself and I don’t see how anyone gets a precise measurement. I remember reading somewhere about putting tape on the floor under a chair to track progress but I think that might be for early on. And you’d need a chair that doesn’t move and a floor you can put masking tape on.

But really the question is whether there is something you need to be able to do and can’t. If not then there is not a problem. If so you can work toward it.

 

[sistersinhim]

When I was recovering, we girls used a bathroom floor measurement. While sitting on the potty, we'd see how far we could bend our knees towards the lines or decorations in the vinyl floor. We'd all celebrate each one's movement improvement. The potty doesn't move and neither does the vinyl, so it's better than the geometer! Using that thing is a very inaccurate way of measuring, IMO.

 

[Nay Nay]

Good morning everyone!!
Thank you so much for the encouraging words!!
Well, I overdid it at the gym on Wednesday!! (even though I thought I was NOT doing too much!! ) I did not do exercises in the pool, but I DID do a few machines that PT had me do in my sessions. I also used a regular bike instead of the recumbent bike. (I wanted to see if I could ride it because I am anxiously waiting for the day when I can ride my bike outside! NOT yet....I live in NY! I am hoping to ride outside by April) So, needless to say, I have spent the last 4 days icing, elevating, and babying my knee. I also have been taking Tylenol & Aleve.

I don't think my flex is really any worse since PT, even though my poor hubby measured me much less. I do realize that everyone measures differently. I just told my hubby, as long as he measures his way, I should see some improvement. I do not have him measure me very often, maybe once a week. @MSuki , I did do the tape on the floor early on, and I was able to see improvement. I am still doing the slides in that same location and I am much better than I was early on. I am doing everything that I want to do, pretty much. My husband, my cheerleader, keeps telling me how well I am doing!! I am now working on doing the yoga pose (downward dog?) I am kneeling on a pillow and bending my upper body to stretch out. (does that make sense?) Anyway, I am working on that to try to get more flex. My butt is up pretty high in the air! I am using that as a gauge to see if my ROM is improving. (I had my husband take a photo of me doing this.)

I honestly think if the tight band feeling lessened, I would feel better. So, I am working on really trying to not overdo it. I also am going to try that comfrey salve that @dubloosh recommended. I bought voltaren because that was recommended to me too. I think it might have helped, but if you use voltaren, you can not take Tylenol at the same time. When I overdid it at the gym, I also did my upper body, and I was really sore. I wanted to take Tylenol!! So, I stopped using Voltaren because I had other pain in my body!! Anyway, I think, at 4 months in 2 days, I am finally seeing a light at the end of this LONG recovery tunnel!! Have a happy Sunday!!

 

[MSuki]

You may want to clarify with your doctor about voltaren (diclofenac) and tylenol. My understanding is that you can take both because the voltaren is an NSAID so it’s completely different from tylenol. I have been taking diclofenac orally for several years. Based on what I have read here a lot of people use both.

Glad you are doing so well. It’s like a different world every month!

I haven’t tried kneeling yet even on a pillow. I think last time I started kneeling on my bed to try it out at about 6 months but could not kneel on the carpet for long until the end of year 1.

 

[benne68]

if you use voltaren, you can not take Tylenol at the same time.

I'm not sure where you read/heard this, but it isn't true.

You should not take ibuprofen or naproxen when you are using Voltaren because they are NSAIDs. But it is safe to use acetaminophen (Tylenol) along with any of these.

 

[Marika105]

I’m at 17 weeks post op and still regret doing the surgery. My flex is 115 and I’m still limping and waking up at night. I took Oxycodone for the first two months when needed and once in a while I still take a half. Fortunately my doctor gave me refills 3 times. I don’t understand why doctors think it’s a good idea to let patients be in pain. Still doing PT twice a week and just trying to move ahead since there is no choice but there is a lot that doctors don’t tell you. Hang in there but sometimes rest is the best remedy.

 

[dubloosh]

(I wanted to see if I could ride it because I am anxiously waiting for the day when I can ride my bike outside! NOT yet....I live in NY!

Hi, where in NY do you live? I am near the Bronx River Parkway and sometimes walk there when it's closed on Bicycle Sundays. Now I worry I won't be able to do that as my surgeon said bicycling is preferable. I'll ask the new surgeon when I see him.

 

[mendogal]

@Nay Nay I really hate to see you get hung up on measuring flexion! It's normal for our flexion, like our body temperature or blood pressure, to fluctuate throughout the day. It shouldn't serve as a daily ruler for your recovery, your mood, your outcome.

My ortho team never measured me or asked me to report numbers. They wanted to know what I could DO.

I suggest you toss the imperfect measuring device and focus on function and small milestones: what you can do that you couldn't do a few days earlier?

 

[Nay Nay]

Wow! I guess I must have read the instructions wrong that came with Voltaren! Thank you for letting me know that @MSuki & @benne68 . Now I can use it before bed tonight!

@dubloosh , I live in Northern Westchester. My hubby & I have ridden on the Bronx River Parkway, but actually prefer riding around the New Croton Reservoir. We usually do 3 laps (@15 miles). We are hoping to be able to return to riding in May? Time will tell.

Thank you all for helping me through this journey. You have no idea how much this means to me! This forum has kept me sane. ( somewhat…)
Renee