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TKR Papas new knee<

Hi @Trppr1231
I had tightness above the knee for many months, like someone had tied something tight above my kneecap. Between the swelling and muscles it took awhile for that feeling to go away. To help , I used a hand held massaging shower head and warm water to help with the achiness, stiffness and tightness. Gently ran warm water from the massaging shower head over the knee area for 10 minutes at a time and it felt so much better.

Feel better soon! :)
 
@1ELISEA thanks for that. I have a hand held and do that now. But my stiffness actually turns to pain like now and I have to get up. Take meds. It is making my left foot numb feeling to at times.
 
I'm sorry, too early yet for me to chime in, but I'm sorry your knee is causing so much discomfort.
 
@greatlakes I thank you for that. It will be ok sometime. I am sure I just get anxious some and tired of not sleeping! I am a guy who wants and needs answers. I am a former truck mechanic and that's always how I have been. I like to know why it broke. So my thing is what's causing this and how do I help get over it. I just can't see it being from lake of home pt on my part. I do all I can and then some. I don't just sit in a chair all day. I can't do that. Need to be doing something for my mind and body. @greatlakes I am sure my OS will tell me on Wednesday as I think he is a great doc. So I have a short time to see .
 
I was the same way.... can't just sit there. Drove me crazy. I finally had to think up some projects, even to the point of going outside and pulling up grass from the cracks in the driveway!
 
@birdwatchr and I'll bet you could see that grass from the window of wherever you sat yourself during the day and it loomed larger and larger in your mind until one day you grimly set out to do battle!
 
@greatlakes
You got that right! Lol. One was so tall I thought my car would set it on fire! Never mind the car was not moving and had not been driven in a while. I had to leave the ones under the car and truck. In fact, the ones under the truck are still there! Good thing we had a good rain first! They came out much easier. But at least I got some sunshine out of it.
 
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Most of my pain was in the form of stiffness. Medication and periodically getting up, or gentle movements helped. But the stiffness does last for months (but diminishing).
 
@kneeper So was it just stiffness? Nothing more than that ? I guess I wonder that I will need that manipulation. It worries me some. I find the right getting worse as time goes by instead of better. But I will say this this afternoon I took pain meds and it helped. Also found the more I did sit and relax the better. If I got up and walk too much it starts in. I still want to ask OS on Wednesday about this. I noticed this morning after taking wife to breakfast, we did some shopping after that, maybe 2 -3 hours my right knee swelled up. It has since went down but I had to basically become a couch potatoe to do that. It gets worse at night while sleeping. So bad it wakes me and I have to get up walk some, then sit in recliner with knee elevated.
 
Trppr1231,
You are still very early in recovery for your left knee, a little over 5 weeks, and you are less than 3 months out on your right knee, the stiffness is your knee telling you.
:tantrum2: Trapper1231, are doing too much, slow down, let me rest, let me heal, then and only then will I quit complaining.
Your poor knee has been through a lot, slow down, follow the BoneSmart Mantra, and let your knee heal. Your soft tissue will take a year + to fully heal, all the activity you are doing this early will only set back your recovery, cause swelling, inflammation, and block your ROM.
The walking you do around your house is plenty for now, slow down and at about 3 - 4 months you should start feeling a lot better, and will be able to increase your activity.
 
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Your right knee is still a baby and it has had to take over all the work. No wonder it's angry. I too, have to get up and walk at night because of my right knee waking me up. Can you elevate your knee in bed? Do you ice in bed? I found that if I set up the ice machine before going to bed, that if I wake up in pain, I can get up and walk and then come back and ice. That usually helps.
 
@Trppr1231 - At this early stage, stiffness is yet another form of pain, so don't forget to take your pain medications.

It's not unusual for your knees to stiffen up after you have been resting for a while - that still happens to my knees, several years after the replacements - but that sort of stiffness wears off after taking a few steps.
 
@sistersinhim No I don't ice due to restless leg. I do elevate in bed some. The ice machine does work in bed also I haven't tried it. Once I get up and walk out to front room then sit and elevate it doesn't take long to get it to a tolerable state. My main issue is this stiffness happens also if I walk a lot with out sitting for long periods. It also happens to both knees. Sometimes right is real bad! @Celle i take pain pills to help it. I just need to "learn" to relax. I just seem to find my mind so busy looking at all the things " I should be doing" that I finally convince myself just do it. That's when I pay. Just was nervous after Friday when my therapist said may need " manipulation " on right if I don't get it to bend back soon to 115 like it did. With all that talk and my long term insurance saying disability, I get that feeling of being old and broke.
 
Don't listen to that therapists. You don't HAVE to do anything they say, much less a MUA. Boy, do they love to throw that out there. I think it's to keep you going longer and getting more money out of you. I have a bad attitude when it comes to PT as I'm sure you know! But, don't let them hurt you or force you to do anything that will harm you knee!
 
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@sistersinhim ypu are dead right. Just got back from therapy. They did say lost some motion on right and want to see if OS will give more time. They also said I walk more on left then right. I told her because of needing to for over 2 years. My Doc will do whatever I ask him to a certain extent. All I need and want is to walk normal. Be able to play with grandkids and have fun.
 
It's probably the overdoing that has set you back a bit. Give the knee a break. This recovery takes time.
 
@Trppr1231
I know you're finding it hard to rest enough. It does take lots of patience, but it really is worth it.
Try not to think of resting as "lying around, doing nothing." Instead, think of it as working hard, to give your knee the best possible chance of healing well.
 
:yawn::yawn::yawn::yawn::yawn::yawn:Ok say my OS today. He thought my knees looked swollen still. Now prescribed a muscle relaxer and one for inflammation. He also is having a cream sent that's a drug type as well. I told him about not sleeping he is thinking all the inflammation and the nerves in there are causing it. He said probably from doing too much during day. Won't get the cream for about 3 days as they make it in Arkansas. X-rays of knees looked good to me. Doc thought so as well. Advised me to stay resting and not work them to much. Did tell me that Cigna will not get me on disability. He doesn't see it. So I will let him fight that battle. I will just try to get legs relaxed and get some sleeeeeeeeeep. :yawn::yawn:
 
I'm hoping you can get a good night's sleep. The muscle relaxer might help with that!
 
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