Dec/15/23 severe pain in rh knee, had surgery to clean out from knee infection, mar/2 had second operation with previous 7 year partial knee replacement removed and antibiotic cement spacer installed, May/28/24 complete knee replacement , the mar/2 surgery i had a lot of bone loss from the removal of the partial knee replacement , the doc extended the stems top and bottom another 4 inches , i am now 8 weeks and am having severe pain in shin area and rh side of lower leg ! has anybody else experienced this and what remedy ?? Doc called it stem pain ! anybody else experienced this pain ?
Knee Infection* Post op knee pain from extended stems
- Thread starter alberta
- Start date
Toothfairy
Insider
Sorry to hear about your pain. I don’t have any advice or answers but just wanted to express some sympathy. I hope it gets better soon. Have you asked your doctor?
Welcome to BoneSmart, @alberta. I'm sorry to read that you are in so much pain. But, you are still very early days in this year long recovery and pain in the lower leg is very common as our bodies adapt to the implant and the realignment of our legs.
Since you are still early days, I will share 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 we are all 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 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.
If you want to use something to assist with healing and scar management, 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.
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
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
Good nutrition is very important during recovery:
Dietary Tips for Recovery
Nutrition Basics
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.
Since you are still early days, I will share 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 we are all 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 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.
If you want to use something to assist with healing and scar management, 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.
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
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
Good nutrition is very important during recovery:
Dietary Tips for Recovery
Nutrition Basics
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.
@alberta I've added a signature for you, which helps give staff and members a snapshot of your story so we can reply meaningfully. Please double check the information I've added and let me know whether it's correct.
Also, I've moved your thread over to the Recovery Forum since you have already had your surgery. As noted above, please post any updates or additional questions there. It's important to keep all your information in one place for continuity.
Also, I've moved your thread over to the Recovery Forum since you have already had your surgery. As noted above, please post any updates or additional questions there. It's important to keep all your information in one place for continuity.
More pain medication isn’t always the answer. Pain depends on a lot of factors. It would help if you give us some details about what you’re taking for pain and on what schedule. This early in recovery, you probably need to be on some type of regular schedule during the day and night and not trying to take meds “when you need them.”
Activity and exercise also contribute to pain, so it also helps if you’ll tell us what a typical day looks like for you in terms of activity, errands, exercise, as well as how much time you’re spending with your leg elevated and ice on it.
Activity and exercise also contribute to pain, so it also helps if you’ll tell us what a typical day looks like for you in terms of activity, errands, exercise, as well as how much time you’re spending with your leg elevated and ice on it.
you are correct on the pain meds which do not seem to help in any way, i just cannot find the right regime for the Tylenol 4 , Celebrix 100 X 2 per day , or 3mg Hydromoph 2 x day ! i am back to taking Hydromoph 1mg as needed.i am in my 10th week, a month ago i was walking 20-30 mins per day ! no issues ! then the stem pain started and has not changed for over 3 weeks now ! tried to ride recumbant bike for 10 minutes a few days ago and do my knee rehab exercises, i paid for it dearly the few days ! i have excellent range of motion in the knee and there is no pain , i am looking at doing absolutey nothing until this gets better ! it seems my only option for now ! xrays show all is good !
That's great! It's unusual not to have any knee pain at your stage of recovery.
You might want to try some therapeutic massage. After my TKR in December, I had a lot of problems in my lower leg. I went to see a massage therapist and she worked all up and down my leg releasing a lot of tightness. It took a few sessions, but I was amazed at how much her work on my leg reduced the pain and made moving easier.
Hi @alberta. I'm sorry that you haven't received more responses for non-staff members. Sometimes you need to repost to bring your story to the top of the forum.
Please give us a bit more information:
Have your symptoms improved at all in the past few weeks? Have you tried therapeutic massage -- or any of the other suggestion shared above?
Please give us a bit more information:
Have your symptoms improved at all in the past few weeks? Have you tried therapeutic massage -- or any of the other suggestion shared above?
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At this point if you’re still having significant pain, it would be a good idea to see your surgeon again. Just telling you that you have “stem pain” is not helping and he needs to X-ray your knee to make sure everything is okay.
When you’re on a forum, it often helps for you to post on other members’ threads to begin conversations. There are many members who have had infections or who have converted from a PKR to a full TKR. In order to find a list of those topical threads, click on a thread prefix that applies. You can click on your own KNEE INFECTION prefix or go to the knee index page any pick any prefix that interests you for a list of threads on that topic. Just be sure you’re posting on a thread that is currently active and not one with only older posts.
When you’re on a forum, it often helps for you to post on other members’ threads to begin conversations. There are many members who have had infections or who have converted from a PKR to a full TKR. In order to find a list of those topical threads, click on a thread prefix that applies. You can click on your own KNEE INFECTION prefix or go to the knee index page any pick any prefix that interests you for a list of threads on that topic. Just be sure you’re posting on a thread that is currently active and not one with only older posts.
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Hi there,
So sorry for the misfortune you're dealing with, alberta. Possibly your idea of only engaging in the activities of daily living while you allow your leg to heal and strengthen is your best bet. I will leave a link to the threads of those that have dealt with Knee Infection, if interested, of which you will find many success stories.
You can also use the SEARCH at the top right of the page typing in key words or phrases such as stem pain and all threads where its been mentioned will pop up.
I wish you well on your journey and thank you for joining us. Hope you'll stay in touch!
@alberta
So sorry for the misfortune you're dealing with, alberta. Possibly your idea of only engaging in the activities of daily living while you allow your leg to heal and strengthen is your best bet. I will leave a link to the threads of those that have dealt with Knee Infection, if interested, of which you will find many success stories.
You can also use the SEARCH at the top right of the page typing in key words or phrases such as stem pain and all threads where its been mentioned will pop up.
I wish you well on your journey and thank you for joining us. Hope you'll stay in touch!
@alberta
jboles
graduate
Hi @alberta I’m sorry you’re experiencing this pain. I’m 5 weeks out of a 2 nd revision of my right knee. When they did X-rays at 2 weeks the tech commented that I had long stems. I knew that I was more sore in my shin than my knee. I guess that explains it. I will say that for the most part the shin pain is gone unless I press on it. Try to have patience because as the saying goes, this too shall pass 
