TKR Right knee recovery

nmfarmgirl

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I am post op 15 days. Right TKR on July 24th. I am struggling, not sure of where I should be at this point. I do pretty good for a few days and then the pain and swelling gets worse. Some days I cannot stay awake.
What is normal for where I am?
 
Hello nmfarmgirl, Welcome to Bonesmart! One of the moderators will be along to answer your questions and give you guidance. I grew up on a farm from age 4 to 18, so I felt a kindred spirit when I saw your name.
 
One thing, I do want to tell you that you have just begun your road to recovery. I had told myself before my first TKR that it was going to be really really bad for a few months but then it would get better. So I was pleasantly surprised when it wasn’t as bad as I had thought it was going to be.
 
Welcome, @nmfarmgirl !

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.

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!)​

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 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 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.
 
Would you please give us an idea of what you're doing each day? How much are you icing, how long each time, how about elevating, walking, PT? When we know what you're doing we can better advise you.

Please take a little time to read the articles above, especially the activity progression guide; they're very helpful and informative.
 
The articles are very helpful. I am doing my pt 2-3 times a day. Walking 300-400 ft and 7 steps 2-4 times a day. I use ice 3-4 times a day. Keeping my leg elevated as much as possible. I use a tens unit 3-4 times a day. I also use essential oils for the bruising
 
I'm not sure what you mean by 7 steps. Are you talking about stairs or up and down a step platform...or....?

Also, when you ice, how long are you icing at a time, and are you also elevating as you ice? Make sure to keep a cloth between your knee and the ice; that way you can ice for long periods of time. I iced and elevated whenever I was sitting or lying down, including all night long. In between I walked around, gradually adding more time and distance as I recovered.
 
The stairs are to our deck 7 steps. Doing 2 times.
I elevate when I ice and when sitting. I walk every hour at least, when I am awake. The muscle relaxer put me out for hours. I don't take them unless absolutely necessary.
 
I only tried muscle relaxers one time some years ago when I pulled my back; after walking into a wall and giving my face a nasty bruise I never used them again!

Sounds like you're doing great with your icing and walking. If you have extra pain and/or swelling that hits, it's a good idea to spend a little more time icing and elevating for a bit until it settles back down. Your body is putting much of it's energy into healing, so being tired is very normal. Sleep when you need to; as time passes you'll need less and less sleep.
 
It sounds like you're doing it just right.
 
Me again. I am at week 5. I am still not sleeping. Anyone have suggestions for restless leg issues? I have tried multiple essential oils, CBD oil and over the counter for restless leg. Nothing works for very long.
The area right at the knee is still very stiff and bruised. Is this normal?
Thanks for your help
 
Sleep issues get better but can raise their ugly open eyes for several mos.. I didn't see real progress until around 4 mo. Infrequently I would have sleeplessness for no real reasons for many mos. Watched a lot of Frazier in the middle the night!
 
Thank you for the information. At least I know I am fairly normal!
 
Hello again. I am at 3 months post op. Finally sleeping through the night, praise God! I still.have a lot of stiffness and swelling in the knee and cannot straighten not out, which causes me to limp a little. The Dr is talking about physically straighten it out. Is this a good idea?
 
I'm 3 1/2 months out from my left TKR and same age as you are. I still have some swelling and tightness in my knee. I had my 3 month check up this morning and the surgeon said everything looks good and not to feel bad if you're not where you think you should be, he said I'm about 1/4 through my recovery as its one of the longer recovery surgeries and everyone recovers at their own pace. Wishing you a really good outcome as you continue to recover :praying: :praying:
 
Extension generally takes longer to come than flexion-don't stress out, it will come over time. I tried to make sure I walked with a proper gait as much as possible, plus when standing I would gently stretch it as straight as possible without causing pain. Gentle stretching is fine, just don't go overboard. My extension took a while to come back, but today is great. My flex, on the other hand, is a "whole 'nother story".....lol.
 
MUAs usually don't work for an extension. Those tendons and muscles behind the knee are quite large and take a long time to stretch out. Forcing them to do so would probably cause much pain with little success. Plus there is always the possibility of tearing them.

My extension was also slower coming back in. The best thing I did to improve it was to walk with a long stride with the correct heel to toe gait. It didn't improve overnight, but it did improve and now I can straighten my knee past the 0 to about -5. All that was done without exercises or pushing on it.
 

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