TKR Still pain at 10 weeks po

[patriciad]

@Anniefannie I and many on this forum have been exactly where you are - still in pain, have a slight setback and then get anxious when we seem to lose ROM and worry that there is damage to the newly operated joint. This surgery is a major surgery and can take up to a year ( sometimes longer) to fully heal. You are very early still in the healing process and the twist has aggravated the soft tissue so take it easy, concentrate on icing and elevating and it will soon be back where it was a few weeks ago. Your ROM is there and will increase as your knee and all the soft tissue heals and your swelling goes down. You will walk normally it just takes time. If Advil is upsetting your stomach have you tried extra strength Tylenol for pain relief at all or have any prescription meds? Try not to worry - if you read mine and others threads you will see that many of us have had setbacks yet recovered well from them. Hopefully @Jockette has eased your anxiety. Good luck and keep posting your progress.

 

[Jockette]

have a slight setback and then get anxious when we seem to lose ROM and worry that there is damage to the newly operated joint.

I should have mentioned that at 4 months post op, I had a big set back. I would have thought by then I was past having set backs, but I wasn’t! I went away for a weekend and totally overdid everything, trying to keep up with others and not looking weak, as I thought I should have been further along in my recovery (another thing we all think, at one point or another!) By the time I got home my ROM was gone and it took a full month for me to start improve again. But, improve it did! In fact, I even saw improvement in ROM throughout my second year post op. So don’t ever think that there is a window of opportunity, because there honestly isn’t.

 

[Anniefannie]

Thanks so much. You and others on this site are a godsend to me. Now I don’t feel so alone and abnormal with this recovery. Thanks from the bottom of my heart.

 

[Anniefannie]

Thanks so much. You made me feel so much better. i don’t feel so alone now in this journey to recovery. Thanks again. Oh i have started taking ES Tylenol as the Advil’s have caused me a lot of stomach upset and i already have acid reflux. thanks again!!!!

 

[Susie-Q]

Yes, all of this is normal. You are hurting because you are recovering from the twist in addition to still healing because of the replacement. Rest and ice that baby knee and give it time. We'd like to think that this recovery is linear but it's more like a rollercoaster, up and down and full of setbacks. Hang in there!

 

[Anniefannie]

Thanks so much!

 

[Anniefannie]

I have a question. My tkr is my right knee. I’m 11 weeks post op. If my knee still hurts how can I drive? I’m so anxious to drive but my knee still hurts a lot and gets very stiff. Should I be driving? Should I hold off? At my six week check up the doctor cleared me for driving but my rom and flexion was 110/0 then. I had a setback and it is now 90/0.

 

[FourCats]

First of all, if you’re taking any pain meds, no driving. What I did after being cleared to drive was to spend time in my car practicing the motions of driving. Moving foot from gas pedal to brake. Making sure I could make that move quickly if necessary. I would slowly increase the time and one day felt ready so I loaded my trash in the car and made the three mile drive to the dump and home, a lightly traveled road. I practiced stopping and starting, including a couple of sudden stops. A few days later I made a bit longer trip to town and back. Each time I went Out I felt more confident.

 

[Anniefannie]

Ok thanks. Im
not on pain meds only Tylenol. I wasn’t able to take strong painkillers from the beginning because i get sick from them. I’ll try what you said. Thanks so much!

 

[Claire56]

I've been thinking about when I could start driving too. Pretty much think that I shouldn't until I am confident I can move my foot from gas to brake comfortably. I would hate to find myself in a panic stop and hesitate for ANY reason. Plus we have snow on the ground and the roads are not being plowed as well as in past years.

 

[Anniefannie]

Yes I agree. Years ago I broke my right foot snd after the cast was taken off my foot was weak. My husband taught me how to drive with two feet - right foot for gas and left for brake. I actually got so used to driving that way but i eventually went back to the conventional way. I was thinking that might be a good idea to try again being that my tkr is mt right leg.

 

[Sara61]

I was given the all clear to drive as from today by my surgeon, seriously no-one in my shoes and in their right mind would even attempt it, I can barely lift my leg up let alone switch from gas to stop pedals, like you I had my right knee replaced in December and I know it, will be a good few weeks before I'm ready to drive. When I had my left knee replaced in 2019, it was easier as at the time our car was automatic and left leg wasn't needed, but with any car the right leg plays an important role so only once we are 100 percent certain and confident should we attempt to drive a car.
When you are feeling ready, maybe try a few short journeys on quiet roads to rebuild your confidence x

 

[Anniefannie]

I’m also at 12 weeks post tkr and i have pain and stiffness all day. When i got out of the hospitsl they sent a PT to my house and she would bend my knee back and it was extremely painful. She came for four weeks three times a week doing that. Right now i can still only bend at 90 and feel so frustrated. I see my surgeon on Thursday. He doesn’t even approve of aggressive therapy although at six weeks my rom was 110. I’m very confused and never know if i’m doing the right thing. All i know is that my knee still hurts and is very stiff and i’m depressed about it.

 

[Jockette]

@Anniefannie
Some pain and stiffness is still normal for 12 weeks post op. However, you may be overdoing your activities and exercises, which is maintaining the pain and swelling, reducing your ROM. A ROM of 110 is very good for 6 weeks, it means there is very little chance that you have any adhesions.

I‘m sorry you had such aggressive PT those first weeks, it was not in your knee’s best interest.

I suggest you spend more time now icing and elevating to get the swelling down, which will allow your ROM to improve.

It’s very easy to get depressed during this recovery, it is long and tedious. Don’t look at resting as doing nothing, look at it as giving your knee the best opportunity in which to heal.

By the way, I moved your post above to your own thread, as you had posted on an old thread and were unlikely to hear from that member.

 

[Anniefannie]

Thank you so much !

 

[Anniefannie]

Does the fact that I had 110 rom at six weeks mean that I would get my rom up even though it’s only 90 now? Do you think the surgeon will want to do mua? I don’t want that.

 

[Jockette]

Yes, I believe that your ROM will improve again.

I had similar PT that you did, where they pushed my knee further to get a good number. My surgeon was a fan of doing that, also, which caused me a lot of stress anticipating my many checkups. My numbers were good, because they were forced more than I could do on my own, but it took a long time before I had the actual function those numbers implied.

At 4 months post op I went away for the weekend, totally overdid everything trying to keep up with my friends and trying to look normal. (Well that didn’t work!) By the time I got home my ROM was shot, I was back to about 90, it and was poor the rest of the first year. However, my ROM improved a lot in my second year, and even a bit more in my third year, proving there is no “window of opportunity !”

Do you think the surgeon will want to do mua? I don’t want that.

I really think you just need time to heal. This recovery does take an average of a year. Many surgeons won’t do an MUA if you‘re 90 or more. And even if he does suggest one, you don’t have to consent to it.

Saying no to therapy - am I allowed to?

This is what one of our members, TortiTabby, experienced:

(Just so you know, ADL means Activities of Daily Living.)

“At my six week appointment this is what my OS wrote in my visit summary: "She reads an online website called Bone Smart which states to not push through pain following knee replacement. If she were to follow this direction, she will have to learn to live with a knee that only reaches to 85 degrees of flexion. I believe this website is very misleading."
It has now been 20 weeks and all I do is ADL and this is what my ROM has done:
3.5 wks: 75
6 wks: 85
7 wks: 90
10.5 wks: 95
14 wks: 100
17 wks: 105
20 weeks (where I am today): 110
I am so thrilled it keeps improving and improving and I know now that I will get to my goal of 120 (or even better, dare I say!)
So, if a OS or PT bullies you into thinking your ROM will not improve over time they are wrong. By the way, I haven't been back to see the OS since that horrible appointment at 6 weeks, but I sure am going back when I reach 120 just to say, "Ha! You were wrong, BoneSmart was right!" “

And,

“Just an update for those who are apprehensive about gaining ROM:
It has now been 26 weeks and all I do is ADL and this is what my ROM has done:
3.5 wks: 75
6 wks: 85
7 wks: 90
10.5 wks: 95
14 wks: 100
17 wks: 105
20 weeks: 110
26 weeks (where I am today): 120!!!
I did it! My goal of 120! No "pushing through pain", no PT after the first 3 visits, and most importantly to me: No MUA! My surgeon who said I would never get beyond 85 ROM without pushing through pain was wrong, wrong, wrong. I'm excited to see if it gets even better. “

 

[Anniefannie]

Thanks so much. That is very encouraging. I will not consent to an mua at this point. I’ll will continue gentle stretches snd ice snd elevation. You could never know how much i appreciate your advice. I’m so glad i found this site.

 

[patriciad]

I know it seems like it’s been such a long time already but at 12 weeks you are still healing and it’s very easy to upset the new knee by overdoing it. You had good ROM so I’m sure you’ll improve again - just try to relax and baby the knee - back to first weeks for icing, elevating, gentle stretches etc., I am 7 months now and generally doing great but still see improvement and still experience small setbacks after doing too much. I’ve found with both replacements that I don’t heal in a nice upward curve but have got there eventually. Hope you feel better and see less swelling soon.

 

[Carol Anna]

I upset my knee at week 3 when I was doing brilliantly. I had a ROM of 120 but after the set back when I overstreched the tendon I was reduced to less than 90 unless I pushed it. After finding this site I stopped most of my excercises and rested that knee. I am now at week 13 and I my ROM is easily 120 but could be more - I don't measure my success in ROM any more I measure my success in how my knee feels.

I am still a bit stiff and still have some pain if I poke the joint or twist it but the answer to that is "don't poke or twist it"! I am trying yoga and can't do many of the poses but I will get there slowly. When I walk you would not think there is anything wrong but if I walk too far I know about it and too far just now is less than a mile. My excercise is daily activity as I would rather increase what I do to live my life than increase any excercise.

I suffered a pulmonary embolism 2 weeks ago and had to have total bed rest for a couple of days whilst I was plugged into all the monitoring stuff at hospital and my ROM improved and my leg felt less swollen so I guess that is proof that our new knees need more rest than we give them. I also have my activities curtailed whilst recovering from the PE but every couple of days I see am improvement in my knee! It might be that I can now lay in bed on the op side for 5 minutes now or it might be that I just bend my leg further without making a conscious effort to do so and whilst I am no where near to full recovery I am getting closer everyday.

Its hard to accept the set backs particularly when we hear people say how quickly their auntie/uncle/friend recovered but most of us in our impatience will push too far and then we move into the over done it club and sometimes it only takes days to recover but sometimes weeks. I know there is every chance that I, in my impatience, will push too far or do something that angers that knee again and I will worry and be upset and I will come back to this site for the encouragement and re-assurance that I know I will get.

I am sorry you have also had a set back but you might need to treat your knee as though you have just had the op and start again with no aggresive PT and lots of rest and elevation. You are in my thoughts and prayers for a speedy recovery. Keep posting - sometimes this is the only place that could give me the help and support I needed and it still does.