TKR Struggling with pain relief

[mictm]

Hi everyone, thought I'd give you an update. Its 4 weeks tomorrow since the op and I now have 110% ROM, I have had my 3 week review with the surgeon and he is happy with how it is going, and he has said I can get back into a pool now for exercise which I look forward to. I'm also doing a session on an exercise bike each day. I have had a physio coming each week and putting me through my exercises but I also had to see the hospital physio who gave me more exercises which included squats and lunges. I have to say since starting to do these 'extras' my pain level has gone up significantly plus they are playing havoc with my other knee (which is also waiting on a TKR) so I have decided to stop these extras and just keep concentrating on getting the ROM better and better. Some days I manage 2 sets of exercises and some days just 1 and then there are days when I can't manage any! I am taking 50mg of Voltaren plus 2 Panadol Osteos each morning, not sure if they are doing much but the Voltaren certainly helps my other knee. Pain wise it doesn't seem to be getting that much better but movement wise definitely is, back and hip still quite painful, swelling is still there but getting a bit better, stiffness seems the same. Day by day, one foot in front of the other, I think I'm a bit impatient as I expected to have a lot less pain and stiffness by 4 weeks - bit too optimistic I think.

 

[Roy Gardiner]

Hi, mictm, welcome to BoneSmart.

...physio who gave me more exercises which included squats and lunges...

I am not surprised they hurt. These are training exercises, not healing exercises.

Anything that puts force through your TKR knee (or, as it happens, your so-called 'good' knee) is counter productive. You don't need to get fit, you need to get better.

I have decided to stop these extras and just keep concentrating on getting the ROM better

and you can stop doing anything that's training that involves your knees. For instance, the exercise bike you can use for ROM just by turning the pedals, on zero resistance, for 30secs or so, several times a day. Not training, stretching.

 

[bottomshollow]

mictm, you are just 1/12 of the way through a 12 month recovery. What your knee needs is some TLC. When you overdo the exercising you get a stiff swollen knee that is in pain. And stiff swollen knees do not bend well at all.

THE SECRET OF SUCCESS with joint replacements is TIME & PATIENCE. We have to have (or find) the PATIENCE to give our knees TIME to heal at their own pace. Nothing else works like these two things and nothing can take their place. But it is a very hard truth to absorb in the beginning of our recoveries.

Recovery is what it is, and it's going to take as long as it's going to take. So be PATIENT and let TIME take care of things with some assistance from you. Spend more time elevating and icing and a bit less time with all that exercise. Gentle, easy stretching and bending several times a day will get much more out of the knee than all that training type stuff.

Can't rush this no matter how hard you try. Those who insist on doing so usually slow their recoveries and end up with unnecessary pain and suffering.

Take care and keep us posted. We care.

 

[katie830]

Mictm............Hoping that every day gets more comfortable for you. Surgery is over; welcome to the other side! You will get so much help from so many wonderful people here. This will be a memory soon........Katie

 

[Campervan]

Hi, I can assure you the Voltaren is helping. I took Voltaren every 12 hours and Panadol four times a day. I stopped the voltaren at 2 week and my knee stiffened. Following advice from the forum I started taking them again and my knee was much more comfortable. I cut them out at around 3 months, and went down to one a day sometime earlier but can't remember when.

 

[mictm]

Hello everyone again, its been a while since I posted. I've really been waiting for something interesting to post but my recovery hasn't been quite as rapid as I had expected. It's now 6 months since the TKR and although I have full ROM (which I've had since about 3 mths really) the knee is still quite stiff and a bit painful, stairs are still proving to be a challenge. I'm wondering if this is as good as its going to get or if it will keep improving. There is a little clicking when I walk and I can hear a sort of 'grinding' noise when I bend it, not sure if these will go away or not. I'm going to organise a follow up with the surgeon shortly to see what he thinks. My other knee needs to be done and is extemely painful and achy but I've been reluctant to book in to get it done until I'm sure the right one has been a a success. It's a lot of money not to mention pain and drama to go through if the result is only going to be so so. Anyone had this sort of experience?

 

[sparkie]

Hi, To have a full range of movement at 6 months is great. Well done you.
I can get to 120 degrees now, but I had an MUA at 6 months (October 2013) as I was "stuck" at 85-90.
The stairs are my biggest challenge right now. The MUA released my quad muscle which is finally getting a bit stronger, so getting up the stairs is getting easier, but coming down is still difficult (I am at 9 months from RTKR now). I think my problem is that I cannot straighten my knee beyond 15 degrees so it just "gives out" on me when it feels like it, which could be halfway down the stairs!

I fell down the stairs from the top to the bottom yesterday and have the biggest black/blue bruise on my rear-end to prove it! Luckily I didn't hurt my knee!

My feeling is that the stairs will get easier as my leg gets stronger over time? My knee is still very stiff when bending which I am hoping will loosen up in time? I am still on painkillers twice a day. I am not in agony, but I find they help with the stiffness.

At 6 months out it is still early days for you. Be gentle with it, be patient, give it time. You have done great so far so I am sure you will be fine. Don't have your other knee done until you feel absolutely ready.
Hugs x

 

[mictm]

So glad you responded, its made me think that I'm just being a bit impatient. I know I really overdid when first out of hospital and didn't rest or ice nearly enough, won't make that mistake next time, you really don't get any thanks for being a 'martyr' and doing everything for everyone as you would normally. Like you I fell down some stairs a couple of months ago fortunately I didn't land on my knee (not sure how I didn't break my hip though - that would have just finished me!) I did however chip the bone in my elbow, so that's another annoying pain I could do without. I'm with you on the idea that stairs will get easier once we build up our quads but its not easy to build them up when everything is so stiff and tender is it. I can't take pain killers so everything I do is 'cold turkey' which makes it all that much harder. I made an appointment to see the surgeon in a couple of weeks to get his thoughts on if its where it should be at this time. If he seems to think it will be all ok by the end of June I'm thinking of getting the other one over and done with then because its causing so my pain. I'll post again after I see him and let you know. Good luck with yours, do you need to get your other one done as well? It helps to talk to someone who understands isn't it, otherwise its very easy to get 'down'. xxx

 

[NuNe4Me]

My tkr knee was noisy also. Josephine assured me that was normal. My OS said: "Well, there IS a lot of metal in there now!" There is an article in the Library specifically about this - just look at the top of the website under "Library".

I have had multiple surgeries in my lifetime. It takes approx a year to recover from a traumatic surgery such as this one. Patience. DONT push yourself too far, too fast or you will undo all the good work your surgeon did. It takes time for bone and tissue to heal.