TKR Swollen 9 months post op<

[Celle]

Part of me wants to get all this painful stuff over asap and then work on recovery for the rest of the year. The other is tired of pain, restriction, exercises ...

I can understand that you want to get all the painful stuff over and done with, but you can't hurry it up. You do need your knee to be recovered enough before you go for your hip surgery. Another thing to consider is that you already have the energy drain after your knee replacement. If you have your hip done as well, you will have a double whammy of the energy drain, as your body will be trying to heal both your knee and your hip.

You don't have to work hard at recovery - you just have to relax and let it happen. Your body knows what it's doing. It will heal if you give it the right conditions. You can't speed up the healing process, no matter how much you want to. You don't even need to do formal exercises - just the normal activities of your daily living are enough exercise.

 

[cannygirl]

Remember that just the process of getting to the gym is activity.

You are right - I push myself at everything and it is a difficult habit to break. For me the gym has been associated with getting healthy (not fun but good results over the years) so I am used to doing what I find uncomfortable but ‘good for me’. Now you folk are letting me off the hook and it sounds too good to be true!

 

[cannygirl]

Today I drove my little electric car for the first time in 6 weeks! Just down to the school gym but I am beginning to see daylight again. Yes my knee is still sore but it is SO good to feel that things are moving forward and to think I’ll be able to do my own shopping soon

 

[sistersinhim]

I remember the trill of getting in my car and driving it by myself the first time after my surgery! I was filled with joy and thanking God for getting me through the roughest times! I had to use the seated electric cart, and got just a few things, but the thing was...I did it! And so did you! Good going!

 

[cannygirl]

Hello again. Here I am just around 6 weeks and I am so fed up. I can cope with my aching knee during the day but it is really keeping me awake at night. It feels as if the joint is ‘loose’ and any sideways movement such as when I turn in bed causes pain. I have gone back to taking 10mg OxyContin (at night) but last night it didn’t really help. I did eventually try an elastic support and that helped a bit.
Any advice?
Is it counterproductive to regularly use knee compression? I really don’t know what to do. Currently elevating and intermittently icing!

 

[SusieShoes]

Nighttime can be the worst. We can’t sleep well in our favorite positions. Our knee(s) can’t get comfortable in ANY position. It’s enough to drive a person to... well, anything that will work.

It may be too early to count on your new knee to help you turn over in bed. Maybe if you’re very careful, it can do so without protesting, but at just five weeks out from surgery it’s more likely to find something about that movement objectionable. Your soft tissues —muscles, tendons, ligaments, healing fascia, etc.— can be very particular about position and angles. Sleep position, for example. If the knee doesn’t like the way you’re sleeping, maybe a slight angle you don’t even know you’re putting on it, it can swell up and hurt and cause a day of misery. (At least, my knees would do this to me for the first months.)

Do you use pillows to prop your knee? Sometimes those help to prevent unwanted mobility during sleep.

Many people find knee compression helpful. I think it’s an individual thing. If you find it helps you, keep doing it. I would take it off at intervals, though, to give your skin a break. Your elevating and icing program is exactly what you should be doing at this point.

 

[Jockette]

My elevation wedge has a cut out for my leg like a trough, so that my leg lays into the wedge. That keeps my knee still and doesn’t allow much movement during the night and my knee is much happier.

At 10 months post op I am still not comfortable sleeping on my side. And pre surgery I was always a side sleeper.

 

[cannygirl]

Are there special wedges for knees?

 

[Jockette]

There is an article about elevation in the list you got when you signed up here. It has pictures of good and bad ways to elevate. Go back to the beginning of your thread and check it out.

I got mine from my hospital. They sent it home with me.

 

[cannygirl]

Yes I have already looked at it but I wasn’t sure about the kind of support described here. “My elevation wedge has a cut out for my leg like a trough, so that my leg lays into the wedge. That keeps my knee still and doesn’t allow much movement during the night and my knee is much happier.” I haven’t seen the kind you describe with a kind of trough. I suppose that my surprise was that I would still be needing to sleep in my back at 6 weeks but it makes sense of why I sleep easier in my recliner.

 

[Jockette]

There are a lot of surprises in this recovery! You could try looking on amazon for a similar wedge. Just make sure it allows your knee to have a slight bend. Mine has just a little lift in that trough.

I didn’t like my wedge at first but I love it now and still use it. We went away for a week after in December and I took it with me to the hotel.

 

[sistersinhim]

Many people on here really like the Lounge Doctor leg elevator. I iced and elevated all night long for the first 6-8 weeks. Ice is a great pain killer and the wedge elevator helps to keep the swelling down. I had an ice machine that circulated ice cold water. I used this the whole time I was sitting or laying down.

 

[Pumpkin]

Some of our members have found clingfilm (Saran Wrap) helpful at night.
Night pain solutions using moist heat and clingfilm

 

[cannygirl]

There are a lot of surprises in this recovery! You could try looking on amazon for a similar wedge. Just make sure it allows your knee to have a slight bend. Mine has just a little lift in that trough.

I didn’t like my wedge at first but I love it now and still use it. We went away for a week after in December and I took it with me to the hotel.

I bought a curvy wedge and have used it for the last couple of nights. It feels very hard and uncomfortable. I guess that my leg length might not be ideal. I have tried with a wee bit of padding from small squishy cushions. Sleeping on my back is definitely helping and I’ll persevere with the wedge.
I went for my 6 week check-up yesterday and all was well but I was advised by a researcher (I am enrolled in a research project into muscle DNA recovery) to improve my extension by either gently pressing on my thigh above the knee when at full extension and balancing a double handed oven cloth (with pockets) across the knee at full stretch when supported on a footstool and then putting tins into the pockets. When I read advice here on Bonesmart, I wonder if this is wise advice. Any comments?

 

[Jockette]

Putting tins in the oven mitts basically turns them into weights, which is a no no. It will increase your pain. You are only 6-7 weeks post op. Your extension will improve naturally as you heal.

I wouldn’t push on any part of your leg as that will also increase pain.

Good thing you have Bonesmart!!!

 

[cannygirl]

Indeed it is a good thing I have BoneSmart. I rely on your advice and so far it has been ‘spot on’, challenging, encouraging and reassuring. My go-to resource. I just found the info on the way to do the 2 basic exercises this evening. It is a pity I didn’t find them earlier but I am glad I’ve got them now.

 

[cannygirl]

Many people on here really like the Lounge Doctor leg elevator. I iced and elevated all night long for the first 6-8 weeks. Ice is a great pain killer and the wedge elevator helps to keep the swelling down. I had an ice machine that circulated ice cold water. I used this the whole time I was sitting or laying down.

Lounge Doctor leg elevator

Does anyone know if it is possible to buy the Lounge Doctor in the UK for a reasonable price? I’ve looked them up and I would need small but with postage from the USA it is so expensive. If it is really worth it, I suppose I’d bite the bullet and buy it but I’ve already bought a shaped one which looked good but might suit a tall woman or man ...not little me!

 

[kneeper]

I just made a pillow "ramp" which worked fine. Too cheap to buy anything new for elevating.

 

[Pumpkin]

Look on Amazon UK for the Lounge Doctor.

 

[shelli22]

I saw it there too I think but it says they’re out of stock but there’s a couple of other UK sights that sell similar looking pillows. @pumpkin. I’m having difficulty finding it in Australia [emoji23]


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