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tight band feeling & sleeping in bed

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elcammeno

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I am at 2 months now post TKR. I am wondering as a rule how long that tight band feeling lasts over your knee? Also I have trouble with getting comfortable sleeping. I love to sleep on my side & when I do I use pillows between the legs but that only lasts for maybe 10 minutes if that. I get so tired of sleeping on my back. I do so much tossing around to get comfortable.When it comes to elevating the knee do any of you use pillows under the back of your knee? That is the only kind of relieve I can get when in a bed. I can't wait to be rid of this tight band feeling! I no longer use the hydrocodone medication as I developed alittle heartburn & figured maybe that or coated bayer aspirin was maybe causing that. Any replys would be welcomed. Thank you.
Sharon
 
Welcome, I am not as far as you, (only 4wks) so I can't answer that, but they are terrific people here, and they will be along soon to give advice.. I do however hope everything works out for you, and you get well soon...yes aaah sleep soon I hope........Kim
 
Sharon I think others have written about a similar tight band feeling. I'm not sure but I think I have felt it occasionally. Don't have the technical knowledge to offer any explanation though.
But -- my surgeon warned explicity NOT to put a pillow under the knee. Actually I never asked him why; it's just part of the standard instruction he gives. Maybe Jo would have an explanation.
When you're on your side -- do you stretch out your leg or sleep one curled on top of the other (you mention pillows between your legs). I also slept on my side but with my operated leg usually sort of thrown forward or back and almost straight or just slightly bent. You really don't sleep for more than a few hours for quite awhile anyhow without waking up and tossing some. Everyone warned about it taking awhile to get a sleep pattern back and it really does.
 
Backbay is absolutely correct. It takes a while to get back to normal sleep patterns and what you are describing is completely normal. You must just take your naps when and where you can get them.

You didn't mention icing. You will benefit by going to bed with ice wrapped as much as possible around your knee. I used two large gel packs and kept them there all night. Either my husband or (later in recovery) I would get up once to replace them during the night (I had 4 and always kept 2 in the freezer). I would put one on the front of my knee and one behind it.

It is quite common also to get swelling in the back of your knee. You might not see it, but it can be there. Ice and pain meds will help with that. You are still taking something regularly for pain, aren't you? It may be that you need to take one of your hydrocodones at bedtime. Sometimes something stronger is needed to give you restful sleep.

But DON'T put a pillow under the bed of your knee. It increases your risk of a blood clot forming and you don't want to do that! Instead....try the ice and pain meds. And just know that you will need to get up and move around sometimes and you may need to nap during the day at this stage.
 
Oh yes, the tight band feeling. I certainly had it on my first TKR, and have now got it on my second. It's like rubber bands inside the knee.

I was also told not to put a pillow under the knee itself in bed, as it cas result in a permanent bend. With my first (left) TKR I could only get comfy sleeping on my back with lots of pillows under my head so that I was more or less sitting up. As I usually sleep on my side, I didn't like it at all, and often woke up with my mouth open and a horrible dry feeling in it!

With my right TKR, now 13 days old, I have been able to sleep on my side from the start - very weird. I am not over-comfortable I must admit, but I'm not using any extra pillows - just one for my head - and am getting a reasonable night's sleep.

I can't say hat I notice the tight band feeling in knee 1, which is now 6 months old, so the feeling does go away eventually. Probably took several months though.

Val
 
I'd more describe it as having a mole wrench clamped on my knee! When I mentioned that to Builder Bob (my brother!) he said his wife had said exactly the same thing! She had a partial about 2 yrs ago. Her's is gone now. Mine is slowly reducing but every so often likes to have an upsurge just to let me know who's boss - and certainly ain't me at this juncture!

It's all part of the healing process so don't worry about it too much. If bad is just another type of pain so ice and pills are the order of the day - as per usual!
 
Actually, the mole wrench is quite a good description of the feeling! My Dad was a woodwork teacher so I do know what a mole wrench is!


Keep taking the tablets! (It's a joke saying in our family - don't know where it originated from though!).
 
Psychiatric care, I believe, Val!
[Bonesmart.org] tight band feeling & sleeping in bed

 
yep, those are called "Vise Grips" in North America. Because that's the trademarked name over here since 1924.
https://img521.imageshack.us/my.php?image=visegrips.jpg

I became curious (irritating but incurable trait of mine) about why they are called mole grips in the UK, so I did some looking into it. And the reason is because a similar design was made by the W.K. Mole and Sons company starting in 1955. If you look at the two photos, you can see that the rivets and the spring placement is different in the two designs. I suspect this is how the Mole company got around the patented Vise Grip name, by making some changes or improvements. I have used both, and they both work fine. Beware Chinese copies, however. They can pinch the dickens out of your hand when you release the tension lever on some of them.
 
I am almost 5 wks post TKR. The vice grips are my bigggest complaint. I walked in to my OS's office last Friday and told him something was wrong, he X-rayed and said all was fine. I am so glad to find this discussion board and know that I am not the only one with this problem.
How long does this take to go away?
Also, it seems that I am getting stiffer every day. I do my Pt 2 X'S a day at home and go OP 3 X's a week. Today I was at 102 which is improvement. I can do all the exercises, ride the bike for over 10 minutes etc. However, I seem to get stiffer every day. Is this normal? What can I do to help with the stiffness?
I am 53 yrs old, had the next gen by Smith and Nephew, walking with no support and driving. Still taking some meds everyday.
Thanks for any and all advice.
 
Welcome to the forum, Mrsmac. So glad you decided to join us, but sorry to hear you are in the middle of that "vice grip pain" thing. At 5 weeks out, you are still pretty new to the recovery process, but I would expect that type of pain to lessen in the next month or so. You didn't mention any pain meds, icing and elevating that you might be doing....are you doing those things too on schedule all through the day and night? That is important at your stage in recovery when you are experiencing pain. Your knee can have swelling - even if you don't see it, it can be there. The swelling makes it more difficult to bend your knee comfortably.
 
Exactly what I was going to say, Jamie. MrsMac, even I recently fell into the trap of not considering the vice grip as a form of pain! Some days it would be really intense but I'd not take pain killers because it didn't fit my notion of pain. But it was! I am now being more active in taking my pills and things are much better.

If your's motivated you to go to your OS and claim that something was wrong, then you need to reconsider. There is something wrong! You're managing your pain adequately! Simple!
 
I was told not to use a pillow for comfort under my knee sideways but could use it long ways, lying my whole leg on it for comfort by a nurse. That way there is no bend. I hope that is true. It really is comfortable.
Sharon
 
Thank you for your replys. I am icing after each exercise session and periodically at other times throughout the day.
I am taking oxycodone and was down to 2 a day but have had to increase it as the pain has increased.
What about the stiffness? Is it normal for it to get tighter? This morning I did all of my PT but the stiffness almost made it unbearable.
 
With my first TKR I think the stiffness lasted for many weeks, and did seem to get worse before it got better. With the latest one, now 2 weeks old, I also think the stiffness is getting worse. I suspect that it's because I'm not doing enough exercise! Your experience sounds normal to me.
 
Gringo, well done on the research into Mole and Vise grips. This forum is certainly a font of information. (Is that the right word, or do I mean 'fount'?)
 
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