TKR TKR left on January 20, 2020
- Thread starter Jill4dunc
- Start date
OP
OP
Jill4dunc
new member
- Joined
- Feb 6, 2020
- Messages
- 3
- Country
United States
- Gender
- Female
Had surgery on the 20th and after reading some of the post I feel a lot better. Had sadness/depression, knee clicking, pain in the center of knee. I feel like when walking I flip my operated leg or it just feels weird. Is this normal?
Hello @Jill4dunc , and 
It's still early days and walking normally is difficult at first. If you can, try to lift and bend the knee of your operated leg as you co to step forward, so that you avoid bringing it round the side. Imagine you're having to step over something on the floor.
Here are our recovery guidelines:
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:
3. Do what you want to do BUT
4. PT or exercise can be useful BUT take note of these
5. Try to follow this
6. Access to 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 the 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 the member’s history before providing advice, so please post any updates or questions you have right here in this thread.
It's still early days and walking normally is difficult at first. If you can, try to lift and bend the knee of your operated leg as you co to step forward, so that you avoid bringing it round the side. Imagine you're having to step over something on the floor.
Here are our recovery guidelines:
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. Try to follow this
6. Access to 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 the 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 the member’s history before providing advice, so please post any updates or questions you have right here in this thread.
Hello,@Jill4dunc and welcome. I joined this forum when I had my first TKR and found it so helpful. I’m sure you‘re doing fine. It’s just that you question every symptom and feeling. The first couple of weeks are the worst, then it begins to get better.
Lindylee
post-grad
Hi, I posted yesterday, but it must have got lost when the server went down.
We're knee twins! I had my RTKR the same day as yours and the LTKR a year ago. I had a lot of pain in the centre of my kneecap with the first one. Lifting, lowering the leg, trying to stand up was excruciating to begin with. It does improve though so hang on in there.
No-one tells you about all the various aches, pains, clunks, clicks or sleep deprivation beforehand, which is why Bonesmart is such a boon. The first 4 weeks were the worst for me last time and then it improved with a few backward steps along the way.
This time it's been much easier, reinforcing what everyone says about no two knees being the same. So, don't compare yourself with anyone else. Your knee will get better in its own time. Good luck!
We're knee twins! I had my RTKR the same day as yours and the LTKR a year ago. I had a lot of pain in the centre of my kneecap with the first one. Lifting, lowering the leg, trying to stand up was excruciating to begin with. It does improve though so hang on in there.
No-one tells you about all the various aches, pains, clunks, clicks or sleep deprivation beforehand, which is why Bonesmart is such a boon. The first 4 weeks were the worst for me last time and then it improved with a few backward steps along the way.
This time it's been much easier, reinforcing what everyone says about no two knees being the same. So, don't compare yourself with anyone else. Your knee will get better in its own time. Good luck!
I was so blessed to have found Bonesmart 6 months before my tkr. My then OS did a meniscus repair and said I needed the tkr. I had to wait 6 months before a new OS would do it, so I just started searching for information about a knee replacement. That's when I was led to Bonesmart and have been here ever since!
