TKR Patience really is a virtue….

[Loulou67]

I’m 18 weeks post op…. Been back at work for 5 weeks and doing okay.
Today I did 11000 steps across the day, at work.
I have to drive 50 mins to work then 50 min home.
My knee is not happy with me this evening.
Driving home, each time I changed gear I felt almost a sharp pain in my operated knee.
I know this is a long recovery, but are others who are this far along their journey feeling the same as me??
Before my knee got really bad I easily did 15-20k steps a day so 10k is not a lot for me, but I’m exhausted!!!

 

[mendogal]

You're less than five months into a one year recovery.

Your knee only has one "voice" with which to complain - pain and swelling - and generally it's simply overdoing things plus stopping the elevation and icing regimen. Almost all of of us go through this periodically after the first three months because we deeply want things to be "normal."

If pain is accompanied by redness, heat, fever, or unusual new swelling, you'd want to contact your ortho team.

And yes, it takes a long time to regain our stamina as well!

 

[cowbelle]

LouLou_
thank you so much for sharing your struggles and frustrations over the past 18 weeks. I am 6 weeks out- and I feel so reassured by your journey. It is helping me not stress so much on the little things. and it is a great encouragement to see the big picture and maintain patience.

 

[Jockette]

Before my knee got really bad I easily did 15-20k steps a day so 10k is not a lot for me, but I’m exhausted!!!

Yes, before your TKR you could walk that far, but then you had major surgery. As @mendogal said, this is a year long recovery, on average.

 

[EalingGran]

Today I did 11000 steps across the day, at work.
I have to drive 50 mins to work then 50 min home.
My knee is not happy with me this evening.
Driving home, each time I changed gear I felt almost a sharp pain in my operated knee.
I know this is a long recovery, but are others who are this far along their journey feeling the same as me??

I think you are doing really really well.
I was regularly walking the kind of distances you are doing at your stage and that didn't cause me problems- although I would still get a bit hot and sore. I used to have a good walk in the morning and then rest/ ice in the afternoon with the newspaper or a book.
But there is no way I could have worked or driven those kind of distances at your stage- particularly with a manual gear change. My knee didn't like being stuck in one position and needed either rest or gentle movement. I remember it getting really aggravated by being bent in a too small theatre seat at around 6 months.
I can now (at over a year) walk any distance I like. I have done days when it is almost 20,000 steps and it really doesn't trouble me. You will get back to your old activities level- but it is still early days and you must listen to your knee. It is tough if you need to drive those distances but try to fit in some rest/ icing if you can.
Good luck!

 

[Loulou67]

19 weeks post op and another busy busy day at work.
12500 steps today…..
I find that when I do that amount of steps at work , I get a bad back after sitting down…. , however, I’m now home and although my leg is mildly throbbing my ankles not swollen, which is a bonus ….
The knee held up okay during the 45 min drive home , which is better than this time last week.
I still elevate my leg before bed , but only ice now and then…..
Sometimes when I’m walking around the shopfloor at work, I forget I’ve had a new knee and find myself striding out across the shop….. it’s a nice feeling to not be crippled with arthritic pain in the knee anymore, although I do find that my right knee is starting to play up a bit….
All in all I’m feeling much happier in myself and although I know I still have a long way to go…… I’m getting there

 

[mendogal]

Re ice: My experience is similar to yours in that despite some soft tissue issues creating swelling and ache (currently addressing) at a certain point my knee simply stopped wanting ice.
As long as your managing an activity-rest balance, and yes elevating in the evening, you'll be ok without regular icing. Do remember to consider it on rough evenings though.

 

[kayakker]

Heading into week 12 and my foot on my new knee leg is so painful. I purchased some high end insoles last week ($50) to help support the arch in my foot and hopefully alleviate some of the pain in my toes. Really working on heel-to-toe steps and making sure my knees are pointing straight ahead rather than drifting to the inside or outside of my gait. It is a daily effort but I am seeing some improvement. Walking a mile at max....

 

[EalingGran]

The knee held up okay during the 45 min drive home , which is better than this time last week.
I still elevate my leg before bed , but only ice now and then…..
Sometimes when I’m walking around the shopfloor at work, I forget I’ve had a new knee and find myself striding out across the shop….. it’s a nice feeling to not be crippled with arthritic

Sounds like really great progress. Being able to forget the knee was one of the really good signs for me.
I think your driving and working level are amazing.

 

[Loulou67]

So I’m now 21 weeks post TKR of my left knee.
I’ve just had a weeks annual leave from work where we travelled to our cottage in Ireland.
I’ve due back at work tomorrow and over the past 2-3 days I’ve noticed a soreness on the outside of my leg.
It feels sore when I go up and down stairs and it’s been more difficult getting in and out of the car, and I feel like I’ve gone slightly backwards, despite having had no stairs to contend with for the last week.
I know this is a year long recovery and I’m not half way there yet but I guess I just wanted to know if anyone else on the same timeline as me has had similar issues? My op was 20th Oct 2023.

 

[Layla]

Hi Loulou,
I am sorry you're dealing with this right before your return to work.
Since the soreness is new over the past two to three days, possibly you overdid it with activity? Hopefully you don't have to be on your feet all day at work and you're able to rest and ice in the evening once you return home.
Let us know how you're doing in a couple days if you have the time. Wishing you comfort and speedy relief.
@Loulou67

 

[AnnYo]

Hi @Loulou67 --I can relate to what you're saying --I've felt that way in the recent past--like for no reason that I can put my finger on, I feel like I've plateaued or even regressed a little. Honestly the whole recovery kind of makes you feel a little crazy sometimes, doesn't it? Like one minute you realize things feel pretty good and then you get some weird pain or you are so stiff when you get up. I hope this latest feeling you're having will pass soon and can be relegated to what, for me, is a long list of things that worried me but eventually resolved themselves. I'll be following your progress!

 

[Maisie8]

Hi @Loulou67 I know exactly what you mean. I had my right knee replacement 5 days before yours and it’s been very up and down. I too have had a few episodes of new pain and stiffness and of feeling like I’ve regressed and come to a brick wall in the healing and recovery process. It can be alarming and depressing. When this happens, I go back to basics with rest and elevation ( and ice if swelling is involved ) and gentle exercises just to keep from stiffening up. Within a few days … or in one particular case, about a month… it sorts itself out and I’m back to where I feel I should be with it.
Yesterday I was on my exercise bike and completed with ease my 30 minute daily workout and I remembered how I once came home from a physio session about 8 weeks after op and was close to tears as I couldn’t move my knee enough to get a full rotation on the pedals. I felt like I would never improve.
I guess I’m trying to say that it’s a continual process of change. Most of it is in the right direction but every now and again there’s a detour on the road to recovery. x

 

[Loulou67]

Is it normal to still not be able to kneel on your operated knee, 5 months post op? I tried today and it really hurt ??

 

[mendogal]

It's certainly not unusual.

I assume you are talking about going down on the knee without fully flexing it? So your derriere is still well up in the air? Yep, even that can be dicey for some at five months.

At five months I surely wouldn't try actual kneeling with my butt approaching my heel, especially if my good knee wasn't bearing an equal load.

At 14 months and 9 months I can do a bilateral partial kneel, flexed nicely, butt not touching heels. Main issue is my numb/dysesthesia issue makes it feel weird

 

[Susie-Q]

Yes, kneeling takes awhile to not hurt. Everything is still healing in there at 5 months post-op. I'm at 2-1/2 years post op now and can kneel without too much discomfort on a pad for weeding, exercises, etc. It takes awhile and practice helps!

I cannot sit on my heels and don't know if I ever will be able to. My implants (or my body!) just won't allow me to bend that far.

 

[Loulou67]

6 months post op and feel like my bend has gone backwards !!!
I now find it harder to walk up the stairs than I do to walk down!!
My knee feels sore every day.
When I walk any distance my knee feels “clunky”
Don’t get me wrong, I no longer have the arthritic pain that I had , which is great… I just have to remember I’m only halfway through the healing journey and try and remain patient….. which is really difficult at times

 

[benne68]

just have to remember I’m only halfway through the healing journey

Exactly! Soreness is normal for a long time. Just be careful not to overdo. As we are feeling better, we have a hard time finding that fine line between too much and just enough.

 

[mendogal]

Hi!

You're in what I consider the danger zone - sometime between 4 and 6 months we figure we're about "done" because we've hit so many significant milestones.... right when we also start slacking off on icing and elevating.

The feeling of regressing is pretty common and yep it's overdoing things!

 

[Dmcfad2]

@Loulou67 I’m the same way! I’ve been feeling better, so I’ve upped my workouts. Spin twice a week. PT twice a week and the gym twice a week. Yesterday my knee was so sore and my IT band kept snapping whenever I bent my leg. It got sore and irritated. Last night i couldn't sleep because it was bothering me so much. I guess i need to back off a little.