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'It will never feellike a normal knee'

Posted , 9 users are following.

christine83627
christine83627

Hi

I am still lurking around this site and have learnt a lot about knee replacement.

I will have to have a knee replacement at some time but I am terrified of this opertion so I have read a lot about it so that I am as informed as possible.

I am puzzled by the statement that it will never fell completely like a normal knee that I so often read and wondered if anyone could try and tell me how it feels different.

I have had a hip replacement which had to be redone but it feels pretty much like a normal hip apart from the occasional ache so I am just curious about why a knee replacement feels different to a normal knee.

1 like, 35 replies

35 Replies

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  • veronica91735
    veronica91735 christine83627

    Posted

    8 months on, & I can say it feels like a lump of lead (which I suppose it is). Mine has not gone smoothly, & I am booked in for a revision, but I have not met anyone who hasn't said it feels like a normal knee. You are very aware of it. I have a friend who has got used to it, she also had both hips done previously, & said there is no comparision to the two proceedures. There must be folk who get on fine with their new knee, but they are not likely to be on a site that helps all of us with our woes! They are the lucky ones who get back to work asap etc etc. You may fall in that category!
    • sarah87162
      sarah87162 veronica91735

      Posted

      I get on fine with my new knee and I am on this site!!

      Yes it is not like a normal knee but if you get to the point where you need a knee replacement then your knee is not normal anyway.

      If it'snot broken don't fix it!

      Sarah x

  • Dotty_Lotty
    Dotty_Lotty christine83627

    Posted

    I am only 12 week post op, so maybe mine is not a balanced view.My new knee is heavy (my prosthesis weighs much more than my old knee)it still feels like a bit of machinery, in addition to look at my new knee is much larger so my legs are now odd(this is not due to sweeling)I can actually hear it moving ! I have a large numb area due to nerve damage during surgery! people who have had it done longer than me tell me that they  are still aware of it being different. Those are the negative aspects,but on a positive note apart from the expected post op discomfort , THE PAIN HAS GONE , so I guess this is the biggest difference, good luck
  • sarah87162
    sarah87162 christine83627

    Posted

    I had TKR 3 years ago. It was very successful.It is not like a normal knee but if your get to the point where you need a knee replacement then yur knee is not normal anyway.

    Yes it is a long recovery period and hard work but well worth it in the end.

    It is certainly nothing to be frightened about.

    Take care and keep in touch.

    Praying for you.

    Sarah xx

  • martinarvelo
    martinarvelo christine83627

    Posted

    I don't know if it will ever feel totally normal . .23 weeks now, and it still hurts going down stairs, is still totally numb on the outside of the knee, and there is still a feeling of tightnessI above the knee. . . but I can walk well, can bend to 120 which I think is about as far as I am going to get . .and apart from the occasional ache is pain free, so definitely an improvement on what it was like before.
    • christine83627
      christine83627 martinarvelo

      Posted

      Thanks for your reply and glad to hear that you are doing well. My main problem is pain when walking and the feeling of bones in my knee grating and grinding over each other. Going up and down stairs is very difficult and when I wake up in the morning have to come downstairs one at a time

      Not sure how much longer I can wait before surgery

    • martinarvelo
      martinarvelo christine83627

      Posted

      Probably not a good idea to leave it too long. . also important to prepare for it, strengthening arm muscles to prepare for using the crutches, and if possible strengthening leg muscles as well.  Apparently that helps with recovery afterwards.   My knee sounds as if it was similar to yours. . bruning pain after walking for a few minutes, unable to go up or down stairs normally. I had an arthroscopic op first, but it made it worse, so had to go for the TKR . . glad I had it done now! (I wasn;t for the first few weeks I have to admit!)
    • christine83627
      christine83627 martinarvelo

      Posted

      Thanks for the reply. I am doing some exercises already and trying to stay as active as possible. Do you find it easier to go up and down stairs after the op
    • martinarvelo
      martinarvelo christine83627

      Posted

      I'm OK going up stairs now. . no problem . . but going down is still painful . . it seems to cause pain both in the knee and the hip, probably because I am not really doing the movement properly, trying to avoid pain.  I'm not sure why it hurts, because I have enough bend to cope with it . .(120)  Actually, at the moment I'm back to one at a time, but not because of the knee, but the ankle on the 'good 'leg, which I think is tarsal tunnel syndrome . . like carpal tunnel syndrome, but on the ankle, so I fear I may be back in the operating room soon!  Still, I thihnk it will be a lot easier than a TKR . . . 
    • Dotty_Lotty
      Dotty_Lotty martinarvelo

      Posted

      Hi, I have had a similar problem  with coming down stairs, the physio told me the problem was not entirely with the bend but, to do with the quads not being strong enough, he gave me targeted excercises and now 4 weeks later I can (just about ) get down ,without resorting to one at a time, hope your ankle improves soon, best wishes
    • martinarvelo
      martinarvelo Dotty_Lotty

      Posted

      thanks Dotty . .that's interesting, as when I bend my knee I can't really see why I get such pain going down stairs. . .better start on those darned exercises again i suppose!  Ankle a bit better today . .i've been padding about the house with no shoes, which I know is a mistake. . so now I'm using the proper shoes with the proper insole to support the arch . . I think I may have caught it in time.  Certainly less painful today!
    • irish_linda
      irish_linda martinarvelo

      Posted

      going down stairs is difficult when quads are week the one way to see how week they are is to stand in the kitchen with your hands on the work top for support  then stand on op leg  only and attempt to squat on the op leg it probably will shake trying to do it if you can do it at all so it shows how much the muscles need building up
    • martinarvelo
      martinarvelo irish_linda

      Posted

      I'll give it a try. don;t somehow think I shall succeed at that though!  Just tried it. three or four seconds fine, then it started to tremble.  Can't do it at all with the good leg though . . ankle won't let me.
  • irish_linda
    irish_linda christine83627

    Posted

    well i try and explain why if i can ive got 2 new knees first you will never be able to kneel  down which i really miss as i cant get down to clean out presses that are down low .because of this also if i bend the  more than my knee will allow  (ive got 110 on one and just under 100 on the other ) im in agony even if it only lasts a few minuites is scary .the knee is more complicated than the hip as its a hinge. another  thing that the new knee cant do easy is to get up off the ground on your own without the help of holding on to something to lever you up  i supose what im trying to say its different because i have to do things with my knee in mind rather then just doing it as i did before my knee replacement
    • martinarvelo
      martinarvelo irish_linda

      Posted

      I can actually kneel . .although I do it only 'in extremis' and on a very soft pillow or cushion. My bend is about 120, although after icing I did actually manage to get to 130 today   . .I know kneeling is not recommended so I don't do it very often, but today I was trying to sort out linens which are in the spcae under the bed, and there was really no way to do it without getting on the floor.  I'm nearly six months post TKR . .and I'm hoping that the stiffness and pain may subside even more, and I'll be able to go down stairs like a normal person. it certainly takes time. . how long ago were your TKR's???
    • susan33930
      susan33930 martinarvelo

      Posted

      When you say about bend, my physio told me this week that my new knee wouldn't go beyond 120 (I'm only at 90 on my own but he pushed it to 110 without pain).  Is this not correct - do they go further?
    • irish_linda
      irish_linda martinarvelo

      Posted

      my bi lateral was done in december 2012 but my tibia (shin bone) was broken during the op on one knee ,3 mths later i had broken cement in that knee and it had to be opened up and cleaned out .so that knee was not right later in sept 1013 i had keyhole mau to bend it that didnt work for long .so last august 2014 i had a revision tkr and im slowly getting there after a misserable two and a half years
    • martinarvelo
      martinarvelo susan33930

      Posted

      There have been people on here who have achieved 150, but I believe it does depend on the particular joint which they have inserted . . I would have thought it should definitely go above 120 though, and on a young person I am sure they should have put a prosthesis capable of a good bend, unless there is something about your knee which would make that unadvisable. . .Got to 130 yesterday with a bit of pushing and shoving!
    • martinarvelo
      martinarvelo irish_linda

      Posted

      You certainly have had a hard time of it. . .I hope that this is the definitive cure now and that you'll finally enjoy the benefits of the new knee . . what a saga!
    • irish_linda
      irish_linda martinarvelo

      Posted

      yes it is but im thankfully getting there and i hope maybe people will see we can get our lives back it maybe a little different but it also can be good
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