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6 months TKR and in pain

Posted , 52 users are following.

suzidownunder
suzidownunder

Hi everyone. I'm now 6 months post TKR right knee. It's healed very well. No problems and I try to treat it the same as the other leg.

Walking stairs etc are fine

I can put up with the nerve pain - annoying though it is but the muscle pain is really getting me down.

I still have that tightness above the knee which I can feel when walking.

And on standing or trying to exercise the muscles in the side of the leg and thigh are very painful and I need to hobble a few steps before I can walk.

I have good bend @ 130 but only 2 degrees

for straightening (but still trying)

Is this the same for everyone? Pain wise?

3 likes, 92 replies

92 Replies

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  • patsyrose
    patsyrose suzidownunder

    Posted

    Hi Suzi

    I am the same at 8 months.  I had MUA's on both knees because I couldn't straighten after some months, but my last one didn't make any difference.  Except that it hurts more...all around the knee cap.  This knee has always hurt, right from waking up in the recovery room.  My quads have historically always been very tight, and this hasn't helped.  Like you, I have to stand for a while and let my leg ratchet down before attempting to walk.  It's so frustrating.  I've had another X-ray which shows that my knee is perfectly aligned, but my consultant has said that it must be excess scar tissue.  I could well have to have the knee opened up again at the year stage and have the tissue cut, the spacers replaced and the knee washed out.  I would then have to be on a CPM machine again...and have the leg splinted at nighttime.  Not a nice thing to contemplate!

    I hope that yours loosens up soon.

    Best wishes

    Patsy

    1st TKR Dec 2012 2nd TKR Sept 2014

  • sarah87162
    sarah87162 suzidownunder

    Posted

    It was 3 years today since I had TKR so I am trying to remember what it was like.

    Basically I think it was about a year before I was completely pain free.

    Now it is like having my llife back, the best is yet to come.

    Love Sarah xxx

    • suzidownunder
      suzidownunder sarah87162

      Posted

      Thankyou Sarah. I know I'm still at an early stage but no one tells us that to begin with. My surgeon said I would hate him for 6 weeks and then start to feel better! Well I'm not a hater but hey guess what - I'm still not keen on him lol

      The muscles feel so tight and this tightness above the knee is annoying. It seemed to go away for a while but it soon came back!

      I'll just look forward to the end of another 6 months! smile

    • sarah87162
      sarah87162 suzidownunder

      Posted

      I never hated my surgeon. I loved him from the moment he replaced my knee. I knew it was going to get better because I trusted him.

      He had done his job and it was now up to me to do mine.

      The fact that he had done his job so well gave me the motivation to do mine, I was determined not to waste that opportunity.

      Keep smiling through.

      Lots of love

      Praying for you

      Sarah xxx

  • susan20089
    susan20089 suzidownunder

    Posted

    Yes I am the same.   6 months and leg aches down the side.  The pain goes on.....  I still have problems walking downstairs and bend not that great.  Back to consultant next week!
    • Smoozy
      Smoozy susan20089

      Posted

      Another Susan and 6 months as well, going down stairs hurts much more than going up and my dr explained about quads having to stretch . I can bend it almost the same as my other knee but not quite as much and it hurts on the inside of the knee. Do you have that too?
  • suzanne64053
    suzanne64053 suzidownunder

    Posted

    Hi Suzi. I am 8 months tkr and my knee is still tight and swells. I can go up and downstairs OK and straighten it completely however would like the bend to get better. Most days it is not too painful but I do get lots of either muscle pains in both legs

    I think probably my body is having to walk normally which it hasn't for years. I know someone who had a tkr and they said it takes at least a year till you feel normal again

    • suzidownunder
      suzidownunder suzanne64053

      Posted

      Thankyou - the year mark seems to be the magic number - I'm looking forward to that. Good luck with yours smile
  • CazDesmond
    CazDesmond suzidownunder

    Posted

    Hi Suzi,

    I am now 7 months post TKR. My knee doesn't hurt but it kind of locks up. If I stand still it clicks at the back when I bend it. It clicks at the back quite painfully and quite often, I'm hoping that will pass.

    My other leg, which had nothing wrong with it until my spinal block, which went wrong, is still numb down the outside.

    Last week I got horrible pains in my good leg called shin splints. The doctor thinks it's because it was taking the strain off the TKR leg.

    Caz x

    • suzidownunder
      suzidownunder CazDesmond

      Posted

      Ouch Caz! Shin splints are horrible. I use to get them when running. Well i hope they clear that up for you. If it's not one thing it's another hey!

      Best wishes!

    • melodyw
      melodyw CazDesmond

      Posted

      I ha for surgery July 2016..I've been reading and waiting for someone to use the same terms as I have..lock up and clicking..I'm constantly asking prople who have had this surgery if this is normal...but after four month,i thought it would be better than it is..I was recently kicked on the side of my leg by a disabled child,and I wonder if there was damage done..it does feel a little sore..he didn't kick me real hard,but regardless it was a kick..perhaps like a light fall...if that makes sense..

    • Smoozy
      Smoozy melodyw

      Posted

      Hi my tka was 6 months ago and my knee clicks all the time and it's annoying it's the same clicking I have with my other knee that still needs to be replaced. I asked my surgeon and he just smiled and said its normal but never said if it would go away.

    • catherine73953
      catherine73953 CazDesmond

      Posted

      Caz Deamond,

      I hope you still answer these.  I was wondering if your pain with clicking went away?  I hope your doing very well.  Thanks Cathy

    • lindashaw
      lindashaw melodyw

      Posted

      HiMelodyw,

       I am 6 months out from my TKR (right knee). I also have the clicking in my knee. It’s a loud painful clicking. Other people in the room can here it. Very imbarrassing. I’m also having pain in the center inner left side of my right knee. When I told the doctor on my last visit about the clicking I was informed I will always have the clicking that it is part of the knee they used. I am so angry. Before surgery I ask the doctor and the PA at least 20 times how long will it take to get over the surgery and be back to myself. I was told 6 months every time I ask. Now I being told a year.  I am still going to PT and I can not sleep at night for the pain. When I go from a setting position to a standing position I what to scream the pain is so bad.  The doctor tells me nothing is wrong. I’m finding a new doctor. I never was told that I would be making noise when I walked for the rest of my life. I’ve ask me tkr patients in PT if their knee clicked and the said no. The  prosthesis  that was used was manufactured my a company named Smith and Nephew.

    • catherine73953
      catherine73953 lindashaw

      Posted

      My knee sounds the same as yours does.  I am 7 weeks but it does the same thing.  My Dr. and the internet states a full recovery takes 2 years
    • tina79566
      tina79566 lindashaw

      Posted

      Hi, I had a TKR on my left leg Feb. 1 2018. I just started back to work this week. I run a daycare in my home. I can bend my knee a little over 90 degrees and can straighten it all the way. My muscles are still painful to bend more than the 90 degrees and I also notice my back hurting more than normal. It can be quite frustrating. Thankfully I don’t hear any clicking in my knee. Sometimes I can feel it. My booklet before surgery said that no one would be able to hear any clicking. I also try to stretch my knee every time I sit or when I’m standing by putting up on a step to stretch. It is still painful. How long will that pain last? I haven’t been able to bend my knee for a very long time due to it being in bad shape. 
    • elaine52112
      elaine52112 lindashaw

      Posted

      I'm 6 months past the TKR. No clicking but I have muscular pain all around the knee. The IT band is especially very sore. I have taped up with KT tape all around the knee area for pain relief helps a bit but not for long. Have been told by massage therapist that since my gait is different I will feel soreness in various parts of my body. Am very frustrated that I am not back to normal. How much longer will it take?  Who knows! 

    • tina79566
      tina79566 elaine52112

      Posted

      Wow, I’m sad to hear that you’re in pain 6 months out. I also have pain on the outer side of my knee. I was hoping it will go away in the next month but reading many comments, I am not as hopeful. sad
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