9 weeks after tkr
Posted , 4 users are following.
It's 9 weeks now my flex is 105° but i feel as though when I'm trying to straighten my leg it's a chore my leg feels uncomfortable I know they twist and turn the leg during surgery and wonder if they've aligned it differently to how it was. It also feels like toothache not so much pain but aches. Is anyone else experiencing this. I ice regularly do the exercises my PT is happy with my progress but if only I felt it. Sleeping was OK but this last week terrible. It seems to have happened since I last saw my PT in the gym and she worked me for 35 minutes. Coincidence?
1 like, 3 replies
nwf477 ann18637
Posted
This whole ordeal is something you would thinks after a period of time you should be farther ahead sorry it does not work that way. After 9 weeks 105 is not bad some do better some do worse its your knee not anyone's just yours. Yes it will get better but it will not get better according to any schedule. I have had 5 TKR's on average by the 5th to 6th month you can really tell your well on your way to recovery. Every time I have had this surgery you keep thinking when will this pain stop when will I be able to fully bend or straighten out my leg?? Trust me it wears on you I for one cannot stand being miserable every day it stinks. Based on what you wrote your doing fine if you think about how your knee feels now in comparison to when you first got home from the hospital it has gotten better since you wrote it feels like a toothache. Its still annoying but its still better. Your doing everything correctly just keep it up!! As far as sleeping I know with my current knee issues if I over do it besides the swelling pain etc. trying to get comfortable is tough. Sometimes I lay on my back with a pillow under my knee or I lay on my side with the pillow between both knees and if it really is bugging me I will wrap my knee in ice and fall asleep with the ice wrap on. So in answer to your question you more then likely over did it and once your knee settles down you should be able to sleep better.
CHICO_MARX ann18637
Posted
Here are some extra tips for at home...
https://patient.info/forums/discuss/tkr-rom-work-at-home-620053
#3 is a KILLER. You will absolutely need a pillow to scream into. Very cathartic...
Took me to week 12 to get to -1 / +123 from my original -14 / +84. It takes time and work. Yes, there can be more pain after an intense PT session. Take your meds ON SCHEDULE!!!
What? You thought that this would all be over in a few months? Silly wabbit. It takes a year...accept it...own it. After the ROM comes the muscle rebuild so that you can walk correctly, regain your balance and do stairs again like a normal person. Da plan...
https://patient.info/forums/discuss/post-tkr-exercising-565527
This is mandatory. You must take all the pressure off the new joint and put it back on your dead quads, glutes and core where it belongs. Cannot be skipped...cannot be avoided. No excuses...do the work. Be patient...you've just started...
linda84382 ann18637
Posted
Because you had pain before surgery you walked to avoid the pain. This puts it so out of alignment that the repair feels abnormal. I've had to adjust to walking normally. My pt kept my leg so swollen I had trouble with straightening my leg. I stopped pt after 6 weeks and rested for a few days and the swelling went down enough to do the exercises. I am 12 weeks post tkr with 130 bend and finally in the last few days totally straight. I sat with knee extended, foot on chair with weights above knee for 10 minutes several times a day. I couldn't stand It any longer. I was getting worried but it worked for me. It will happen. Be patient.