Posted , 10 users are following.
I am at 10 weeks. When i wake every 3 hours my knee is curled. Before i can walk I have to push the knee flat and for several steps it is very painful. Anyone else had this problem?
0 likes, 20 replies
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leslie56933 jean02698
Posted
Hi Jean, It sounds normal ..you are really quite early in recovery. you should call the doc though if it seems unusual. I am seven months out, been off my feet for a few days due to a flu bug and my knee is stiff and very sore. It's going to take a while before you get all the kinks out , best wishes.
jean02698 leslie56933
Posted
I have felt so alone with this surgery. i had a TKR on my right knee 11 years ago and it was nothing like this surgery. Both my surgeon and GP think I am on track. Im so glad i found this forum just to share and chat. The surgeon had problems with my knee cap as it wanted to rest at the side of my knee as it did before surgery. he said he had to shape the knee to stop the knee cap slipping back. The knee was very swollen before surgery and still is quite large. Its twice the size of the other knee.At this point i was better off before the TKR.
melissa34582 jean02698
Posted
Hi Jean, I was wondering about your kneecap sliding?? Can you tell me more? I ask because I am 5 weeks post op and I swear the patella is on the side of my knee. It's very swollen on the left side and above the knee. When I lay on my side on the op knee it feels like something is pushing out the side of my knee. I'm wondering if this maybe my problem. What you said matches the pain and problems I seen to have. Hope you're feeling better!
Melissa
jean02698 melissa34582
Posted
hi Melisa,
I saw the surgeon at 5 weeks and he said the knee cap was not on the side. But it doesnt seem centred to me. Even phsio thought it had moved. My knee while swelling has gone down is still quite large so hard to tell. When i lay on my right side my left knee can be quite painful unless its supported just right by a pillow. i have great difficulty sleeping on my left side...my knee hurts. Also when i climb stairs i can feel pain.
Some nights it can take me a couple of hours to get to sleep.
jean
melissa34582 jean02698
Posted
Thanks Jean! Sounds good!
Melissa
fedupgirl jean02698
Posted
yes i do, i am okay if i go to sleep with my leg straight but if bent it is very painful to walk. Do you have any solution to this problem? I am hoping this will pass in time. I take pain meds to combat this at the moment. Anybody further on that has experienced this.? I find it very upsetting
jean02698 fedupgirl
Posted
My leg curls while i sleep. I think thats my normal sleeping position. i have to stretch the leg for quite a while before i move. When i first stand i go up on my toes. Its only painful for the first 10 steps....feels like bone on bone.im hoping my knee swelling goes down.
jamesAB jean02698
Posted
Hi, I am 11 weeks post operation. At night it seems I can straighten my leg out quite well when lying on my back. If I turn to the side it tends to curl up. I do not get any pain in knee unless I try to stand on it. I can only walk a little using parallel bars at physio. Or slide a few steps on the Zimmer before pain in the knee. On waking leg has little or no swelling but it does tend to swell during the day. Sometimes leg feels like lead other times it feels normal. This alternate during the day. Right lower quadrant of the knee remains numb. Slowly things are improving, I think. It seems this is par for the course!
jean02698 jamesAB
Posted
To straighten my knee, i have to sit up and push it down. I have to be very careful for about 10 steps till the knee becomes stable. When i first get up i need my cane but i can get around in the house without it.
Are you icing and elevating your legs above your heart? I do this several times a day. GOOD LUCK with your recovery.
jamesAB jean02698
Posted
I'm not icing. I do elevate sometimes during the day but not above heart.☹
jean02698 jamesAB
Posted
James the above the heart helps with the swelling.
fedupgirl jean02698
Posted
Hi Jean, i am in my 11th week and my leg some times locks first thing and is painful and stiff to walk on, there is no pain in the knee itself as this is now artificial ha! i think mine is just tight muscles which i need to keep moving but my physio say's i am doing well and "not to push myself too far" and that " i am early days yet" He also say's we all recover at different levels. It's good to chat about it though
jean02698 fedupgirl
Posted
My physio is finished but i go to the gym 3 times weekly. My GP tells me I expect too much.
lynda49844 jean02698
Posted
I'm at 3 weeks today. My knee stiffens if in any one position for too long, but not as bad as it was before surgery. I can sleep on my back or side. The knee is happier on my back, although I'm happier on my side. What I found helped the most is to place 2 pillows (not too bulky) shaped like an upside down T (when looking from the head of the bed) at the bottom of the bed so that my leg is supported from the very top of the thigh (just below the buttock) to the tip of the toes. It has made such a difference.
I elevate and ice for 30-40 minutes 4-5 times a day and do a few heel slides on and off (between 2 & 10) all day whenever I sit down. Some days are better than others, but I can feel it's all going in the right direction, maybe not quite as quickly as I would have liked! One day I can move round quite comfortably indoors without a stick and other times I feel I don't walk correctly without two sticks.
jenny25655 jean02698
Posted
Hi Jean,
I am at 12 weeks now. I also had terrible pain behind my knee. My Physiotherapist gave me exercises to do each day. Some were done standing, some seated and some were bed exercises. The 2 exercises which helped the most were standing with my hands on the wall and the operated leg forward and good leg back doing hamstring stretches 3 stretches for 20 seconds each stretch. You can google how to do these. The other exercise was done while laying on your back in bed. Roll a couple of pairs of socks into a round ball about the size of a softball. Place this under your knee and then straighten your leg focusing on pushing the ball into the bed and hold for 5 seconds then repeat 30 times twice daily. The first 2 or 3 will be uncomfortable but should become easier each day. I do these every day and now have no pain in the back of my knee.
Sleeping is improving . This week is the first time I have enjoyed sleeping on my side.
Hang in there . This group is amazing, it has helped me so much. You feel so hopeless and at times question whether having the surgery was the right thing to do. I am improving each week and you will too.
jean02698 jenny25655
Posted
Thanks Jenny i will try those exercises. i do a stretching on on the stairs that helps. Stand on the lip of the stair and go up on your toes to the count of 5 then push down and count to 10 seconds.
Anyone wake in the night with shin splints? I have been trying Voltaten. It is a topical cream. Not sure if its working or whether the pain just eases off. But these shin splints can wake me from a deep sleep. i have to get up for about an hour til the pain eases.