Posted , 11 users are following.
I had TKR on 19Aug17. My knee seems to be healing well but my back is sooo bad. When will it get better it is really bringing me down. I thought I would be well on the way to recovery by now.
Anyone else in the same situation?
0 likes, 12 replies
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sharonc67 ellen1920
Posted
jenny80029 ellen1920
Posted
Maybe seeing a physio might help? Strengthening exercises for the whole body are helpful after knee replacement.
mariana71899 ellen1920
Posted
So sorry to hear that,Ellen!! Only your doctor will be able to determine if it knee related or it was there before knee surgery and it just did flare up! Ck with a spine dr.!!! The best of luck!!🙏
cheryl90571 ellen1920
Posted
Hi Ellen!
Sorry to hear that your back is hurting so much!😧 My lower back is a bugger and really flares up when it rains. I use Ibuprofen as needed and IcyHot roll-on regularly so I can keep going. I have arthritis in a number of places in my body. Maybe you, too, are experiencing arthritis in your back as well.
Another big help for me is wearing a support panty garment which not only holds in my tummy but supports my back. It reaches up under my bra to give maximum support to my whole midsection. It really helps support my lower back!😄 It plus the IcyHot warms the lower back area like I am walking around with my own personal heating pad. Ahhhhhh!😁
Osteoarthritis is sneaky.😎 It lies in wait and POPS OUT when you least expect it! You get your knees replaced. They feel good ( or at least BETTER than they HAVE felt for YEARS!) Then arthritis rears up someplace else in your body. I've read that areas that have been injured or overused tend to be the targets for newly-felt pain of arthritis. It is a DUMB DISEASE!!!👿😡🤧👹
Anyway, strengthening exercises as mentioned DO help. Many have had great success with a chiropractor.
You are definitely NOT alone on this!?? Try some things mentioned. Maybe see about x-rays to see if something else is going on.
Let us know how things go for you. We back sufferers stand in solidarity with you!??
Oldfatguy1 ellen1920
Posted
You only have to look back at the way you favored the knee to try and prevent pain Before youhad the surgery. You change your pace, your way of getting up from a chair, from sitting down, getting in and out of a car, every other movement is altered in the name of pain avoidance. Now you suddenly have this fantastic knew appliance and the crest of your body is a mess. Go slowly with excercise to stretch and strengthen the muscles. I thought I was doing great after my original tkr when 6 years later I started becoming a back cripple instead of a knee cripple. Suddenly the pain was violent and had me bringing an invalid. I had an MRI which showed a severe compression of the L4/5 section of the spine. I had to have a decompression surgery and immediately I was out of pain and going again. A few months ago I picked my wife up from the floor after one of her Parkinson's disease related falls and I now find myself faced with the same outlook. This coming Wed i have another MRI and suspect its surgery time again bit even though I'm nearly 81 I'm not dreading it....not happy, you understand, but not running from it. However; I'm sure not going to pick her up again, ill call med act and stand back watching the 30 year olds pick her off the floor and check her out for injuries. Her disease has gotten bad enough that she has fallen 8 or 9 times this year with me holding on to her twice. Unfortunately when the brain and legs disconnect that's the end result but with my history of 11 surgeries on my knee/leg I can't play retriever and I have to admit it.
As for helping your problem...slow down, way down. Long strides-as long as you body allows with comfort, continue to strengthen the legs but slowly, get a physical therapist to five you some exercises to stretch and slowly add exercises for strength. Use alternating ice and heat to loosen the Lower back. hydrate all day every day. The body can't function without lubrication, be steady but not in a hurry to get it all back at once because it won't happen.
Look up Professor Chico Marx's ongoing litiney to the feeble. E en for axtransplanted Texan he has some very viable passages to read and follow. Good luck, you'll make it, but not without some effort
CHICO_MARX ellen1920
Posted
Back pain and sciatica are common because we change our gait to avoid the knee pain. We can "throw out" our lower back, hips and pelvis plus lock up our SI joints. This happens to a lot of people. I've always had success with my chiropractor fixing me up pretty quickly. No docs, no pills. Try some Voltaren Gel (RX in the US) as a great topical anti-inflammatory.
Depressions...just a Jedi Mind Trick...
https://patient.info/forums/discuss/tkr-and-post-operative-depression-604195
Totally common. It's not real. Kick its butt out the door.
Lywn ellen1920
Posted
It seems that the more I try to bend my knee the more pain I have in my lower back, thigh, and ankle. It is getting me down also. I don't feel like I over do the exercises. If I do them at all everything hurts. I see the physio tomorrow. My IBS has also gone crazy this week also. Thanks to everyone.
CHICO_MARX Lywn
Posted
lindak55 CHICO_MARX
Posted
Out of interest, I used to go to a chiropractor for my back and knees before they got so painful. Have had a right TKR and back surgery - decompression and have a cage inserted between, I think 5&6. Have shied away from my chiro since then. I have told myself that the back pain is because I am walking badly due to left knee being so painful and have been pinning my hopes on my left TKR (which is tomorrow) to also ease back pain. Now from the above it sounds like that is not the case!
I also get a pain down the front of my thigh, could this be muscular? Or can Sciatica be front and back? I am also experiencing numbness again, in my feet, mainly when lying on my back, but sometimes whilst seated. However if I change position this goes. A physio said it is probably nerve related and suggested I ask my GP for Amitriptyline, however, I have chosen not to pursue this till post op as I already had issues at my pre op with high BP, which delayed the TKR. If anyone had told me two years ago I would be looking forward to this op, I would have said they are out of their mind!
CHICO_MARX lindak55
Posted
I have had many cases of sciatica over the years. During my hockey days (45+ years), I'd sometimes fall on my hip while skating without pads and not be able to get out of bed the next morning. Chiropractor..."pretzel twist"...cured. Other times, like 5-weeks post-TKR, the sciatica was caused by locked SI joints...took a few weeks to fix.
Besides The TKR, I have a metal hip plus two lumbar spine fusions. I'm lucky to have a chiropractor with a lot of experience with metal spines...they have to be very careful. Heather treats me very well and keeps me going. Not easy. I go to her before taking any drugs. I also use topical Voltaren Gel for inflammation.
ellen1920
Posted
How long will it take to go. I am so depressed about it and am going to see a counselor in a few days.
edwinar ellen1920
Posted
I had a knee replacement two years ago and have had sever back pain ever since. People have told me it's my gait, but I have a snapping and popping noise in my hip. I have been to 4 doctors had a spec scan, mri and multiple injections. Had I have known I probably would have opted out of the knee replacement. I agree it is quite depressing and life altering.