Bad pain in back of my knee after straitening exercises

Posted , 9 users are following.

Has anyone else experienced pain in the back of the knee after doing straightening exercises? I am seven weeks PO and doing pretty well as far as the bend in the knee. 124 degrees. I am wondering if there's anything I can put on the back of my need to help the pain?

1 like, 14 replies

14 Replies

  • Posted

    Wow, you are doing well with your bend!

    I've never had pain behind either knee, it's always either side and slightly below the knee-cap.  All I can suggest is ice really...and don't over-do it for a couple of days.

  • Posted

    Don't worry this is perfectly normal. If you are bending to 124 after 7 weeks that is very very good. When I had TKR 3 years ago I had a follow up appointment with consultant at 6 weeks and only just got bend to 90 then.

    Take care and keep in touch

    Sarah

  • Posted

    I often have pain in the back of my knees. Sometimes it is after walking a lot. Sometimes it is after straightening exercises. Sometimes it is after sitting awhile.

    Ice helps when put on the back and front of the knee. Another thing that helps is putting a wedge or several books or a rolled up towel against the wall and putting the front of both feet on the towel or books or wedge then leaning toward the wall. Hold for thirty seconds and repeat several times. Keep your feet on the floor and don't lift your heels.

    I asked my surgeon why this pain happens. He said swelling in the back of the knee can cause ligaments to catch in weird positions. Reducing swelling helps a lot.

    .

  • Posted

    Hi Nancy,

    I also get pain in the back of my knee. Before my TKR I had a huge cyst there, so in an odd way the pain didn't surprise me.

    You are doing fantastic with your bend! Good for you!! Keep up the great work.

    I will second the suggestion of using ice behind your knee. I also massage the back of my knee when I massage the front and sides.

  • Posted

    hi nancy you are doing great with the bend ,put in the work on the straightening its sooo important ,the pain at the back of the knee is very normal when working on straightening especially if your leg is not straight it will improve its just telling you to work on it ,if you dont you would end up walking with a bent leg and you would have alot more pain and tiredness .as for putting something on it i would suggest before you do the stretching excersises put a hot water  bottle under your knee for awhile to warm up the musscles they stretch easier when warmed up .afterwards you can put ice under the knee to help with pain after stretching
    • Posted

      Thanks for your reply, I will try the heat under the knee. Sounds logical. My leg is almost strait. Only has a little to go to match the other. After PT it is really sore walking. I am wondering if pain cream or spray would work?
    • Posted

      inflamatory cream might help but also if you could get anti inflamatorys  tablets for a few weeks to help while excersising they i found were a great help
    • Posted

      I am taking molded which is an anti-inflammatory but I haven't really noticed a lot of help with swelling. There are some days I take my tramadol just because I'm having more pain that day. I guess it just depends on what I did the day before :-)
  • Posted

    This is normal. When I was having this problem, my PT said to put moist heat on the BACK of my knee for about 20 minutes, a couple of times a day. At 7 weeks you are doing great!! I am now 23 weeks and my bend is 123, haven't been able to get it any better...sad but I keep trying. TKR is a long and arduous road, but somehow we manage to get through it. For some reason the straightening of the knee is more important than the bend, so it is important to get the leg straight. Once that is done, things tend to 'fall into place'.  Keep up the good work!!! 
    • Posted

      wow 123 bend if i had that id be asking people to pinch me as i would not have believed it , turn that face to a happy one  !!!!!!!! well done biggrin
    • Posted

      Thank you for your encouragement. I will change my attitude now and tell myself I am doing good thanks to all the reports I get on this blog. It is really help me to read these blogs.
    • Posted

      I'm trying to get to 130 bend, but it hurts, so I really don't push it too much.

      I'm getting more PT, since I developed a pain in the back of my calf and up into my thigh. The Dr. ruled out DVT and thinks it might have something to do with my lower back. He sent me for PT to work on core exercises. I start them tomorrow.

    • Posted

      You're welcome. Knee replacement is a b-tch, ups and downs, emotions all over the place, pain, sleeplessness...so much they don't tell you. At least a year to get 'back to normal'...this is one of the worst replacement surgeries a person can have. I found this site by chance and it has been a godsend. People going through what you are, people ahead of you, telling what you can expect as you heal...It's a great place to complain, ask questions, advise others...we're all in the same boat, so hang in there...things will get better with time.
  • Posted

    Hi Nancybone64

    I am 5wks PO with TKR and I too am bending ok approx 125 %, however I just can't straighten my knee as I walked for 4 yrs with a bent knee as a result of walking bone on bone. So I have 4 yrs of bad walking to try and undo as well as recover from the TKR.

    I find that when I press just above my knee whilst sucking in my quads and count for 10 several times, I also get a horrible aching at back of knee. My whole knee feels such a huge pressure all around, just like a blood pressure cuff when it's at blow up point, and this feeling is constant 24/7. It's really getting me down and I don't know when if ever things will change. I wish you well in your recovery.

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