Posted , 19 users are following.
Hi, I've noticed different stages/phases in my recovery after my knee replacement surgery. The first two weeks were almost unbearable, after that the pain was still there but a little less. At 12 weeks most of my pain was gone and I noticed considerable improvement in strength, bend, etc. What has been your experience as to the different significant stages in your recovery?
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lynn30931 Ozziegee
Posted
Good discussion, Ozziegee - I've been really worrying about my stage & phase myself lately; I'm at 9 weeks post op now. At about 7 weeks post op, I had my first follow-up since TKR, and I was very scared to hear my bend was only at 90, and that at my next follow-up (June 23rd) we would decide on whether or not I'd need manipulation of the knee in another operation to "break up" and get fuller range of motion IF I wanted. Otherwise, if I'm okay with the less bend, they could leave it as is. I've been working on it, but I'm not sure if it's enough. No physical therapy where my rural town is. I've been very confused about everyone else's experiences and advice, some saying take it easy, and that it sometimes takes a LONG time to get that range of motion. Others saying to get it bending fully as soon as possible. I have been having swelling and bruising from trying to bend it each day, which means more icing (even after standing a while daily, needs icing). So then I try to take it easy, but again, worrying they're going to 'rebreak' it because I do feel I want the fuller range of motion (I am a 44 coming on 45 year old, and very active up until a couple years ago when my knee (s) began really degenerating - I joke about it's because I'm an extreme athlete, but truthfully, I've just played basketball and volleyball 1000% all my life. Had a knee blow out at age 20, ACL/MCL/Meniscus reconstruction at age 28, TKR at age 44). For me, it is a daily up and down yet, too, but I do feel better and better every day! Some days, though, admittedly, I curse myself for going through with it, but remember just how bad my knee had gotten, too, helps to look forward. Hearing everyone's stories of 12 weeks, 1 year, 2 years being GREAT, helps. I just went into the whole thing too blind to not chicken out, and so, it is all new, and pretty hard. One thing that's made things complicated, BEFORE I had my TKR, my groin has been pretty disabling, sharp stabbing pain. I thought it was from playing volleyball, it's happened about 2 times a year for a couple, few years, but I always bounced back after rest. Not the last time, though, in late December. My groin has grown worse and worse, and I even talked to many doctors about postponing my TKR until the groin got better, everyone advised to do the TKR, that it'd help in the long run, to not have my body overcompensating for the really bad knee. Well, recovering from TKR, and began walking better & better, then comes my sharp, stabbing, disabling groin pain again! Pretty frustrating. I even sat here crying a few times thinking that NOW I couldn't even have a MRI if I needed on my groin because of the TKR. I was relieved to find information that I could indeed have a MRI if needed. I traveled 5 weeks post op, had gotten in 11,000 steps some days! Then the verdict of manipulation if wanted at a 10/11 week post op appointment coming up fast. My sister-in-law went had a TKR, and ended up having the manipulation surgery; she said to avoid it if I could, that it was just as bad as the TKR surgery, and so I'm trying, but it just feels like the more I do, the more I'm hurting it (swelling, bruising ...) .... thank you for the discussion!
lynn30931
Posted
At about 5 weeks post op, when I finally was able to sleep most of the night through, I stopped taking pain meds. When feeling and reading and hearing from doc that I was probably behind in my range of motion at 7 weeks post op, I asked the doc if this was why people continued taking pain medication, to be able to bend the knee while feeling no pain with meds. He advised no, that that was not something they advised, besides the prescription would not be refilled. Just an afterthought, wondering if THIS IS how people are able to get that bend right away, with the assistance of pain meds. I'd rather not take them anymore myself, but I'd also rather NOT get the manipulation.
Ozziegee lynn30931
Posted
Hi Lynn, I gather the reconstruction surgery and the tkr were on the same knee? It seems to me that people who had prior surgeries seem to recover slower with the ROM. That's the case with me also. I'm in a Catch 22 situation, every time I do much of anything my knee "fills with concrete" and I'm unable to do anything. If I rest I worry I'm not doing enough to get more ROM. One thing I know is, I won't be doing a MUA, I figure the odds of that improving my bend are slim and I've had enough. I'm like you, the more I do the more concrete I get and I could ice until I'm blue in the face, it takes forever for the swelling to go down. One week I just rested but then my ROM went down 10 points. Damned if you do, damned if you don't. My next plan is to go with the red wine strategy.
Good luck with everything.
chris00938 lynn30931
Posted
Lynn, I stopped my pain meds on the second day apart from Ibuprofen that they said I MUST take for the week because it reduced inflammation and paracetamol that I was taking at night for the other knee anyway, but I didn't need it to do the bend. I just took the bend steadily, especially while the staples and dressing were still on, because they were stopping the bend a bit - the staples were bleeding because I was bending so much, but when they came out I was bending easier. I didn't really have to push it at all until I got to about 125 and then I did have to try a little more, but not to the point of real pain, and that took me to 137 and I don't push it at all now, but just sit with knees up comfortably tight while watching tv in the evening, just for an hour, on and off, pulling them up about 6 or 8 times in that hour, just to maintain the bend. BUT, and I don't know if this is a good thing to do, but I did it without thought really, straight after the op, when the thigh muscles were weak through the tourniquet and bruising, I did help the knee to lift when I was on the bed by helping it with my hands, and I'm wondering if that got me off to a good start re scar tissue not forming. But when I get the next one done, I'll ask about it!
Duckfan Ozziegee
Posted