1. Community
  2. Bones, joints and muscles
  3. Knee Problems

Is it normal to have aching thigh and hip pain more in the evening after tkr surgery?

Posted , 4 users are following.

Nananikki
Nananikki

I’m 5 weeks post op now and my thigh and hip start aching in the afternoon and go up through the night.  Most nights it keeps me up and results in leg spasms.  I have been slowly weaning myself off hydrocodone and I’m down to taking 3 per day now (dont think i can reduce much further for now).  I also take a muscle relaxer at night. I substitute with Tylenol during the day as needed.  Any comments or suggestions?

0 likes, 4 replies

4 Replies

  • CHICO_MARX
    CHICO_MARX Nananikki

    Posted

    You are titrating off the opioid at just about the "normal" time (PS: nothing about a TKR is "normal"wink.  People go from the heavy-duty stuff down to Tramadol and then to Ibuprofen over the 30 to 60-day period.  The Tramadol as the intermediary drug helps get us off the hydrocodone.

    At 5-weeks post-op, I started getting pain in my hips and down my thigh.  Turned out to be Sciatica...very common in TKR patients because we change the way we walk to avoid pain.  This can cause a misalignment in your lower back, hips or pelvis or lock up the SI joints in your hips.  I had the latter.  Took a chiropractor a few weeks to correct the situation.  Again...common.

    • Lywn
      Lywn CHICO_MARX

      Posted

      Any advice for shoulder pain?  QI am six foot tall and really struggle getting in and out of car. I'm using ice and heating pad.

    • CHICO_MARX
      CHICO_MARX Lywn

      Posted

      This is from the US National Institutes of Health:

      "Interposed between these two osseous structures are the rotator cuff tendons, the long head of the biceps tendon, the bursa, and the coracoacromial ligament. Any abnormality that disturbs the relationship of these subacromial structures may lead to impingement."

      The "osseous structures" are the acromium and the top of the humerus (upper arm) bones.  The arm slides under the acromium allowing you to raise your arm straight up.  If you can only lift your arm perpendicular to the ground and then it starts hurting as you raise it higher, you have a problem in that joint.

      Possibilities:

      - The bursa sac is inflamed due to repetitive activity.  This is common for swimmers, tennis players, etc.  Cortisone shot and anti-inflammatories should help.  Gotta lay off the activity for a while until it heals.

      - The underside of the acromium contains bone spurs and/or calcium deposits that prevent the arm from smoothly gliding under the acromium.  Feels like the bone is "caught on something".  It's referred to as a "sub-acromial impingement".  Pain keeps increasing as the spurs/deposits get bigger.  I've had this happen to BOTH my shoulders.  Doc scoped both shoulders (two years apart); removed the spurs and shaved the acromium and clavicle back a bit to prevent it from happening again.  A few weeks of PT...done.  (Note: Some people take a bit longer to recover.)  After my first one, the doc told me that he'd be seeing me in 2-3 years.  Why?  He told me that these always come in pairs.  If one shoulder develops the spurs or deposits, the other one almost surely will too...it's in your DNA...

      - Rotator Cuff: The spurs were so bad that they sliced through the ligaments of the cuff causing a full or partial tear.  A full thickness tear is the worst case scenario...I think.  This happened to my wife after repeated falls caused by her brain aneurysm surgery.   The doc said that it was as if the ligaments (think of a piece of leather) were constantly rubbing against a sharp stone...slicing the ligaments away bit by bit.  Tough op...2-3" scar...6-12 month recovery.  In her case, she had a 100% tear; six months after the surgery, she fell again and ripped it 75%.  Still recovering from that surgery.

      Again, this all from my personal experience and I'm not a doc.  You just get to know these things after a lot of years.  First thing you need is some imaging from a shoulder specialist...not a general surgeon or GP.  You need to find an orthopedic surgeon specializing in shoulders.  The imaging will provide you with the diagnosis and treatment.  Hope it's just an inflamed bursa.

  • deb1205
    deb1205 Nananikki

    Posted

    Hi

    I saw my consultant yesterday for my 6 week Check,( I have been discharge All went well ) he told me that you can expect hip, back pain and also pins and needles down running down the outside of my leg, I was told by the hospital you can also get a low mood. I developed hip.pain after my operation. No one tells you about the aches and pains after you TKR. Best wishes I hope all goes well for you. If you are worried about you pains get your self checked my your G.P

Back to top

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.