It has been 14 weeks since my TKR surgery. I am concerned about knee pain.
Posted , 6 users are following.
I have just had a follow up xray and visit to the surgeon and he has said that the knee replacement looks good. The kneecap is in the right place and both the upper and lower joints are perfectly aligned. He was very happy with my walking.
My only concern is the pain in my knee as i get up from sitting in a chair. This pain is the same as it was before i had surgery.
Has anyone else had this? Is it normal and does it improve?
0 likes, 5 replies
Sky727 jenny25655
Posted
jenny,
I don't believe there is a normal. Every surgery is unique. If I were you I would keep a simple log. Record the good days and painful activities. You need to manage your own care. If the pain persists keep following up with the doctor and bring your log with you to your exams. My knee was good until it wasn't. Similar to yours, I was proceeding well with PT but pain started and persisted after about 4-5 months. Finally I had it aspirated and the fluid tested. I had an infection. I'm not say you have an infection but you should ask your your doctor. Additionally, from what I have read, in some cases pain can persist for a period of time after the TKR. Good luck and I hope by the time you get this the pain has subsided and you have a fast recovery.
faybubbles Sky727
Posted
I just had fluid drained off my knee and they are checking for infection. Won't have the lab results back till tomorrow. My knee was great until i started back to work and then the swelling became unbearable. I went in and had an ultrasound as they thought possibly i had a blood clot as i had such terrible pain behind my knee. Luckily it wasn't that. Trying to weed out all things that could be wrong. So we just wait! Elevate and ice that's my life right now. Hope you get answers !!
susane91705 jenny25655
Posted
Hello, Where was the pain in your knee before surgery. I ask, as I have pain in the same place now, as I did, before surgery. interesting.
Best wishes
Susanne
debs23 jenny25655
Posted
i had a partial knee replacement just over a year ago. still having physio and still in a lot of pain seen surgeon he says just need to time the muscles up.
CHICO_MARX jenny25655
Posted
At 12 weeks, you will typically have done the work to get your ROM back so that is something you can put behind you. However, all the muscles that support the knee have atrophied...they are D-E-D...dead. So...your new knee is doing all the work and that's causing you pain. The fix is the muscle rebuild so all your daily activity switches back to the muscles and not the knee. Doing the strengthening exercises will keep your ROM improving for a while longer, take the stress off the knee so there's less pain, help you walk correctly and regain your balance, and finally allow you to do stairs again like a normal person (alternating legs not holding onto anything in both directions). Here's the program...
Muscle Rebuild
This will take months, not weeks, and progress is slow and gradual. Increase your walking gradually. Use a pedometer (fit bit, etc.) to track your steps. Time and distance are irrelevant; it's the number of steps that count. Chart your progress. As you rebuild your muscles you will start to notice the results I mentioned above. This is the biggest challenge for the remainder of year one post-op...get your strength back. Do the work and the rest takes care of itself.