It’s been 1 week after my TKR and I can barely bend my leg backwards

jeff, im now 6 weeks after tkr and getting 115 degrees bend. 1st 2 weeks couldhardly bend it due to the massive swelling. Dont worry about it be patient. weeks 4-6 i found massive improvement but now plateau out. apparently all normal. ihave been using ice on knee about 5 times a day and now on static bike which definately helps the bend. good luck

Hi Jeff...dont panic as its only been a week and your knee is probably still very swollen. Keep doing your exercises and it will improve. Everyone progresses as different rates.

Don't panic, it's early days. I couldn't lift my leg at all to begin with or even slide it across the bed and struggled to bend it. Just keep persevering with the heel slides and other exercises, but don't force anything. Try placing a plastic bag under your foot, slide it as far as you can without pain (discomfort is ok) and hold it for 20 seconds. I found doing 2 every hour or so more productive than doing 10 at a time. They told me in hospital that some struggle to bend and others to lift or straighten. It's as if the brain is trying to protect it after all the trauma it's suffered. It's brutal surgery affecting all the surrounding tissue and you're only a week in to this 12+ month recovery.

If you're still worried phone your doctor and ask their advice. Good luck.

One week down, 51 to go. Failure? Oh no... You have just started a TKR journey that will typically take 12-18 months to walk. This is NOT a linear recovery as there will be advances, setbacks and plateaus. The first three months are usually the worst with pain, ROM work, a lot of stiffness and more. It's a brutal surgery that, for almost everyone, takes a while to get past.

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Reality

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Yes I agree with all the above very early stages

I was exactly the same couldn't do a straight lift couldn't get it to bend.

After using ice every 2 hours to get the swelling down it all starts to fall into place.

I am due to have my left T K R in February and I am aware it's not going to be a walk in the park I know a bit more what to expect but am trying to keep positive and able to walk a distance without pain finally.

Hello Jeff, everybody is different from what I have heard in all the posts pertaining to this TKR. I was able to get 90° after the first week but that’s just me. I also bought a yoga belt from a sports store and was able to put that under my foot while laying down and bring it back to me so to speak. A lot of people say not to force it but I have been somewhat forceful in my recovery while embracing the pain. It’s never easy but it will get easier. I am now 24 days into my recovery and I was able to get 112° as of day 22. again, I have pushed myself extremely hard doing 30 reps of each exercise by day seven. The PT lady told me to pump the brakes a little bit which I did but I’m now walking over a mile daily while walking up and down three flights of stairs 10x every other day and the doctor is amazed at my abilities. it’s going to be painful but you have to get that thing to bend wether you want to or not. Good luck and don’t forget the ice.

By the way I have read many of the posts from Chico and he knows what he’s talking about. I don’t know if that’s a good thing having all these limbs replacedby the way I have read many of the posts from Chico and he knows what he’s talking about. I don’t know if that’s a good thing having all these limbs replaced but he seems to know quite a bit so I would take heed a lot of his advice if not all of it., lol but he seems to know quite a bit so I would take heed to a lot of his advice if not all of it.