Knee pain

Hi Marion,

I'm sorry to hear of your increase in pain. I am almost 7 weeks PO and have what seems like more pain now than I did at 4 weeks.......however I am not taking the pain meds to the extent that I was at that time . My night pain appears similar to yours and according to my Dr is par for the course. There is a lot of healing going on and the nerves are not happy !! I find icing in the middle of the night to be helpful. At 3 weeks I was walking a mile and felt I was going to breeze through this unscathed. Not so much........Like others have noted on this blog it is a marathon and not a sprint. It is frustrating ............but my non-medical opinion is that what your feeling is normal and should diminish with time. Hang in there and good luck with your recovery...........

You will be in more pain as you become more mobile and start using your muscles again. make sure you ice and keep up with your exercises. Are you completing physio therapy?

Because a TKR recovery is NOT a linear process. There are advances, setbacks and plateaus. At 5 weeks, you're just starting on the typically year-long journey where the first 8-12 weeks are the absolute hardest. You're having trouble wrapping your head around this because you have certain expectations that are completely unrealistic. Get rid of them...expect nothing...live each day one at a time.

When walking, use aids until you have some balance back...then increase your STEPS every day...slowly, or you get "balloon knee". Time and distance are irrelevant...steps are what count. Get a pedometer to track your steps. The software will chart your progress. Took me 8 months to get to 11,000 steps a day with zero issues. This was because I worked to get my full ROM back by 12 weeks and then did the muscle rebuild for months.

Muscle Work

You have to strengthen all the atrophied musculature that supports the knee. The program serves to: take the pressure off the knee and put it back on the muscles where it belongs, get you to walk correctly without aids and avoid pain elsewhere as compensation, regain your balance and, down the road, be able to go up and down stairs normally (alternating legs without pain and without holding onto anything). This is a gradual process...you can't rush it..."balloon knee". In the end, it all pays off. I'm 3+ years post op with zero issues (except kneeling on concrete, tile or hardwood floors...but that is nerve pain, not the knee itself, and may never go away). Small price to pay...if you put in the work and leave your expectations outside the door.

Post this on your fridge...

Reality

...and don't forget your oars for the boat part...

Hi Marion, It is sad to hear that you are suffering from a knee pain. I myself had knee pain but not as severe as yours I read. But some of the precautions and exercise I followed helped me.

Note: More than the exercise and precautions which I am going to tell you from my personal experience is the diet and nutrition. Get your blood test for Vitamin D, calcium and Vitamin B12 , as these are vital for over physical strength of the body. If you are deficient of any of these three no exercise or medicine would help in gaining strength, consult your GP for this. Add foods in your diet which contains proteins, vital mineral and vitamins, avoid having processed food which lack these nutrition.

Precautions:

1. Avoid climbing stairs as much possible until your knees are back normal.
2. Avoid sitting with crossed legs.
3. If you do any sort of legs exercise such as lunges , do it only halfway not full.
4. Wear shoes or slippers with soft sole and proper foot arc so that there is no unreasonable pain in the legs.

Exercise

Disclaimer: Though below exercise would help you reduce the pain, but if you feel any discomfort or pain while doing any of these contact your physiotherapist.

Firstly let's understand the basis of the exercise. your upper body weight(torso, head etc) is carried by your legs. Your legs start from the gluts(Butt) till your ankle. The body weight is divided into your legs between your gluts, thighs and ankle, the muscles between them such as thigh and calf holds them together. Now there could be multiple reason why there is knee pain ranging from injury, muscle spasm to sedentary life style. If your pain cause was impact on parts of legs then you should see a doctor for specific guidance. But if it has come up during your lifestyle without any major injury then it is most likely that because of muscle weakness induced by sedentary or sitting lifestyle. There are certain possibilities that knee pain arises while playing sports also. When you play with out proper warm up and doing activity in a certain way which hurts the knees.

So let's get on to the exercises, You need first start strengthening your gluts which are the basis of your legs starting. Below exercise are recommended by certified sports physiotherapist

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bh0a4mQlck4/

After doing the above you will better strength in your legs. Now you need to some light cycling which will warm you knee muscles and also strengthen your thighs. Then followed by some quadriceps exercise as below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWvNxZrgK1w&feature=youtu.be

If you are comfortable with the above exercise regime without any discomfort then you can advance to below exercise routine of further strengthen your legs.

https://www.menshealth.com/fitness/a18566903/knee-pain-cure-physical-therapy-exercises/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrSGBwQGuMQ&feature=youtu.be

Good Luck in your recovery journey