Knee pain following THR

Hi Kim

Personally I would go back to surgeon sooner rather than physio.

I was bit worried about something. I contacted surgeon and was told to go there as soon as I could. Had an xray and saw surgeon who confirmed for me all was ok. He said it was always right to check things it I feel not right.

Did they give you a ward contact number on discharge if you haven't got direct contact for surgeon?

You are right to not using heal raisers until you see surgeon.

Are you limping when you walk? Just make sure you use 2 crutches when you do if you're limping /wrong gait. Until you see surgeon perhaps try on weight bearing as best you can.

As for knee continental to ice but also elevate if not doing so. My knee was sore but it did go away.

Sandra x

Hi, it's likely that you new hip is still swollen after the surgery and leg length will decrease somewhat as it heals. No harm in checking with medical staff though. 👣

Good Luck

I had my leg roated almost 45 degrees during surgery and im 5 weeks post op now and i am still suffering knee, calf and ankle pain due to change in gait. i would do as above by foning your surgeon it took me a while to get used to being what is straight because it felt odd at first i felt lop sided because the operated leg had been shortened . the other thing i really felt a lot of pain with was the fact that i felt really lop sided and uneven as all my muscles were stretched during op then because the leg was straightened to a normal position the muscles had to compensate. 5 weeks now and the thigh pain is gone the op area is starting to stop swelling. 

I would definitely fone the surgeon just incase but hang in there the first 2 0 3 weeks were the most painfull for me once i started PT properly it got easier, but ill admit i have absolutly no hip pain all the pain is further down the leg. 

 let us know how you get on xxxx

Thanks everyone.

I decided to ring Therapy Services at the hospital and the ward physio advised me that if the x ray said they were level then it's 99% that they are.   There was no point seeing another physio for now as I need to give it time. I should do my exercises 2/3 times a day (no more) and keep walking. Things will settle and sort themselves out. If at my 6 week post op appointment I'm still unsure then to talk to my surgeon who will then refer me for physio if he thinks it's necessary. In the meantime different pains in the hip and knee on both operated and non operated are all to be expected whilst everything sorts itself out and definitely not to use any type of heel raise. 

I feel so much better......I'm clearly being too impatient 😜 I'm only 10 daysbpoat op after all. One day at a time, need to keep reminding myself of that one. 😀

Hi Kimberley

I'm 3 1/2 weeks post op and was exactly the same as you in regards to the leg length difference and the painful knee. Rest assured the leg will sort itself out. My already has got better. It's all to do with swelling and once that starts subsiding the leg will feel the same again. Mine is hardly noticeable now and it felt massive to begin with. The knee pain i was told was because the surgeon generally dislocates the hip by holding on to the knee and twisting it very hard to make the ball pop out of its socket. Mines fine now too 😁😁. I'm been very fortunate with my recovery and I hope you are too.. all the best, and oh remember heat packs are you friend xxx

Kimberly, It's still very, very, early in your recovery. I too only had pain in my upper thigh and knee in the very early days, none in the hip. My one suggestion to you is that you realize this is a journey and do not try to go too fast. You had a very major surgery and it will take over a year to completely heal. Do not try to do too much too soon no matter how well you think you feel, or lose your walking aids too soon. Doing so will only set you back and cause other issues. Give yourself permission to rest and ice more and when you hurt it is your body telling you to slow down. I did not heed the warnings and ended up with an IT Band injury. It happens when you do too much and your backside and upper hip muscles that were cut are not yet strong enough. This causes the IT band to support you and overuse of it quickly causes inflammation and severe pain. It set my recovery back, you simply cannot rush your recovery. You can work slow and steady towards it but you cannot rush it.  Do your simple little exercises that strengthen those muscles. You will want to go further, but keep those exercises up. My injury came at 2+ months post op. I am not suggesting you have such an injury, it just sounds like you might be trying to do too much if you have pain. We all have pain in different places at different stages as we heal. Listen to your body, when you hurt rest awhile, take an anti-inflammatory, read a good book or something to keep you off your feet for a few days. It can work miracles to just rest, ice and take Ibuprophen. Also two reasons for your leg difference. First it is very common for it to feel like the operated hip's leg is longer. It has lots of swelling inside going on at this point. Also that area is stiffer and does not move as easily which sometimes makes it feel longer.  It takes 3 to 4 months to know for sure if it is indeed longer. I had the same issue and my surgeon explained in detail why this can happen. I told you the first reason. The second is, the surgeon measures across your pelvic area as you do not want a pelvic tilt or worse issues. This does not take into account if you have cartilage loss from arthritis in your other hip or knee. Those can give you about a ?" difference in each area. I had knee replacement and hip replacement in the same leg, that gave me an approximate ¼" difference because my right knee and right hip have severe cartilage loss too. Just because they don't yet hurt does not mean they do not have cartilage loss. My right knee is painful and will need a right knee replacement soon. My right hip has no pain, yet when my surgeon checked the x-ray he saw very little difference in it and my left hip before surgery. Both had severe cartilage loss. He will not do a replacement on a hip that does not yet hurt, but did tell me right hip replacement is in my future. Once I have both of those surgeries my right leg will no longer be shorter. The left is what they should be. In the meantime I will use very inexpensive shoe lifts you can find on Amazon. I even used double sided tape to put one in sandals. Remember though you have internal swelling right now and any measurements you take are incorrect. If the x-ray measurements are correct your surgeon did it correctly. You do not want your pelvis out of whack. If the difference is hindering your walk, you can do this as per my surgeon. Get an inexpensive lift about ½ of what you need. My legs measured over ½" diference to begin with. My doc said to use a ¼" in lift in the non-operated leg the first 4 months to give the operated leg time for all internal swelling to go down. Once the 4 months are over measure again, if you do not have cartilage loss on your non-operated side chances are your legs will be the same length. If you do have cartilage loss in your other hip some difference will remain, at that time you can choose what you want to do. My difference went down to ¼" so I am continuing to use my ¼" lifts until I have that other hip replaced. At that time my legs should be the same length. My doctor said I might not even notice ¼" but I do, so I use the lifts. I bought two types, one that you tear off sections to get to the height you want and also a set of 4 rubber 1/4" lifts that I put under the sole in athletic and closed shoes. I forget I have them in. 

Great responses and valuable information !!!!   good for you to call therapy services and voice your concern -

you are doing great - one day, one step at a time and be gentle with your self ---- 

big warm hug

renee

 Good morning Kimberly ,  my hip replacement Surgery was January 9 this year my hip dislocated totally February 13 this year the pain was unbearable not human I could not move an inch and screamed like a baby until put back in, l have terrible nerve pain and then to one pain in my butt going down to my foot in my thigh doesn't feel like it's mine l am taller on one side , ok pist op l had thigh pain always , an tall on one side , anyway l sat low on couch and heard like a gear shift , l heard this loud , an slid to floor in agony. Voice your concerns loud and clear , an don't stop telling tell everyone about your concerns. Prayers are with you, mikey NY