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Knee pain with physio

Posted , 6 users are following.

louise1958
louise1958

Hi I'm just day six out of surgery. I am following the physio leaflet as best I can but am in agony after the sessions. I'm still on one crutch about the house too. I'm not sure what I expected but it is what it is. When were you mobile and why do I feel like my thigh muscles were replaced with duff ones?

0 likes, 19 replies

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  • Harvey15
    Harvey15 louise1958

    Posted

    Hi Louise, you don't say what op you had.  I had an arthroscopy to remove a torn medial meniscus.   Was done as day surgery and was sent home on two crutches with a leaflet of exercises to start the following day.   I did start the exercises day one but had dreadful pain and tightness behind the knee and at the top of my calf.   I gave up after a couple of days and rested then tried again - to be honest, it wasn't until week 3 that things suddenly felt better and I was able to do the exercises.   I'm 7 weeks on now and everything is fine except some tenderness near one of the incisions.   My thigh muscles are ok - you are still in very early days - patience is not one of my virtues but I've just had to be - especially as two weeks ago I fractured my liittle toe - same leg as my knee op - so I was back on crutches for 10 days...!  I found ice and elevating my leg really helped - and not doing too much.   Hope this helps in some way.

     

    • louise1958
      louise1958 Harvey15

      Posted

      Thanks Harvey

      I had partial medial meniscetomy and cartilage debridement last Tuesday. I had no idea that recovery from this small op could take so long as some have described. No going back now though but this physio for strengthening the quads has me green round the gills every time.

      I've applied aloe vera gel for cooling and bruising as an alternative to my frozen peas when they are back in the freezer. I'm taking naproxen again and thought I'd be finished with it after the op and painkillers just before I do the physio. From reading others experiences I reckon I'm expecting too much too soon.

      I'm sorry to hear about your broken toe, that's just too inconvenient!

    • finley
      finley louise1958

      Posted

      Hi as others said we are all different I had mine 3 weeks ago still alittle stiff but went for a Mile walk today take care
    • louise1958
      louise1958 finley

      Posted

      Thanks finley

      I'm taking it day by day now I've read other's experiences. I'll get 'there' eventually

    • finley
      finley louise1958

      Posted

      I am sure you will, excercise little and often and give your knee a good massage that had help me as well and lots of soaks in the bath to keep it supple. Been off work for three weeks but still need another three to be back to normal I think. Regards Bev
  • dave83416
    dave83416 louise1958

    Posted

    Hi Louise

    Sorry to hear about your troubles, i had arthroscopy last October and still not 100% ! I had a miniscus repair and if id been told or seen this forum about issues after the op i wouldnt of had it done?

    Anyway, back to you - naproxen worked for me and took pain and swelling away enough to do some exercises ! Cycle at gym on low resistance - just to get the muscles working - i also had lost quad and thigh muscle tone ! I had to ask my GP for pain killers and for physio as neither had been advised by the Hospital ??? Saw physio in May Who advised swimming !! Made sense as water supports ! Il be honest and say i didnt go swimming straight away ! I have just returned from holiday and did heaps of swimming !! Nearly drowned !!!! Joke - i tried breast stroke which was painful so went onto my back and just kicked my legs which was painfree apart from getting cramp in my leg due to muscle wastage and lack of use - i did this every day as well as sutting in the pool doing leg raises and cycling - if you know what i mean - by day 4 i was cramp free and could swim normally so it def helps - i stopped taking naproxen whilst on hol and will try dragging myself to a local pool - tho not the same as being in Bali ???

    Its early days for you and myself but i am feeling more confident that things can only get better - try swimming it def worked for me ! Best of luck !

    • louise1958
      louise1958 dave83416

      Posted

      Thanks Dave

      It is still early days and I'm sure swimming or at least movement in water will help. Calling local pools today to ask if they have walk in pools rather than ladders. I'm still feeling stir crazy as I haven't got in my car yet. I am going upstairs using my 'bad' leg as lead leg to get some push on it. I'll keep taking the naproxen and up the pain killers for now although it's not what I would call pain, more of an ache.

      The company I worked for a very short time registered me as a leaver yesterday so compounded with the constant ache and feeling stir crazy I basically feel rubbish right now. A week in Tenerife is on my horizon so that's definitely worth smiling about.

      Pools are open so calls to be made.

      Thanks for sharing your experience

      Louise

    • finley
      finley louise1958

      Posted

      Morning Louise, just to let you know I felt fed up like you but everyday will be better four weeks tomorrow for me and eel things are good, not taking any tablets only paracetamol feel so much better mentally also .....the band excercise is goo as well as it supports you when you do it and strengthens your knee, best of luck and. Keep smiling x
    • dave83416
      dave83416 louise1958

      Posted

      Hi

      Soldier on mate , let me know how the swimming goes !!

      Dave x

    • louise1958
      louise1958 dave83416

      Posted

      Last week was tough. On Monday after examination my GP sent me straight to A&e with a suspected DVT. Thrombo phlebitis has been confirmed and that's just got in the way of me going swimming as planned because apart from the pain and swelling it's just so unsightly. Had a scan on Thursday where no clot was found but the scan and blood tests will be repeated this Wednesday. It's still quite sore to touch and probably my swimsuit won't make it out of my suitcase on my holiday in two weeks. Fingers crossed for Wednesday though as this cloud hanging over me has to disperse.

      Off to slimming club now in the hope that 'my bum doesn't look big' in anything!

  • louise1958
    louise1958

    Posted

    The exercise in the pool will start next week after half term. I took Tramadol yesterday which allowed me to do the physio without feeling sick. And I noticed I'm walking more upright now. I'm still doing peas on my knee too.

    All feels positive today. This has to work for me because my left knee is in the same condition and could me next for the op. At least I'll know what to expect if that happens

  • Jem6330
    Jem6330 louise1958

    Posted

    Hi Louise, I'm now 8 days out of surgery following an arthriscopy and patella chrondroplasty, and im having exactly the same problems as you describe. Trying to follow the exercises given on the leaflet and can barely do any of them because of the pain and the fact that my thigh muscles just won't play ball! The pain is really bad, and I'm shuffling around the house with difficulty. I wasn't given any crutches, but have managed to borrow some - although have been told I should be able to weight bear so shouldn't need them. I have to say I was surprised not to have been given any physio and nothing ride but a follow up appointment with the surgeon in 7 weeks time. I'm working from home at the moment but was planning on being able to drive in a couple of days time and attend a hen do in Amsterdam next weekend (which the surgeon said I would be able to do) - but at the moment I can't see any way that this is going to happen. It's really getting me down and I feel awful for my husband who is having to do everything. I'd be really interested to see if you've had any positive progress since your post, just to give me a bit of hope!
    • louise1958
      louise1958 Jem6330

      Posted

      Hi Jem

      Sorry to hear about your pain. It's two weeks today since my op and I can confirm that the first week is definitely the worst and you will start to make progress now.

      I attempted driving after 9 days simply because I was going stir crazy and I was surprised how pain free it was. I expect those quads must be in action before you drive due to the chance that you might need to do an emergency stop. I wouldn't advise driving until you've practised one.

      By two weeks your pain should feel more of an ache. I can now do my physio exercises but the muscles still pull, at least it's not a crying pain now. The previous comments and advice certainly helped and I followed the advice to keep my leg raised and use ice packs, in my case I use frozen peas and aloe vera gel. And massage where you can tolerate it around the op site. I've simply used E45 because it's gentle and I already had some.

      I do still have a pain but it's not within my knee but up the outside of my thigh and I'm presuming it's due to some compensation because I am walking with a lilt at times until I correct myself. I also still use one crutch when I go out because my knee isn't yet stable without it for any distance other than pottering about the house.

      Take painkillers and anti inflammatories and don't worry about how long you might be taking them for.

      Don't compare your progress too much with others because that just makes you more anxious.

      Let us know how you get on. I'm sure some time away will only help your progress wink

  • louise1958
    louise1958

    Posted

    .......... I haven't yet made it to the pool but that's just because I don't want to go on my own and the slip risk is also on my mind
  • Jem6330
    Jem6330 louise1958

    Posted

    Thanks so much for your response Louise1958 it really did help me to feel better - I was really down with it all last week and it's good to know that there are other people out there who have been through it and know what it's like. I'm two weeks post-op tomorrow and things are much better, although there's still a lot of swelling and I'm still more hobbling than I am walking. I'm still unable to do any of the straight leg raises that the leaflet recommended, or straighten my leg out at all. I was a bit worried about the lack of range and movement so visited my GP today - he thinks I have an infection in one of the incision sites so has given me some strong antibiotics. Two steps forward, one step backwards! Although everything seems sunnier now I'm able to get out of the house a bit and see people. That really makes such a big difference to how I feel. I'm still not too optimistic about heading to amsterdam this weekend, but will just have to wait and see! Hope things are continuing to improve for you too. 
    • louise1958
      louise1958 Jem6330

      Posted

      Jem6330 you made my day. Thank you, I'm glad to have been of help. As the swelling reduces you'll have more movement. I think most of us expected to be more mobile before we are and although this is a relatively small op, recovery is a shock.

      If you get to Amsterdam have a great time, if you don't I shouldn't dwell on it if I were you x

    • louise1958
      louise1958

      Posted

      Jem did you get to Amsterdam?
    • Jem6330
      Jem6330 louise1958

      Posted

      Hi Louise, I didn't make it to Amsterdam unfortunately cry I just couldn't risk doing too much or falling and making it worse. It was definitely the right decision as I tried just pottering round the shops for an hour or so and even that was too much and bough on swelling and increased pain. Fortunately my friends were amazing and keep me updated, so I just stayed safe and drank wine on my sofa instead! x
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