knee replacement recovery

Hi sorry to hear of your experience. I don’t know if it’s normal as my physio never did massage. But I have been to,d on forum that especially in early days not to ever do anything that leaves me in excruciating pain. So I am thinking he should NOT do that again but others on here will know more. 

I am 5 months post op and stopped PT earlier this month and I have eased up on some of my exercises and my swelling is improving. I am thinking your idea of getting swelling down first is good. So painful and difficult to work with swelling. I had a lot of issues with swelling. Now there is less thank goodness and I am able to work knee better. I wish you continued success in your recovery pursuit ! Just know it gets better. 

I agree with robin...

It is your call... if you don't wish it to be done then tell him and he should respect that.

Icing, elevating, and getting swelling down gently.

I massaged my own leg but it never resulted in an increase in pain.

Worth discussing with him, he may simply not realise he is not being gentle enough. Maybe he could teach you what he is doing and then leave you to do it gently?!

Hiya I've had TKR in both legs in 22 months. The physio left me with permanent blue scaring because of too hard pushing down. I never went back. The second leg I never went at all. I have been praised by my surgeon at my healing in such a short time. I massage with oil twice a day the whole leg like kneading bread action but gently.So you make yourself in charge cos there's no dash to get better x

The first physical therapist I had pushed down on my knee cap and caused excruciating pain and swelling which set my recovery back 8 weeks! I never went back and found a second therapist who told me the knee cap is never to be pushed down upon! Deep massage after surgery can increase risk of injury when the knee is trying to heal. I trusted the first therapist knew what she was doing...she did not and it taught me to speak up for myself. Find another therapist immediately or exercise on your own. I'm 67 and had a LTKR in May 2017. 

Best wishes for continued healing.

Hi Lavell!

I'm SO SORRY to hear that you had this experience!😬Knowing how awful the swelling feels even without anything or anyone TOUCHING IT, I can only IMAGINE how painful that was for you!

My therapist actually never touched my knee early on. It was at least a month later that she rubbed by scar very gently and showed me how to massage it.

I had considerable swelling with my first TKR. She used a GAME READY machine that had a wrap that closed with Velcro that was attached to the motor which used compression and icing to treat the swelling. She first set it on LOW for just five minutes and stayed right there the whole time in case it was hurting me. Fortunately I had no problems with it and worked up quickly over the days to HIGH for 15 minutes. The GAME READY machine helped tremendously with my swelling.

I agree with the others who responded to you. Causing pain should NEVER be an element of treatment!

My therapist would even change the exercise to a different one if I made a face that something was hurting! She explained that there were MANY different exercises to accomplish the same goal. We would just do a different one. I was VERY grateful for her knowledge and her understanding.

Two years post surgery I am able to walk, shop all day, maneuver on my little rolling stool in my crawlspace of my home, walk on uneven grass and rocks, garden, and do it all without pain. My surgeon did a great job, but my therapist helped me regain my ability to overcome swelling and gain strength and balance so I could have my life back again.

In my opinion you would do MUCH better with a more humane therapist. As my Sandy says, " 'No pain, no gain' is NOT a part of physical therapy!"

I wish you much success and hope this gets resolved very soon!??

He was probably breaking down scar tissue. Scar tissue is one of the major issues when it comes to recovering from tkr. Putting you in misery isn't acceptable. He should listen to you when you speak. The 1st rehab I had on my 1st surgery was brutal. Warm up on a stationary bike the lay face down on a table while the therapist grabbed my ankle and tried to hit me in the back of my head with my heel. Now fast forward 9 years when I had to have a revision, same therapist, complete different routine. The table of torture was gone and a much more humane system installed. As far as the pain meds, unless they are making you physically ill, take them as prescribed. You are not showing weakness nor are you going to get hooked. They are there for your own good, so you can do the exercises and get better. I would say from all of the posts on this site over the years, 90% of the folks take pain meds for 6 weeks or longer. Everyone is different and should listen to their own bodies.....but the key here, listen. This rehab is different than most., it is truly a day by day process that dissent go in a straight line. Its up and down, 2 steps forward and one back. I've had to have 11 surgeries and 5 complete rehab on the same leg. None have ever been the same. This is a marathon, not a sprint. One thought, tell the therapist he was putting you in too much pain and you want him to back off.

Scroll through this forum till you find the writings of Chico Marx. Great stuff with lots of common sense thrown in a load of straight talk.

Sorry to hear of your experiences.

​I used a sports injury massage therapist for some 6 weeks before surgery to present my surgeon with the fittest possible knee for him to go and butcher, mainly worked on quads and glutes.

After surgery, when my dressing was removed I returned to her weekly for several weeks for her to continue with the massage, this time she worked exclusively on the incision line and all around it.  Deep sort of rotational massage with moderate pressure. The purpose was to break up any scar tissue which might form (it usually does apparently) - this would enable me to continue my daily exercises until my knee returned to normal, which it did at about the 8 week mark. At no time did this massage worsen the knee.

John

You've barely started.  A full recovery takes a year.  I had a hip replaced in '09.  Out of hospital and rehab in a week and then hit the therapy pool and gym six days a week, five hours a day.  COMPLETE recovery in six weeks.  Thought it would be the same for the knee...boy was I wrong...

Totally unprepared for the pain, swelling, sleeplessness and more.  Besides the TKR, I've had four knee scopes, two shoulder scopes and four spine surgeries including two fusions.  Almost 5 pounds of metal in me now.  NOTHING compares to the TKR...well...maybe brain surgery.  There are only three things to know...time, work and patience.  This will not be over soon...this will not be easy physically.

The knee has to take time to heal...you CANNOT push it like you can a hip or shoulder.  Period.  You have to do the PT work to get your 0 / +120 ROM back and then rebuild the strength in your dead quads, glutes and core.  Finally, if you are not a patient person, this op will make you one.  Everything will be soooooo much better down the road.  You cannot rush or shortcut the recovery.

Click on my name and then "See All Discussions" for a lot of TKR topics.  Have fun..."Kneebie"...

At day six the only thing touching my knee would be ice between stretches. Lose that physiotherapist !