Knee stiffness after sitting for s while
Posted , 11 users are following.
Had tkr on my right knee end of May this year. i am doing fine, going up and down stairs normally, better than ever. Still some stiffness which just about disappears when walking, but when i sit at the computer for even 30-40 minutes it stiffens up. Also in the evenings when I'm mostly sitting around. Once i get up and take a fee steps it mostly disappears. My question is, do others experience this? I know it can take 12-18 months to be - hopefully - pain free, but just want to know if inactivity causes stiffness in anyone else. No problems in bed - I sleep flat on my back and have done for years. Stiff getting up in the morning, but that quickly disappears.
1 like, 20 replies
jean02698 jane41470
Posted
i still get stiffness in a knee that i had done 11 years ago.
Wrightingtonmz jane41470
Posted
hi x i also had TKR 18 may this year x i work in a office and i get up and move every hour x stiffness is part of the recovery process x in the morning i am very stiff but as i walk around it rareley causes a problem x inactivaty causes stiffness so keep it moving as much as you can x its a journey and this is all part of healing x hope you feel better
jane41470 Wrightingtonmz
Posted
Thanks. Sounds just the same as my situation. It's comforting to see that others are experiencing the same and it's normal. Much as I thought but just wanted to check I'm on the right track. Definitely seems to be that the more active I am - not overdoing it though - the better.
lynn41926 jane41470
Posted
Hi Jane, your situation sounds just like mine. I had TKR in January and am finding everything much better day by day, no pain at night, walking well and getting up and down stairs ok....but after sitting down for a while, my knee is really stiff and aching, almost as bad as it was before, but it does disappear quite quickly. I do believe it'll get better with time so I'm not worried yet, and it makes me feel better that I'm not alone in this. We'll get there in the end! 🙂
lynda49844 jane41470
Posted
yes, I'm the same. I had mine done in January and stiffens still if sitting for an hour or more with bent leg, but it soon goes and isn't as bad as it was before the op and nowhere near as bad as the one that needs doing. It seems pretty normal as far as I can gather.
christy33771 jane41470
Posted
yep sounds about right. I had mine in june and i experience most stiffness when im sitting. Hoping by 12 months all of us can go back to our normal lives !
jane41470 christy33771
Posted
Thanks christy and also to lynda and lynn. I thought this stiffness was all part and parcel of it but it's always good to hear that other people experience the same and that it's all quite normal. Everything I've learned about this op has come from this forum - it's such a help and comfort. All I was told beforehand was that it would be very painful and I wouldn't be able to sleep nights. I really didn't know what else to expect - I soon found out though!! I do take a half sleeping pill but even that did very little to help in those first nightmarish weeks. So far I am counting myself very lucky as I had an excellent surgeon, considered one of the leading orthopaedic surgeons in the country. His method is to make an implant using 3-D printing so that it's tailor-made for you. Had CT the results of which pre-op which they send to the States for manufacture, or so I understand. I think I will need the other knee done as well but holding off as my husband has some hip issues and we want to see what's going on there when he finishes his physiotherapy course. We're both in our early seventies.
Dcweather jane41470
Posted
Sounds like you are one of the lucky ones with a very good result. Mine are 18 mths and 3 years in. I consider mine a success. Can't go down downstairs normally due to not enough flexion. Just below and just above 90 degs in each case. But pretty much pain free. If standing for over half an hour or sitting in exactly the same position they do get stiff but I wouldn't call it painful. The only real pain is if forced at maximum flexion. I am pleased with my result but accept other younger people who didn't have the same degree of distortion or lack of range movement or pain for as many years as I did will fair better.
jane41470 Dcweather
Posted
Yes, I do feel I am lucky, as I mentioned above - excellent and innovative surgeon. First of all - you are pain free. That is one big achievement. When I stand in more or less one position for any length of time, which is usually in the kitchen working at the counter, I feel it when I start moving - stiff and heavy legs but that goes if I make a point of moving around for a few minutes. Sorry to hear you can't manage the stairs. We have 17 stairs in our house and my surgeon was thrilled when I told him this! He said use them for exercise, not just necessity, so I do. When I stiffen up I just go up and down 2-3 times and the stiffness goes, or at least lessens. Can you get some physiotherapy to help you increase your flexion? Is it because the knee really won't go more than 90 deg., or that it's just too painful in which case maybe you could work on it very gradually? I hope you really can improve on this. All the best.
Dcweather jane41470
Posted
Hi Jane, thank you for your supportive words. After both operations I did a lot of exercises for a year and had additional private physiotherapy and went to the gym. I got a few degrees improvement and they are about 5 -10 degrees better than before the operation. I don't know what your bend was before the operation? but I think that is the key. Walking with bandy bent legs for more than ten years I believe has meant that tendons and ligaments are "set" to an extent. I haven't had any forced manipulation under anaesthetic but the various physios and my surgeon don't think it will help. They just won't physically bend more! So at 70 I have straight legs (back to six foot!), can walk well and stand for periods and have little pain. It is difficult on trains where I can't move my feet back out of people's way, have difficulty getting out of low chairs and have to be careful coming down stairs where I have to do one at a time or go sideways if steep. But from where I was I will settle for that.
jane41470 Dcweather
Posted
Dcweather, I don't know what my pre-op bend was, though the surgeon i went to for second opinion wrote 110 degrees. I'm certainly no worse and don't know if I'm any better as the physios don't measure it - just work on you! But am really pleased with knew knee as it takes my weight comfortable, especially on the stairs which were a nightmare before. i guess i will have the other one done as it's not supportive on steps. i don't want my knew knee to end up becoming the bad one.
Try to avoid low chairs if you can. u appreciate that not being able to move your legs right out of the way can be a bit of a problem, but you sound like you're learning yo live with your limitations and i always think that this acceptance is half way to recovery in any situation. Mental attitude is every bit as important as the physical. Hope you can improve and wish you all the best.
denise19240 jane41470
Posted
I'm the same! 4 months out trk, I'm ok until I sit for a while. but it goes away. My leg feels heavy after I've ben on it for awhile, I think it's just telling me its had enough. Any of you have the same issue,
jane41470 denise19240
Posted
Yes - as in my replies above. Exactly the same.
lynda49844 denise19240
Posted
Yes, even at 8 months I find if I'm standing in one position for too long, especially in the kitchen, my leg feels stiff and heavy. I try to move it about and it soon goes.
CHICO_MARX jane41470
Posted
Yes it does...in the 12-18 month time frame. I'd experience that all the time as I'd be working on my computer for 2-3 hours and then get up. Yes, the stiffness will be there. I'm 3 1/2 years post-op and I rarely experience that because...
I KEEP THE KNEE ACTIVE!!!
You could be years down the road and if you stop using the knee you will experience stiffness all over again. This is a lifetime recovery...you have to keep the knee active.
jane41470 CHICO_MARX
Posted
Thanks Chico. Yes, I'm pretty active. Retired, as is my husband. Am often busy round the house - cooking, cleaning, also some gardening, plus usual social stuff. I do my exercises daily, use the 17 stairs in our home for sport, not just necessity. Treadmill as it's been way too hot (for me) to walk outside though that's changing. But evenings, or at a restaurant, as you say, it stiffens up. It's just reassuring to read that others are the same
.