Post op 8 weeks from foot surgery now severe knee pain

Keep calling the doctor- Anything that changes the way the foot hits the ground can cause changes all the way up the leg.

Oh my! It sounds so painful. I would keep calling the foot doctor.

Pray a lot

Hi...im not a dr.by any means but unfortunatley once we get surgery on something it seems to affect other parts of the body. Glad you made appointment with ortho dr. Hoping he can shed some light on situation.feeling like you may have been compensating to walk or to avoid pain or discomfort and therefore have caused other parts (Knee) to be out of wack.Hoping its not anything too long term that you can get back to normal .best wishes to you.

Maybe the pain is from a nerve in your foot that is damaged, or maybe it is refered pain. Make sure they do MRI or CT, a plain film will not detect problem.

Billy, I had a similar thing happen to me years ago.  The large painful callus is covering a sore and swollen metatarsal joint. Every time you took a step, you felt that pain and your skin built up trying to protect it and provide a cushion there.  But who wants a cushion in one small spot to walk on for the rest of your life? They call it “metatarsalgia” and that joint doesn’t get any better all on its own.  That particular metatarsal bone is probably a little bit longer than the others and all your weight through the years was put first on the tip of that long bone, thus making that joint permanently sore. The podiatrist that operates usually shortens that bone and maybe even the toes, as in my case, and puts in screws.  But what the surgeon didn’t tell me and I found out to my surprise….is that it takes almost a full year for that surgery to be behind you. Sure, you bravely get around and put your regular shoe on as best you can, but the truth is, it should be in a boot for a while, which has its own problems as the height of the boot is never what the height of your other shoe is, so you will walk funny for the rest of your recovery.  But if you are now in a regular shoe, then it is probably a larger size for a while which alters your walk a little as well. Swelling is a problem when bones are altered.

It was a least a year before I noticed my knee on that leg was a problem. I had a lot of stuff in there besides the bad bones, malformed kneecap and which I later found out was a progressive disease not related to rubbing bones. Did my perpetually sore foot start it all with my favoring that sore foot as I walked.  I don’t know, but any time either a foot, ankle, knee or hip is not in proper alignment, you can bet some one of them will start acting up.

If your surgeon is anything like any of the ones I have had, he will say that his job is done and your knee is another surgeon’s problem. Sometimes, physical therapists will look at the big picture and explain to you the interconnectiveness of all the bones, etc., but I haven’t found one yet that did.

If you think that your foot is really healed (and I would be surprised), and that you are walking straight and smoothly, then read all the posts here about recovery after TKR and other Ortho surgeries.  I rely on an ointment called Voltaren (RX in USA), but I get the generic version and my doctor fills out a form for it  for my insurance so that I can get an ample supply for all my bad bones. That gel is worth its weight in gold.  If you don’t want to get involved with Orthopedists at this time, ask your primary for it and also a pain reliever called Tramadol. Of course, if your pain is not so bad, over the counter NSAIDS like Aleve may do the trick. You don’t say your age. Whether or not to pursue Ortho care or just manage it on your own depends on your age.  If you are very young, you need to jump on it and get answers.

I now have a similar callus on my other foot. I dread the day I have to tackle that problem again.

Best wishes and good luck to you!