Still stiff & sore

Posted , 10 users are following.

Hi - I'm reaching out to those of you who are 17 weeks post op or more. I'm 18 weeks post op on Tuesday and I'm still having stiffness & soreness. Especially when I get up from a sitting position - it takes me several seconds to get my bearings, then I hobble out. Being in a restaurant or theatre is embarrassing. I went through this before the op and am very disheartened that I still experience it. Will it ever be "normal" again?? I feel it should not hurt so much at this stage ( very much so in my groin area of my TKR side) 

I don't know, maybe it has nothing to do with my TKR and arthritis in my hip is getting worse. Just wondering if others experience this.

My knee feels numb & tingling too! 

Betty 18 weeks on Tuesday 

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  • Posted

    Yes, I am much the same . I don't get pain in the groin area though..my other knee is giving me pain tonight though.. Maybe we forget how bad it was.

    pam 19 weeks 

    • Posted

      Do you feel stiff & sore still, getting up from a sitting position? I hope it eventually gets better! My other knee is starting to bother me as well! Either "sympathy pains" or I'm starting to rely on it again with my TKR knee still bothering me.

      Thanks for your reply Pam.

  • Posted

    Hi Betty

    yes love I am the same and so very fed up with it.  The tightening, vice like feeling is driving me insane. I thought it should have been better by now and like you I get embarrassed when I stand up and hobble for a bit like before I had it done.  All I can hope is that it will improve with a bit more time.  Once I have taken several steps, I can walk ok. It is so frustrating. I don't have groin pain but my other knee is painful at times. I suppose that will need doing next!! At least my operated knee is nowhere near as painful as before I had it done though.  Best wishes to you xxx

    • Posted

      I'm 17 weeks and sound exactly like you a Ruby.  At night I use my cane for bathroom trips.  I'm too pretty disappointed as I feel I shouldn't be like this.  I'd like to know if people I prove from this stage or is this as good as we get?  I hate getting up from a sitting or lying down position.  It feels fine, even normal until I step on it.

      good conversation....

    • Posted

      Yes Ruby, you know exactly what I'm talking about, feeling so stiff when getting up & having to hobble out the door! For both our sakes I hope it will eventually get better!

      Thanks for your reply!

    • Posted

      Hi Sharon, as sorry as I am you are having the same problem, I'm so relieved to hear I'm not alone! 

      I still walk or ride my stationary bike each day but slacked off a bit on the exercises the therapist gave me to do at home, so I wondered if that was why the pain & stiffness was coming back. Then I blamed it on the weather turning colder, but it's back into the 80's here again, but I'm still stiff & sore as ever! 

      Thanks for your support!

  • Posted

    Hi Betty, as you know I'm at the same stage as you. Yes, I still get discomfort in the leg. A bit stiff when I get up but not too bad moving off. I still get stiffness and tightness though especially in the thigh. I went to see a more "senior" physio last week and she's diagnosed a weakness in my lower back and some sciatica type pain caused by a small muscle in the buttock compressing the sciatic nerve. This is contributing to this pain I get down the back of my leg. So, yet more exercises to do!! I know you don't get that type of pain but what the physio did say was that we mustn't assume all pain is due to the knee. So it might be worth you getting yourself checked over for this groin pain. It might be something that can be worked on and not necessarily the arthritis in your hip. I try to ignore my arthritis in my other hip mind😊

    I was hoping we'd be skipping along by now weren't you? I am improving I know, but get fed up like you😞 Jen x

    • Posted

      Hi Jen - I just wrote you a long response and lost it! What the??

      Now I'm afraid to start over just to lose it again! Thanks for your reply, and I'm sorry you are having your own problems. It's great though that you know what the cause is and have exercises to help it ( just what we all want though, is more exercises, ha)

      Are you still doing all the exercises we were sent home with? 

      Yes, I think we tend to think all our pain is from the TKR - I thought my groin pain was from my body being out of alignment before the op, but since it has come back, I'm going to schedule an appointment with my surgeon in January ( it will be 6 months) and request x rays to see what is going on. AND find out why I am still stiff & sore when getting up ( unless miraculously it's gone!)

      Happy 18 week anniversary today Jen smile

      Let us know how you are doing, OK? Hope your new exercises help and we BOTH will be skipping along soon! Betty

  • Posted

    Hi Betty

    I feel much the same as you at 12 weeks I struggle to get my balls ce on getting up from a chair and limp across the room of wherever I am.

    Since the TKR I've developed things that were never there before like this awful pain in my groin and my other knee has started playing up ...

    i had this Op to make my life better not worse...will it ever happen ....I wonder 

     

    • Posted

      Hi Jean,

      You have groin pain too? On your TKR side? Did you have it before your TKR?

      Did anyone tell you what may have caused it?

      It is so discouraging, isn't it? I had high expectations from my TKR. Probably too high, as like Jen said, we should not assume all our aches & pains come from our TKR. I think I need a complete body replacement at times!

      Thanks for your reply Jean - 

    • Posted

      Hi Betty 

      yes the groin pain is on the same side as the TKR and no I didn't have it before the op

      i saw my GP and mentioned it to her ...she just said it's because you are walking differently and it will settle.

      and actually it's only bad at the end of the day so she could be right

      Today has been one of my good days ...I drove the car to the local shops 

      but right now I'm sat with the Icepack on ...I can deal with this if I get at least half a good day 

      I'll mark this day in my diary as the start of the turning point ....fingers crossed 

      you take care and look after yourself 

       

    • Posted

      Hi Jean, that is a little encouraging that the groin pain may be temporary until we are walking normally again. I will find out eventually, as I will request x rays if it keeps up.

      Glad you had a good day! We sure need those good days to keep us going, don't we?

      Take care Jean

  • Posted

    Im nearly 8 weeks and have slight soreness but dont need painkillers except at night to avoid spasms. I am now increasing the distance I walk. The knee replacement might have caused or agravated the hip problem as it will have changed your gait
    • Posted

      Hi - as you probably read in my other posts, I had this groin pain before my TKR and I thought it was caused by my body being out of alignment. After my op, the groin pain actually went away, and I thought that alone was SO worth the TKR! But the pain has come back in recent weeks & it makes me wonder if it's coming from my hip, which also has arthritis. Then I wondered if the arthritis in my hip was causing the stiffness & soreness when standing up, that is why I wanted to know if others had the same problem at this stage.

      Could the TKR have aggravated my hip problem? Maybe because I'm "learning" to walk correctly? Like I said, I'm going to schedule a 6 month check up if this does not improve. Thank you for responding!

    • Posted

      I think the TKR could have aggravated your hip problem. The alignment in your leg is changed so that eoukd effect the way your hip works I would think. I think a check up is a good idea. Meanwhile, icing and pain killers. And seeing a physio might help too. I am lucky, I don't have that particular pain(so far).

       Just another thought. Are you walking more now and more active generally than before your op? If so that might be causing a few aches and pains. I am walking more than before and am staggered at how unfit I am, and how exhausted I get.

       So much to think about!!

    • Posted

      Hi Sandra,

      Actually I'm walking about the same amount - actually a little less than before. Even though I was in a lot of pain before the op, I forced myself to get out there and walk anyway. I've resumed my morning walks but still can't walk as far as I was.

      YES I am also staggered at how out of shape I'm in! Instead of a brisk walk energizing me, I want to come home & take a nap! When I come up stairs, I feel like I've climbed a mountain!

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