Posted , 12 users are following.
i only have paracetamol for pain relief and the knee is so swollen i cannot do exercises given me - i wish i not had the op
0 likes, 25 replies
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yve20637 maureen56933
Posted
hi
how long ago did you have the op? I would expect you to have more than paracetamol. You are quite right, you cant exercise with a painful swollen knee, get some more pain meds and try iceing your knee.
GOOD LUCK,its a very hard op to recover from.
vicki08153 maureen56933
Posted
I would have thought you would have more than paracetamol. celebrex will help the swelling, i agree you cant excercise when swollen and in pain. I only excercise when swelling is down. No one can really prepare you for the amount of pain we endure.
maureen56933
Posted
i am unfortunately unable to take any other pain relief and the swelling is unbearable as i cannot walk very well and do the exercises
karen14697 maureen56933
Posted
ICE is your friend. It helps with swelling and pain. You will see such difference if you can ice often. I borrowed an "Active Ice" machine from a neighbor and had that running while i slept. It helped so much, BEST OF LUCK
gillian65440 karen14697
Posted
I went downstairs at 3.00am this morning to get the ice pack out of the freezer. I dropped off to sleep with it still on my knee.
karen14697
Posted
Thats great as long as you have a small cloth between your knee and the ice bag. I do the same now, even at 9 weeks po. I overdo and it swells. Doing great tho
yve20637 gillian65440
Posted
dont worry, I think we have all done that!!
Wrightingtonmz maureen56933
Posted
good morning maureen x swelling is hard because when it swells up you are very restricted with movements x you need to get a cool gel mat and put it infreezer x wrap it around your knee at least four times a day x it really works with keeping sweliing down x hope this helps x purchase it from home bargains x
Caitibean maureen56933
Posted
If you really can't take any other pain relief my thought would be to use ice and elevation for 30 mins to help the swelling, then do the exercise as best you can after icing. Repeat the icing after exercise. Try to build up the exercises gradually. Start with just a few heel slides ( even if you only manage to bend your knee the tiniest bit) and repeat that at least 3 times throughout the day. With walking, get on your walker or crutches and do a length of your hallway and living room then build it up to more lengths, making sure you use ice for the swelling afterwards. The exercise is absolutely essential to your recovery so you'll need to dedicate your whole day to your rehabilitation for a while. In the early weeks my mantra was 'pain meds / exercise / ice and rest / repeat' and that's what I dedicated my day to really. Just aim for small improvements - adding just one more heel slide to your reps or managing just a few more steps. You have to do it and you can! GOOD LUCK!
maureen56933 Caitibean
Posted
thank you - i am doing the slides but with difficulty as the swelling restricts mei have ice coolers in freezer and replace one with anotherso i do know i am doing the right thingmany thanks
Caitibean maureen56933
Posted
Then it will improve with time. I felt the first 4/5 weeks were horrendous and I would never make progress and be able to bend my knee again. Now after ten weeks I have 135 degrees bend. You'll get there.
gillian65440 maureen56933
Posted
Oh dear. I'm so sorry. Perhaps you need stronger pain relief.
marion18849 maureen56933
Posted
how long ago did you have your op? you must keep using the ice pack it will help with the swelling.
maureen56933 marion18849
Posted
10 days ago now - using ice packs too back at hospital for review tomorrow but my pain is horrendous and not under control with just paracetamol hopefully ill be addressed tomorrow
marion18849 maureen56933
Posted
thats early days. i had mine done 17 weeks ago. pain has subsided and just take paracetamol at night. whole leg is still bigger than the other but apparently it takes a good year for it all to get back to normal.
stick with it and you will be pain free soon.
good luck