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Swelling following Total Knee Replacement Surgery

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cheryl90571
cheryl90571

I am three weeks out from TKR surgery on my left knee. My surgeon assures me that swelling is completely normal following all that takes place during knee replacement surgery. I am curious to discover what others have experienced with SWELLING following surgery.

3 likes, 104 replies

104 Replies

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  • daphne31042
    daphne31042 cheryl90571

    Posted

    Thank you, Cheryl.  My work is in horticulture and I am on my feet all day. recently I have been actually working a 56 hour week and I have put off the other TKR for the last 5 years thinking I might retire but don't really want to. Dr and consultant aren't bothered but it has been suggested that I have been putting too much pressure on my repaired leg and I tend to drag the other one a bit. Painful.  Sometimes my bad knee gives way and I fall down on both knees needing help. to get up of course. Then BOTH knees are stiff and swollen for a time. But onward, ever onward! I love to be outside all day for 9 months of the year and for the other 3 months I suffer from S.A.D. So that is my chosen time for the op.  Thank you again for your interest.

     

    • cheryl90571
      cheryl90571 daphne31042

      Posted

      I love being outside in our yard and garden and know what great therapy it can be. That's great that you are getting such satisfaction from it even though you have been having issues with your knees.

      Please be ever so careful with the falling! My husband's mom sufferered head trauma, bruising, and has had many other related issues since her big fall in February. She is just a few years older than you.

      Yesterday I was outside all day taking pictures and weeding beds while we were having a new porch and walkway poured out front. It was a gorgeous day, and my husband kept going out back and getting more chairs from our FIREPIT area and bringing them to the front yard as neighbors came to watch all the festivities!

      The entranceway is LONG overdue! Our sidewalk had sunk quite a bit over the last 39 years we have been here at our home, and we needed to add a couple steps to get in the front. Concrete had cracked, and it was a walker gauntlet for sure!

      I KNOW I overdid myself yesterday because TODAY I feel like I got run over with that cement mixer that delivered cement to our front entranceway yesterday! Ice, compression bandages, Ex. strength Tylenol, REST...I have been doing it ALL! I have my first OUTPATIENT PT this morning, so I am hoping for not TOO MUCH PAIN with all Tom has for me!

      I LOVED all the excitement of yesterday, though, watching the old and cracked entranceway transform to beautiful and functional, the neighbors coming and accumulating into a get-together on our front lawn, and taking all the photos and the BEER PARTY which continued AFTER the last brooming was done to the concrete surface!

      Beautiful day,great people, impromptu block party, and a new entranceway!

      Sore knees...not too bad a price to pay for a fun day!

  • daphne31042
    daphne31042 cheryl90571

    Posted

    Poor Nan! Mercifully I always fall down on my knees not my head which is ,for me, a cue for a song "I fall down on my knees......" Which relieves the ouch factor a bit while trying to work out how to get up off the ground.wink
    • Sickofpain
      Sickofpain daphne31042

      Posted

      No idea if this will help. It was not to hard to get up a few months after the one knee. But impossible when both. No easy way. I got on the ground, stupidly a little after 2 months could not think of how to get up. 

      That at time I moved to like a 5 inch thing then made my way off the floor gradually. Did not forget to not go on the ground but once a month later. 

      What at I figured out but I had no idea I was so limber. Anyway. I would roll on my stomach. Then go to a push up and walk myself backwards. All because a few blue berries fell under the refrigerator. 

      Granted i so regret being limber. I had no idea I was not bending my knees for a very long time. They bent beautifully and never had any issue in pool, therapy, home gym. I just never remembered to do it. Between surgeries apparently I started just leaning over.

      so remember bend your knees. 

  • Sickofpain
    Sickofpain cheryl90571

    Posted

    I had my left knee replaced July 2013. Not much swelling, not too bad. Had the right knee done thanksgiving 2013. Second surgery easier getting out of bed easier had them do it 8 hours after surgery. No other reason than I knew what to expect. First surgery all the hospital stuff from5 hour surgery delay to 4 hour delay getting into room. Really made that night and next 4 days beyond awful and painful.

    So when therapist came in. I said what the hell going to hurt like hell. I did however for get the lift the non surgical knee part. I walked forward, backward, few times. Went on CPM. Now I know what really went wrong with first one.

    i totally kicked butt on the second compared to the first. Thank god the nurse that came to the house the 2 day I was home. Warned me no two knees are the same. Thank god for that sentence.

    as much as the surgeries themselves were total opposites. So we're the knees. As much as the right one was easier and I was walking where I was at 2.5 weeks on the left. I was on twice the pain meds and my god the swelling. 

    Actually the the second surgery I did not feel the icing in the hospital was right. The icing was on the top of the bandages. I remember saying how is the ice supposed to get thru all that. I had huge bruises on lower leg and at the bandage. Not one bruise on the first.

    but the swelling was a huge issue. If fact people would see it thru my leggings. It was like I had a softball on the area above the knee cap. This went on for months. Even coming out of an 83 degree pool after working out. Nothing but nothing was the same with the knees. 

    I lived with the ice machine. But check with your doctor at the beginning ice is your friend. I had the ice machine on the whole time I was in the CPM machine.  No idea if that was a good idea or not. Ask your therapist. But healing and blood circulation involves the opposite. After 2 months the physical therapist found out I was only icing. She told me no more than 20 minutes then heat then ice if I had to. 

    Oh oh and remember to ice underneath you knee as well. All the stuff has you doing front. I remember the therapist also at 2 months on the second knee saying why do you think the back does not need icing. Da. Felt stupid. 

    Amazon has many ice packs different kinds even ones if you. Are mobile. 

    Good luck. 

     

    • cheryl90571
      cheryl90571 Sickofpain

      Posted

      Hi!

      Since I wrote this original post, I have had my second knee done.

      My second knee surgery was about the same amount of time after my first surgery as YOURS was. Since #1 had SO MUCH swelling and was my not-as -bad knee, I expected #2 to behave much worse. I was pleasantly surprised! Right knee had very minimal swelling, mobility was MUCH BETTER even as early as the recovery room, and my hospital stay was just two days compared to three with #1.

      Don't feel bad about not knowing you should ice UNDER the knee as well. I didn't realize that until outpatient physical therapy. They used these VERY effective gel packs that wrapped around the knee. I bought two from them to use at home. Very good products.

      I hope you are doing well and feeling better each day!

      I am thoroughly enjoying being able to walk and stand without all the knee pain! Very glad I had the surgeries when I did!

  • lin73970
    lin73970 cheryl90571

    Posted

    Hi there

    well I have both my knees replaced and the experience of recovery was very different on each one! Yes swelling is normal and I know I used an ice cuff several times a day in the first few weeks after surgery. I noticed that I had a lot of swelling after doing pt and found if I did too much it swelled, basically it's normal and to be expected. I had my last tkr sept 15 and if I over do it in the gym it swells so I put ice on, put my legs up and rest! That does the job. Keep using the ice elevate your leg and you will be fine. X

     

    • cheryl90571
      cheryl90571 lin73970

      Posted

      Hi Lin!

      I wonder WHY there is so much difference from one knee to the next...

      I know they are two different surgeries, done at two different times, two different knees, but they are ON THE SAME BODY! It was a pleasant surprise that my second was SO MUCH EASIER all the way around, yet I was shocked it went so well considering that even my surgeon said it was a really bad-looking knee when he opened it up.

      All is going good for me now. I am approaching nine months out with #1 and it will be five months since #2. I am VERY GLAD my surgeries are behind me and look forward to spring and summer coming up WITHOUT pain!

      Wishing you much success as you celebrate YOUR "anniversaries", too!😊

  • margaret1964
    margaret1964 cheryl90571

    Posted

    Hi Cheryl. I am having my operation on the 30th of March. Any advice would be great. Hope you are dojng well, xxx

    • cheryl90571
      cheryl90571 margaret1964

      Posted

      Hi Margaret!

      So good to hear that your surgery is scheduled. This forum is a great place, and it is WONDERFUL that you found it even before your surgery! ( I found it several weeks after my first surgery.)

      I'm about eight and a half months post op from knee #1 and exactly five months post op from knee #2. I had no complications with either surgery, and I had less pain after surgery thanks to a nerve block and reasonable pain medication than I did PRIOR to surgery with my two VERY badly damaged knees (BONE-ON-BONE, balance issues, cartilage completely gone, constant radiating pain which was truly effecting my life!)

      The best advice I have is stay positive! Positivity causes endorphins to form in your body, and endorphins help with pain management BIG TIME! It also makes for a better stay in the hospital, nurses and aides that know you appreciate them because you smile and THANK THEM frequently, and a faster overall recovery.

      I don't know if you are a believer, but if you are, PRAYER is SO HELPFUL! ( I actually had the anesthesiologist tell me that I was the calmest person he had ever had going into surgery!) I told him that I trusted God and put everything in HIS HANDS.

      Having a good attitude that you are looking forward to surgery to FEEL BETTER and GET YOUR LIFE BACK after years of PAIN is VERY POWERFUL!

      There are many other pieces of advice that will help, but, for me, these were the MOST IMPORTANT.

      Please let us know how everything goes!

      I will keep you in my prayers!

  • pat54749
    pat54749 cheryl90571

    Posted

    I am three weeks out today from TKR and my knee is still very swollen and hot and painful.  Any physical therapy hurts and makes it swell more. 
    • cheryl90571
      cheryl90571 pat54749

      Posted

      Hi Pat!

      Go check your temperature RIGHT NOW!

      Pain is normal, and so is swelling, but the hotness MIGHT mean infection.

      If you take your temperature and it is normal, then ice your knee and take an anti-inflammatory like Ibuprofen. Both will bring down swelling.

      I went back to wearing my thigh-high compression stockings. They helped, too.

      Let us know how you are doing!

  • william97722
    william97722 cheryl90571

    Posted

    I'm 30 days out. Swelling less and less. Besides doing routine therapy exercises I have been walking a mile to a mile and a half daily. Key here is I use my hiking sticks which greatly improve balance and a much better gait. Knee feels thick and binding still, but better day by day.

  • cera4200
    cera4200 cheryl90571

    Posted

    I'm 4 weeks post op yesterday as well my leg and foot are so very swallon. So I thought I was doing to much but reading everyone's post I guess it's normal. And very uncomfortable.

  • Twnurse
    Twnurse cheryl90571

    Posted

    Cheryl

    Today is my 5th post op day and swelling changes daily. The worst to me is the deep ache coming from the quad/thigh area. I don't like the ankle and partial foot swelling either. Walking, exercise, elevation and icing are all important.

    • cheryl90571
      cheryl90571 Twnurse

      Posted

      I TOTALLY get where you are coming from! I'm guessing that the deep ache you are feeling in your thigh/ quad area is due to the tourniquet that was on that area during surgery. I found out about what this pain MIGHT be when I mentioned it to my nurse. She asked me to rate my pain level for my knee, and I said my KNEE felt pretty good (maybe a 2 for pain) but that my THIGH felt like someone had thrust a STEAK KNIFE in it! She checked it and said since everything LOOKED good on the skin, it PROBABLY was the residual feeling from the TOURNIQUET put on during surgery.

      My left thigh CONTINUED TO be quite painful for MONTHS! I did NOT have this problem AT ALL with my right knee TKR several months later.

      Swelling was worse on that left leg, too. Interestingly enough, my LEFT KNEE wasn't my worst knee! Just goes to show you that you NEVER KNOW how your body will react to surgery!

      My left leg would swell from the bottom of my foot all the way up to my thigh! Ice helped some, elevating my leg helped some, elevating my leg WAAAAY ABOVE my heart worked well, and the GameReady compression/ icing machine at PT was the best of all. I discovered that putting compression stockings on both legs helped quite a bit. Watching my salt intake was helpful, too. Drinking LOTS of ice water helped, too.

      I think the best way to think about swelling is to realize that swelling is the body's method of creating a type of bandage to immobilize the injury site. Healing seems to take a REALLY long time, so swelling is present to keep the "bandage" at the ready! As the body heals, the swelling can abate because the "injury" caused by surgery is getting better.

      When my leg would swell from foot to thigh I tried to help my body by doing all of the above-mentioned things. RESTING and SLEEPING is the time when our bodies heal, so taking it easy is a wonderful plan, too!

      I tried to walk around in the house every hour. Sitting often caused swelling to get worse.

      Sending prayers of calm and patience and positivity to you tonight!💗

      It gets better after about six weeks. At twelve weeks you will feel even better. Try to distract yourself by doing interesting things. I kept a journal, read, repotted house plants, watched comedy shows on TV, and worked on scrapbooks early on. Later, I got outside and worked iny garden. Distraction makes you feel better because you are doing interesting and positive things. Keep positive! 😊

      Keep in touch, OK?

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