Posted , 5 users are following.
i am 2 weeks post-of after an initial amazing healing of LTKR. Staples were removed two days ago and my knee and calf started to swell I have been wearing compression hose and icing my elevated knee. The pain is diminishing and I am still dealing with a sciatica issue. HELP!!!
0 likes, 7 replies
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marion18849 karen14697
Posted
just keep icing and elevate when possible it will go but takes time im 9 weeks post op and are having problems with pain in the back of the knee
my surgeon told me it will take a good six months for it all to settle down
you will feel a lot if different feelings
so dont worry
julie68460 karen14697
Posted
I had knee surgery in Jan and still dealing with swelling . Swelling can last up to a year ( so my doc says). I am dealing with freezing of the knee. Are you going to therapy?
karen14697 julie68460
Posted
in home therapy until next Weds then down to the gum/therapist. I'm doing super tho, otherwise. Walking without aid, staples out, nice straight incision and sleeping great. Just the swelling and dealing with painful sciatica, which is worse than knee pain!
CHICO_MARX karen14697
Posted
First the sciatica is a very common problem with TKR patients. As our brains subconsciously shift our weight to avoid pain, it can put our hips and/or lower back out of alignment plus possibly lock the SI joints. Since the sciatic nerve passes through all these areas, it can easily get pinched. The simplest, least invasive fix is chiropractic. You'll even get told that your legs are different lengths simply because your hips are tilted. I got my sciatica at 5 weeks; took my chiropractor less than a month to make it all go way WITH NO DRUGS (except for a bit of OTC ibuprofen)!!! Again...very common and easy to fix.
The swelling is also very common and totally normal. It will come and go with no decipherable pattern with the worst of it occurring during the first 3 months as you regain your ROM (and especially after a grueling PT session). Lots of ice and elevation. Then there's "balloon knee" which happens when you push the knee too far on ANY given day. This can happen at any time but usually in the first 0-9 months. I did 8,200+ steps one day and paid for my stupidity for three days. You cannot force the knee to recovery...it is a very slow process that is controlled by the knee...not you. Get a pedometer or smart watch and track your STEPS...time and distance don't count. It's the STEPS that put the pressure on the knee. Increase gradually.
Even at one year, I still noticed that the new knee looked a teeny, tiny bit larger than my OEM equipment...this passed. At 3+ years, I can't see the difference and don't even think about it anymore, except for kneeling on a hard surface...but that's nerve pain and not the knee itself.
karen14697 CHICO_MARX
Posted
Doctor put me on prednisone today to help with inflamation. I am two weeks post-op today! I can't believe the progress achieved-even with this minor setback of inflamation! I am very fortunate.
klinkmcbear karen14697
Posted
I agree with the suggestio to try a chiropractor. I'm 3 weeks out from my TKR and have already gone 3x to my chiro because of pain in glute, hip, etc. HUGE help.
CHICO_MARX klinkmcbear
Posted
AND NO DRUGS!!! WOOHOO!!! I call it "the ladder of care". You start with the least invasive, non-prescription drug fix. If that doesn't work, you try doc-ordered PT. You have to find the source of the pain and fix it. There was only sciatica occasion where I went through every step and ended up at the neurosurgeon. He found a bone spur "crushing" my sciatic nerve root at L4. Simple laminectomy...all gone. This is very rare as almost cases of sciatica can be solved a lot easier.