T K R post op.

Frustration only clouds you mind...let it go.  There is no frustration in TKRville just as the word "should" has been outlawed.  Time, work and patience are your tools.  Try these at home.  You will get others when you get to formal PT sessions...

https://patient.info/forums/discuss/tkr-rom-work-at-home-620053

You want straight?  Try #3...killer...and it only takes gravity to bring tears to the eyes.  You're very early in a year-long recovery.  Patience...the knee will teach you patience.  Listen to your knee...

Hi that was exactly where i was after my op. It took nearly two weeks to lift it. It felt so heavy like an weight.

But i can now. Still can't bend as like your knee it swollen. Also too painful. But the journey will start getting easier..All I want to do is get a night sleep. Good luck. Hope you are getting support

I'm 14 weeks post TKR I couldn't lift my leg till about 11 weeks, you are very early days, I had a manipulation at 10 weeks as I couldn't bend at all, now I'm bending between 85-100 but still very swollen . 5 days is very early days if you do the exercises and ice and elevate you will get there, I've found it's a very long pain ful journey, I'm still not driving as mine was left knee and my thigh muscles apparently are not strong enough yet x

When you first try to lift your leg you think you're never going to be able to do it. I used to hook a scarf around the bottom of my foot to hoist the leg up to start with and if you carry on doing your exercises eventually you will manage it on your own. The pain for me was just above the knee it was excruciating the scarf just took the weight off and helped me a lot x

I'm finding it exactly the same

However, I will be 3 weeks post surgery on Tuesday and managed to lift my leg about half an inch off the bed today!! It's a start. Going to my first physio session on Thursday. My knee is like a large watermelon f my bend is probably around 60deg max. Keep icing.... several times a day. I was in alot of pain last night for some reason and I kept a bag of peas on it for several hours.The swelling had gone down considerably this morning which made me realize that I need to keep icing again & again. However, within a short time after walking around, with crutches, it was quite swollen once again. So keep icing....I have done it over & over today. Very frustrating but realize that progress is slow & not necessarily linear. Good luck!

I had same thing and physics in hospital suggested this. Try putting a plastic apron or bag under your calf and slide your leg out to the side. Try to lift very slightly as you do it and eventually you will find it magically is an inch or even two off the bed! 

Don’t force yourself as the swelling does prevent you from bending. Plenty ice and everyday it’ll get easier. 

I’m 4weeks tomorrow and last week I was panicking a lot about not getting a bend but this week it’s getting better although not great. The swelling is down and the pain is easing off. It’s a long recovery and we just have to be patient and listen to the knee. Don’t over do it! 

Take care

You need to ice MUCH MORE. I iced every hour and it really helped. It's like a pain pill. Check out the discussion on ice machines. I wish I'd had one. If you don't get one, get a very large gel cold pack. I use one at PT and it is wondetful. It wraps completely around knee. Amazon has them. Colpak brand. Ice is your friend for swelling and pain. Oh and I used a robe belt to lift my leg the first week. Hope you improve quickly. I'm 6 wks out and better but far from well.

Leg Lifting Helper...should be available at medical supplies store or on-line (see picture)...  It looks like a dog leash with a collar minus the dog.  Slip your foot in and pull back to lift your leg onto the bed.  Easy peasy.

PS:  The dog thing?  When my wife and I walk our Corgi, I bring this along (after I made the loop rounder)...walking my invisible dog Harvey. (Only the old ones out there will get the reference...)  Harvey enjoys tugging and pulling me in different directions.  I just love screwing with people's minds.

I can't believe the Pt at the hospital forced your leg to 90.  I couldn't do a straight leg raise for at least 2 weeks, and didn't get to 90 till about 10 days. Yes, straight leg lifts are very painful right where you are saying. That's because the end of your quad muscle is right there where the surgeon was working, so it is very sore.  My Pt had me do them, but he would help me by holding his hand under my leg and lifting just enough to assist.  He said not to do any exercises that caused sharp pain. For getting a bend, he had me sit on a stool and hang my leg over it and let gravity take it to 90.  Of course at first it wasn't hanging but him holding under the calf and gently letting the foot lower down till too much pain, then lifting to straight.  Like 100 times.  It magically loosened up after about 30.  after a few days of this I got to 90, then past.

I agree about the icing for the swelling, and keep it elevated.  Don't just sit, sit with it elevated as much as you can get it.

It will eventually loosen up.

I am a firm believer in ice!! You cannot over do it unless you have the ice directly on your skin and get frost bite. The first week is going to be the worst your miserable in pain knee looks alien its rough. The road is long some days are great others not so good. There will be times you make progress and then something else happens and you go backwards. Stay positive ( of course when the therapist is trying bend your knee to get max bend out of it and it hurts like hell ) it will get better. Hopefully one day you will look back at this and be thankful you had this done.

hi there, i know what you are going thru, but you are only 5 days post op, hate to say it but you have a long way to go, i am 3 months post op, and my thighs ache, keep up the exercises, ice maybe 3 to 4 times a day, do not over do your exercises, do one then maybe have a rest for about 5 min then do another and so on. it is frustrating and depressing you have to soldier on, it is hard work, i feel i am getting better, 1st 2 months i think are the hardest , in a lot of pain, could not get a good nights sleep. its a long proccess. stay positive you will come right. good luck.

Many thanks for your comments and encouragement.

Before the op I read through many post op posts but nothing can prepare you for this.

I knew it wasn't going to be an easy journey but the frustration when you do your exercises take a rest and you are as stiff as a board.

After doing some walking I have virtually no bend I gave gone back to using a walking frame as I don't feel confident on elbow crutches in case I loose balance and fall at times I feel so low which is why I am so glad I found this forum.

Yes, it is very hard, lots of elevation when you are lying flat on the bed....your leg needs to be above your heart.

It's a right pain the leg lifting matter.

I finally managed to lift my leg off the bed, from a horizontal position, at four weeks but it was very hard and it took a few more weeks for it to be done with ease and more consistently. It was rather hit and miss!

I had managed to lift my operated leg up in a straight leg raise at 18 days post op, just once, but not from a horizontal position. I was icing and elevating it, and doing a few quad sets while surfing the net on my tablet and I thought I would have an attempt at lift off, but I wasn’t expecting any result.

I had been trying to do the straight leg lift on and off, mostly when the leg was already elevated on a couple of pillows, as the angle made it feel a bit easier to move. It would only lift a fraction! LITERALLY a bit of pillow movement! But no gap between the pillow and heel!

How surprised I was when I managed to lift it a few inches up from the (45 degree angle) pillows as I was elevating!

It is very hard to keep on trying something and I do remember feeling anxious about it.

My physio told me not to worry and that it would come, and also that it is not that uncommon.

Rest is important too...I wasn't able to do the amount of exercises my booklet said I should in the early weeks...but I did what I could, little and often.

Keep on doing your exercises as far as you are able, and try not to be discouraged.

If you havent done so alreay, you may like to go to my profile by clicking on the image next to my name. I kept a journal of my own knee replacement journey, and I have been told by several people they found it helpful to read, or skim through. It has a lot of useful suggestions and information. Hopefully it might be useful to you.

It's a really massive shock to the system, so try and allow yourself as much acceptance as you can. Life is not going to be its normal for a long while, go with the flow even though things don't move at the normal speed or in the usual way.

Sending good wishes your way! Big mistake I made was trying to do hard exercises as much as the easier ones, and at the end of the day when I was tired. Completely disouraging. Mix them about and even if you only try a few times to do one, and don't do it well, the important thing is you have tried.

You just need to keep chipping away. The surgeon's chipping away was easy in comparison I think!😁

As you say, as swelling reduces it will help a lot.

Are you on anti inflammatories?