1. Community
  2. Bones, joints and muscles
  3. Knee Problems

Thigh pain and tightness following knee replacement

Posted , 7 users are following.

Caitibean
Caitibean

I had a partial knee replacement just over 3 weeks ago and am terrified because i feel something is not right. I am 45 and was very fit before the op - hill and mountain walking regularly still despite having no cartilage left at all due to congenital abnormality of the patella. Although my knee was painful pre-op, I had full movement and could bend it fully and even kneel but i went ahead with the op as the surgeons told me i would still be able to hike but with less pain.

In the first few days after my op i experienced horrendous pain and tightness in my thigh, so badly I couldn't lift my foot from the floor during the initial physio and couldn't bend to 90 degrees, but they were so desperate to get me out for the bed i was discharged anyway.

The awful thigh pain and tightness continued at home (it felt like I had been machine gunned in the thigh), but with perseverance i did manage to lift my foot after a week or so. I do all physio exercises 3 times daily religiously, walk on my sticks round the village several times a day and follow all exercise with icing and elevation. BUT, I still cannot bend my leg easily. I can just get it to 90 degrees now but it is very very hard because it feels like my thigh muscles are going to snap. They are so tight!!!! It feels like elastic bands pulled so taut they'll snap whenever i try bending it and the psin goes all the way into my hip.

My mum had a TKR and doesn't remember experiencing this. I haven't seen my surgeon since before the op and i haven't seen a physio since discharge. My first physio appointment isn't for another 10 days and i don't have an appt with my consultant until the 10 week mark! I've tried phoning the hospital but never get called back and my GP has just suggested I change my painkillers.

I am terrified something has gone wrong and i'll never be able to bend my leg again and will never be able to climb hills and mountains again. I feel so depressed and 'abandoned' by the NHS (over dramatic - sorry). Has anyone any words of reassurance or advice for me as right now I feel my life is ruined by this op.

0 likes, 12 replies

12 Replies

  • Pepperpot68
    Pepperpot68 Caitibean

    Posted

    I had total knee replacement 6 weeks ago and at 3 weeks I felt exactly as you do. I just thought why have I done this and that I would never walk normally again, I would never be able to return to work complete dispare, My knee was so swollen and stiff and tight with very little ROM. But over the last 3 weeks little by little things are improving day by day.. I can now walk round house unaided, walk outside with only one stick, my ROM is now around 90.so,so me days are good and I can do a lot and others my knee just swells and is very stiff and then I just rest, elevate and ice my knee you have to let your knee tell you when enough is enough. Please keep up with your exercises it will pay off.

    I have been very lucky and have an excellent physio(NHS wouldn't give me a replacement to young apparently at 50!!..so am under bupa) I've had regular physio since my op and it's paying off but having to wait as long as you have sounds rediculous.

    A change of painkiller might help different drugs work differently on people. If you can get your pain under control you feel be able to do more with your knee. You are not alone and what your feeling is felt by a lot of people. We all have to remember that recovery can take up to 18months and we're only at the beginning, so stop worrying and give yourself a break and things will improve. You can do it! Good luck.. Xx

    • Caitibean
      Caitibean Pepperpot68

      Posted

      Thanks so much for this reply. It's reassuring to know you felt similar but that things have improved and I'm so glad you are feeling better now. I don't really know what I should do regarding painkillers. I'm just taking 1 codeine and 2 paracetamol 4 times a day now as stronger ones like Tramadol and Shortec made me feel so ill. I was taking Oramorph too at first but stopped about 2 weeks in because I was worried i shouldn't be on so much.

      I have dreadful bruising still, from my thigh all the way to my ankle and a lot of swelling, though it has gone down somewhat . The tightness in the thigh is the worst though. I keep panicking that they tore something they shouldn't have or made some mistake and I just wish I could have a conversation with the surgeon and hear him say 'it's ok, you're doing fine this is all normal.' I also wish i could just see the physio as I'm just doing my own thing with it and don't know if I'm pushing it too hard or not doing enough. It's all very frustrating and i feel very foolish for thinking I might be skipping around by week 3 or 4.

      Anyway, I'll keep going with the exercising, walking and icing and hope for the best. Thank you again for your comment and wish you the very best for your recovery!

    • Pepperpot68
      Pepperpot68 Caitibean

      Posted

      Your very welcome this forum has really helped me. As for painkillers go with what you think I'm only on paracetamol now every 4-6hrs thought I could come off them as well but if I don't take it my knee aches so I just take them! I also have oramorph which I did take before getting in /out of car as this is very hard and painful but with the oramorph pain is less. Also took before physio sessions so physio can really get your knee working as pain will not help the physio session.

      LOL me to 🤣.. I thought I'd be running around by week 3.. Just shows what the surgeon don't tell you!! Hang on in there it will get better week 5 was a turning point for me and this week it continues just be patient!.. Not easy I know.

  • jenny61596
    jenny61596 Caitibean

    Posted

    I would keep on at hospital to see surgeon , you usually see surgeon at 6 weeks or earlier here if you have a problem , didnt your surgeon see you after op? Mine called by my bed everyday I was in hospital, I had a total but it was painful but dont remember muscles feeling tight, try a pain killer called lyrica its for nerve pain and may help your muscles relax . Good luck

    • Brendastar
      Brendastar jenny61596

      Posted

      This is crazy. Post surgery doctor visit should be 10-14 days after surgery and physical therapy should start day of surgery. Where do you all live that you call physical therapy as physio ?

      I am an amputee and had my TKR 10 days ago. I had PT day of surgery, home therapy since and outpatient therapy scheduled. I am walking outside and do exercises regularly in order to stretch the muscles and have an outstanding ROM due to the necessity of my situation. Got rid of narcotic drugs in 7 days. Still have pain at night when sleeping, advice for that?

    • Caitibean
      Caitibean Brendastar

      Posted

      I didn't see my surgeon at all after the op. I was given a first appointment for 10 weeks post op, and last Friday I received a letter informing me they've had to cancel my appointment and will send me another in due course!!!! I know the NHS here in the UK is on its knees, but seriously this seems ridiculous!

    • Brendastar
      Brendastar Caitibean

      Posted

      I agree. i get furious with those in the US that want socialized medicine!

  • lynda49844
    lynda49844 Caitibean

    Posted

    I had a TKR at the end of January, It's a brutal surgery and all the muscles and soft tissues take a long time to recover. I had all sorts of pains in quads, hamstrings, calf and a tightness in a band above the knee. I couldn't lift my leg at all to begin with and trying to get my leg to bend to 90 wasn't easy. I found it best to do a couple of heel slides every hour, bringing the heel back as far as I could before it became painful and holding it there for 30 seconds, I had my surgery on the NHS, was discharged after 3 days, never saw surgeon after the op until the 8th week, I just did the exercises that the physio gave me in hospital for the first 4 weeks and then downloaded more from the hospital website, but ended up overdoing it. It took a week for my knee to settle down so I went back to just doing the hospital exercises until I started physio at 6 weeks. My ROM is fine now and at 4 1/2 months I'm doing most things I was doing before, although my knee soon lets me know if I'm expecting it to do more than it's ready for. If your knee is very swollen it won't bend so concentrate on icing for at least 45 mins a minimum of 4 times daily and keep the leg elevated as much as possible. I took paracetemol only after the first week, as I'm unable to take other painkillers. I made sure I took 1000mg every 6 hours to keep on top of pain. It is frustrating and worrying when we don't know if what we are feeling is normal. When I saw the surgeon's registrar at 8 weeks he said that they were only really interested in ensuring the wound was healing. He checked my ROM and was pleased with it, showed me my x-rays pre and post surgery, told me to expect pain and swelling for 6 months and said he'd see me in January. I think that once the surgeon has down his job and x-rays show the prosthesis is where it should be, it's a question of waiting for the tissues to repair and then build up the muscles.

    At 3 weeks it's still early days and a flexion of 90 at this point is fine. Most doctors are happy with that at 6 weeks. You will get there, it just takes time. My surgeon was quite blunt about how long recovery was, said to expect a lot of pain for the first 6 weeks, at 3 months should be able to start doing most activities again, but at least a year before a full recovery, so you're not even 1/12 of the way through yet.

    • Caitibean
      Caitibean lynda49844

      Posted

      Thanks for this. It's such a relief to hear from people who have been through it / are going through it. It's a surprisingly lonely and isolating experience and my emotions are all over the place. I'm positive and determined one minute then plunged into panic and despair the next. I hate being inactive and am desperately fearful of not being able to do the activities I love again. I just need to keep positive.

    • purplerlover
      purplerlover lynda49844

      Posted

      I am surprised you can even walk. You had to wait 8 weeks to see your surgeon after surgery? I was in PT after 2, of course look at where I am now. I need the support the PT's gave me. And needed to be motivated.

      You are one of the lucky ones that recovers normally. Guessing you are under 40? Age makes a BIG difference. I am 68. I don't recover quickly anymore and other health problems add into the equasion too. Good for you.....

    • lynda49844
      lynda49844 purplerlover

      Posted

      I wish I was under 40! I'm 70 and have other issues as well apart from the arthritis. I was determined to do whatever I could to attain a good result and am quite disciplined when it comes to exercise having had physio and chiropractic treatment for knees, hip, neck and back over the years. My knees have been a problem for 26 years and I have scoliosis and degeneration of the spine on top of other conditions. If I didn't exercise and stretch my back every day it would soon let me know.

      The hospital physio gave me exercises to do for 6 weeks with the option of downloading more if they became easy, but it was when I tried one of the next stage exercises that I had problems so I reverted to the first stage. I was assessed by my outpatient physio at 3 weeks who said I was doing well and enrolled me in a 6 week post-operative class. The registrar I saw at 8 weeks advocated doing anything that didn't cause pain apart from running or jumping.

      When I finished physio I was enrolled in a 12 week 1:1 course for further rehab at my local gym, which was going well until last week when the instructor introduced a new exercise. Despite my saying I didn't think I should be doing it yet, she assured me it would be fine. It wasn't! I should have stuck with my instincts as, although it didn't hurt doing it, by evening the knee was hot, swollen and painful and is only just calming down now.

      Please don't think my knee has made a remarkable recovery; it's still very much a work in progress. I'm sorry if I gave the wrong impression. I might be back doing most things to a degree, but not at the same level as before. The other one needs doing, but I want this one to be stronger first.

  • missmagwumps
    missmagwumps Caitibean

    Posted

    Have a look at Chico's posts re exercise etc... he has a wealth of knowledge of these things and helped me through my TKR.....well worth reading his posts anyway as he tells it like it is...don't fret too much. I thought I had made the worst mistake of my life opting for surgery but no regrets now....just wish surgeons were more open with what to expect after surgery but if they were, no one would be having the op...lol...x

Back to top

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.