Firstly thank you to everyone who took the time to reply to my last post regarding post op fatigue. That does indeed seem to have passed. However, I am still struggling with trying to gauge how much pain relief I should be using and progress with exercises. It would be really useful to hear from anyone in a similar or recent situation as you are really just packed off from hospital with your meds and a quick physio appt and left to get on with it. I have oxycodone tablets to be taken up to four times a day and then just paracetamol. I am reading everyday that you should try and come off oxycodone as soon as possible so I have tried to reduce my dose slightly but that just results in sleepless nights and to be honest even with the pain relief I am in a fair amount of pain. Than the exercises. I am doing these but how much progress should I be seeing? All the literature warns that if you don't get your bending and straightening sorted out then the development of scar tissue will put paid to it for good and your knee will never be as good as it should be. I had my op on Tuesday 27th so just over a week ago and previously enjoyed yoga, hill walking and swimming and the op will have been a failure if I can't get back to these things. I am also struggling with a bakers cyst behind the operated knee which post op has doubled in size. the hospitals response was that if I was worried get in touch with my GP or go to A and E. I am not sure either would be of any help. Also walking. I am out twice a day but find this really painful about an hour after - is that normal? Any advice from lived experience would be really helpful.
Recovery after partial Knee Replacement: Firstly thank... - NRAS
Recovery after partial Knee Replacement
Oh heck, give yourself a break! And time to heal. And time to get over surgical shock and pain. You’ll need pain relief as long as your body tells you it needs it and you’ll need it regularly while your tissues are all mending after being seriously meddled with. You’ll need rest, ice on your knee and gentle but regular exercises to keep it from seizing up while it repairs. It’s a complex structure - far more than a hip - which needs looking after and you’d be best not to try to get back to normal too soon as you don’t want to go backwards before you go forwards! The Baker's cyst will have swollen due to fluid pulled into the tissues as your body tries to protect the op site. If it gets too painful then get in touch with your GP or surgeon.
I was an orthopaedics sister for many years and although many things have changed since I was doing clinical work the basic principles of healing are still the same. Bodies haven’t evolved so much that they can leap out of bed the day after a significant op and expect the same level of performance as prior to it. Take it easy, follow instructions for knee exercises and know that as you improve so will the pain and stiffness but don’t beat yourself up because it’s only a week on. Most people take 4-6 weeks after any knee procedure to get back to normal and you will.
Very best of luck and you’ll soon be back to doing all the things you did before!
Thank you so much for that reassurance. It is really difficult to benchmark yourself against a normal recovery curve when you don’t know anyone else going through it. The op was a bit of a gamble for me as I was still quite active but in increasing pain and I so want it to work. The surgeons last words to me were bend it all the time or it will get like leather and be very difficult to improve!
Relax. It took me 3 months plus to get off painkillers and my crutches post hip ops and knees are more complicated. Do your physio; stop worrying and get on to the GP about that cyst. Walking for an hour? That’s hardly believable. Were you advised to do that?? You will get back to the things you want to do but you have to give your body time to heal.
No I am not up to walking for an hour but after a short walk say of 15 minutes about an hour later I am getting a lot of discomfort.
I could barely hobble round house after two weeks. Ease up. You WILL get there.
I had a total knee replacement on 26th of June and whilst the surgery may be slightly different I imagine recovery will be relatively similar. I was told get up and walk around about every hour, do leg stretch exercises whilst lying flat on the bed, gently bend knee in whilst sitting and whilst standing hold on to a chair and gently bend knees forward then bend knee back and lift foot , each one 10 times daily for count of 3 if possible ! the latter is one I'm finding most difficult ! But the hospital physio said do your best don't push yourself past pain limits as it's just a guideline for keeping you going until physiotherapy sessions start after clips and dressing are removed and by this time , I start on 17th July luckily with my pre op physiotherapist, the pain bruising swelling will have subsided and exercises will have become easier. The ward I was on on couldn't emphasize enough the importance of keeping on top of pain control and I was discharged with more than enough pain relief for 2 weeks ! I'm seeing my consultant today for a wound review and possible clip removal if healing is good ? So I'll let you know how well he thinks it's going. Don't beat yourself up about not being able to do things ! I'm concentrating on what I can do ! it's early days yet for us both "onwards and upwards " Take care
thank you for your reply. It sounds like your physio is pretty on the ball. My op was out of my nhs area so although the hospital physio said she would refer me for physio in my home area she didn’t know how long that might take or even if it would happen at all so I am feeling like I am pretty much on my own. My wound is being checked next Tuesday so I will see if I can find anything out then.
Ditto to fruitandnutcases reply . I'm back from my wound check the consultant said try to keep up with your exercises but don't expect too much until all the bruising and swelling subsides he didn't remove my clips as he likes them in for at least 10 days but he reassured me all looks fine and when I see him again in 6 weeks I'll be bending and straightening just fine with the help of my physio so all in all it was a fruitful visit and since you're a day behind me I think you're doing remarkably well and have no need to worry at all 👍
We were talking about knee replacements in Pilates this week. We decided that they are much more painful and complicated than hip replacements and take longer to recover from but you do get better.
Just don’t go mad trying to push yourself - do the physio but don’t overdo things. Twice a day for about a hour after such a short time sounds a lot. Could you take your oxycodone at bedtime to help you sleep land use something else during the day?
You should definitely see someone about the Bakers cyst, that really won’t be helping you and it’s something you could do without.
The person in our group who had her knee done went to see our favourite physio and he did a lot of massage to deal with her inflammation and that was a great help. If you can afford it a couple of sessions with a really good physio would be worth it - but choose one you feel comfortable with.
NHS physio has long waiting lists - I’m sure I waited eight months to see the physio I was referred to when I fractured my sacrum - by that time I had seen another physio who referred me for a private MRI scan which was how I discovered I had fractured my sacrum and not ‘just a touch of osteoarthritis which was quite common at my age’
My friend also iced - and is still icing - her knee a lot and used a roll on Bio Freeze gel.
I don’t know if this link is any help to you - the guy owns a clinic that does knee surgery but it kind of outlines what to expect afterwards and for how long. I notice he mentions anti-inflammatories- have you been given anything like that? orthonebraska.com/how-much-...
Our Pilates teacher who is also a physio said to another client ‘ you will hate me for telling you you should have your knee done but you will thank me in the end’ and sure enough the client is glad she had it done and has now had her other knee done.
It takes a while to recover from knee replacement.Your body has been giving a shock.I could not sleep for weeks after mine.Pain relief for me then was Co Codamol.Keep i cing several times a day no more than twenty mins each time.I used big bag of frozen peas wrapped in a tea towel.Exercises are hard to to do at first but will get easier.I seen a physio weekly for six weeks.They were looking for a bend of 90 degrees.Try phoning Occupational Therapy they might help get physio quicker.I did this over a year ago a physio came to my house this was after hip replacement.I was giving a rutland trolley,they can help with equipment.You will get there it takes time to recover don't beat yourself up.Take Care.x
Have had two total knee replacements and it is a painful operation. For one I went into Afib right after a painful physical therapy appointment and had to stop therapy for a few days. Takes awhile. Seems you are doing well to start walking. One knee I had done 3 years ago I have been told the plastic spacer is wearing down and they will need to go back in and replace the spacer. Have had bone scan to check on what’s going on with that knee. But looks like I have to have another operation. Just try and do the therapy and walk as you are able. Hope for you it gets better and is successful.
Woah girl! It's only just over a week ago. You can push yourself too much. Do exactly what the doctor told you and you will get back to your best fitness. Your enthusiasm and determination will get you there but don't risk spoiling it by being impatient. Lots of luck.
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