Pain meds

Can you say more about the pain of physical therapy. Have you talked to your pt and your surgeon?

The therapist is having to push my knee to try to get the bend I need to be at at this time and it is excruciatingly painful. I'm going to my Dr. today for my 2 week appointment and will discuss it with her. As I said earlier I've been only taking my pain pills at night but I'm now thinking I might need to take every 6 hrs during the day too so I can push harder during physical therapy at home & in the clinic

My TKR is 2 months ago now and I had to take pain medication up to 4 weeks at night and special one hour in front of PT.
My doctor, nurse and PT advised me to take it, otherwise you can’t do all the exercises correctly or sleep at night.
I always tried to take a little less to adjust, but if I was in more pain I took what was needed.

That helps me alot. I think I tried to pare the pain meds down too soon and it's really affecting my therapy at home & at the clinic. Thank you so much

If there is severe pain when the therapist pushes to straighten out your knee, ask him or her to back off a bit. It should be uncomfortable, not extremely painful.

I would also take pain meds an hour or so before therapy. At two weeks, overall, pain should be subsiding and you should be able to ben the knee further (flexion) and straighten the knee (extension).

Everyone is different. You may be pushing too hard on the exercises. Bend the knee as far as possible until there is some pain from resistance. Each day, you should be able to go a little further. Ideal flexion is 120 degrees or higher. Straightening the knee should be as close to zero as possible. Everyone is different of course.

Thanks for the help. I'm going to get back on my pain meds and if it still feels like torture, I'll talk to my therapist

Under no circumstances should it be that painful. When you're developing flexion and bending the knee, the resistance is not pleasant but there is no sharp pain. Ask your PT and/or Dr and make sure you're not trying to do too much, or to expect too much. Take care!

Will do. Thanks for the help!

I was told, stay ahead of the pain and have pain meds onboard prior to pt. Doesn't payoff not to use the pain meds prescribed.
Are you doing the required home exercises? I really had to push myself to do them but it paid off. Good luck to you

Good point. The exercises they give you to do at home are extremely important to a successful TKR. Do then 3x day followed by ice and elevation. It might help to take pain meds an hour or so before doing the exercises.

I'm generalizing, but most people who don't recover well from TKR simply don't do the required post-op work. The surgery is the easy part. And I'd say the first month immediately after surgery is the most important.

Please understand that extreme or sharp pain means something is wrong, or being done incorrectly, and should be stopped immediately. With bending and straightening the knee, expect some discomfort/pain and back off when that point is reached. Try to go a little farther each time.

As the swelling comes down, flexion and extension will improve. Stick with it as it's worth every second.