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Numbness in foot after tkr

Posted by irol @irol, Apr 16, 2019

I am reaching out to someone who posted last month about numb foot. They were going to have surgery for circulation on April 11 and I wanted to know if it resolved the problem. I think mine was caused by using the compression socks for 30 days. I begged the doctor to let me stop using them during the day but they did not want to be responsible for risk of blood clots. I was quite active and fit (with all parts of my body except my right leg) before the surgery, so I think the socks interfered with my nerves somehow. I am 7 weeks out from surgery and the foot is not keeping me awake all night anymore and the string around the toe sensation has almost gone away entirely. My knee swelling has gone down a lot and I think the ability to get good flexion is taking off a strain that was making everything really tight down to my foot. I force my knee to bend with a strap around my ankle. I attach a cord (bsthrobe tie) to the metal ring on a velcro gym strap that is atound my foot or sometimes just around the ankle, and I am up to 128 degrees. So I just wanted to let anybody with this type of foot numbness and extreme pain, that it will go away as the leg gets more active. I was really feeling defeated and scared and decided to just not think about it as much as possible. Just work the knee hard and you have to cause yourself a lot of pain to get the best results. I am on a bike 20 minutes three times a day and I do a heavy regimen of exercises and stretches three times a day that the PT gave me. That should be your life for recovery. I have a good meal at the end of the day for my reward.

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willw | @willw | Nov 1, 2022

Thanks... I'm 7 weeks out from TKR and in a similar pickle. Very discouraged due to swollen foot. I know I need move these parts. but the sore foot has me feeling stuck

REPLY
healthmatters | @healthmatters | Aug 20 4:10pm
In reply to @loriaakre "That would of been me! I had the popliteal artery surgery on April 11, 2019. The..." + (show)
@loriaakre

That would of been me! I had the popliteal artery surgery on April 11, 2019. The artery had been pinched off during my TKR surgery which my surgeon refused to admit. The artery surgeon took out a dead dried blood clot that was in the artery. Thank goodness it was an artery that flowed from my knee down otherwise it would have flowed right to my heart. When I awoke from surgery my foot was warm and pink, not cold and purple. the only problem was that it was almost 2 months that I had not blood flow to my foot. I ended up with permanent cell and tissue damage and have some numbness on the bottom of my foot and a few of my toes, but as my TKR surgeon so graciously put it when I told him what he did..."Why did you wait so long to get it fixed, you could have lost your leg" and still have my leg no thanks to him. I also ended up with a kneecap fracture (lack of blood flow again) and found out that he put in too small of a spacer between metal parts and my knee gives out on me all the time. But at least I have my leg, I'm only 67 and can still get around. (with a little pain) Lori

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Hi Lori, I am in the same boat. I am trying to find a good surgeon to operate on my popliteal artery. I am having problems with circulation to the lower leg (from the knee down specifically).

Who was the surgeon you used for the popliteal artery surgery? Thank you so much.

REPLY
healthmatters | @healthmatters | Aug 29 10:44am
In reply to @rayjay535353 "Hi all, I've been to PT no less than 30 times in my life. Mostly sports..." + (show)
@rayjay535353

Hi all,
I've been to PT no less than 30 times in my life. Mostly sports injuries and surgeries. The last 5 PT offices I used were pretty useless. While having 5 patients on the floor, I had one PT and 2 interns. They show me the exercises to do and walk away until it's time for 10 minutes of massage. The interns are with you most of the time thinking that pushing me is going to help with rehab. These large offices all seem to be run the same way. After my first Cervical surgery I tried 2 different offices and had more pain after leaving the office than I had going in.
After my 2nd Cervical surgery, I was lucky to find a new office run by one of the best hospitals in the U.S
They assign you one therapist for 45 minutes, who doesn't leave your side. He explains everything that he's doing and why. He is more concerned with building the muscles around the Traps, and never wants me to over do any exercise. This guy is the PTGod. Make sure your treatment plan is what you want before starting with any group. Their job is to help you, not cover the companies bottom line.

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I am in desperate need of a better physical therapist. I have tried three and my insurance coverage is running out - they allow only a certain amount of visits per period of time.

You wrote you found "a new office run by one of the best hospitals in the US." Would you mind sharing with me what is the name of the hospital and the physical therapist?

Thank you so very much.

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