Connect
Knee and muscle pain; also a 14 year old hip replacement...related?
Hello, I am a 73 yr. old woman. I am having pain on the inside and outside of the knee joints. I have had some physical therapy which does not seem to be helping. Now I am also having discomfort in the legs.....mostly calves and thighs. I had a hip replacement almost 14 years ago.... could that possibly be getting loose and needing attention? What would be the symptoms if the hip joint should need to be replaced again?
Like
Helpful
HugInterested in more discussions like this? Go to the Joint Replacements Support Group.
Connect
@mnpat, you mentioned that you planned on scheduling your knee replacement for sometime in February, have you decided to do so?
@gailfaith and @sandytoes14 had some great advice for preparing both mentally and physically for your surgery and the community is wondering how you are doing.
@jomama80, it has been 5 months since you were going to start outside physical therapy.
@hosta and @grandmacheryl gave you some great advice on how to best rehab. Would you mind updating the community on how your rehab and physical therapy is going?
Update: I met with the surgeon on Feb. 8 and came out with an OR date of Feb. 21!! So I have been busy running around getting a pre-op check (have you ever had your nose swabbed to check for MRSA??), have a dental appointment tomorrow and a haircut Friday. Also went (with husband) to an orientation session for patients due to have TKR or THR. I was unable to get an appointment with an anesthesiologist, because there are multiple ORs at the hospital and apparently the anesthesiologists are not assigned until the morning of surgery. However, the surgeon's assistant called anesthesiology while I was still at my appt. and informed him/her of my concerns. And I will not leave the "holding room" until I have looked him in the eye!!
Current plan is to have a spinal with a femoral nerve block and light sedation. Following surgery I will be in the hospital 3 nights and then transfer to a rehab center (we toured it today). I intend to be the Little Train who kept saying "I think I can, I think I can" until he made it to the top of the hill!
-
Like -
Helpful -
Hug
1 Reaction@mnpat You have been a busy bee preparing for surgery! I'm glad you have a plan for anesthesia and looking the anestheseologist in the eye that day. He will help settle any last minute concerns you have. Be sure to tell your dentist of your upcoming surgery too. I once had a dentist give me antibiotics as a precaution so I didn't develop an infection prior to a surgery I was going to have.
Before long you will be the Little Train that sys "I did it!"
Best wishes for a smooth and speedy recovery!
Good luck to you, and best wishes. I had this done in 2012.
Hello all. I am now on the other side of the mountain and heading downhill! Had TKR on Feb. 21. Talked with anesthesiologist in the "holding room. After explaining my concerns we agreed on spinal, femoral nerve block and light sedation...I'm not sure what he used but he said OK, no VERSED. I didn't have problems post-op, although I noticed a few times that I was not as quick as usual.
3 nights in the hospital, then transferred to rehab center with great reputation for physical therapy....they are great...sometimes 4 sessions per day (2 PGT, 2 OT) I have now been here a week and will go home in 2 days. Continuing outpatient therapy is already scheduled with a PT I saw prior to surgery.
The PTs here have been extremely pleased with my progress and even my status on the very first day. I attribute that to the fact that I had been doing most of the exercises to strengthen legs and knee for at least a month prior to surgery. When I arrived at rehab I already was at a bend of 85 degrees and am now up to 106. The therapy is not as bad as I expected.....the worst is the few minutes when you try to achieve the maximum bend.
I know improvement will continue to be gradual and expect it to be at least a year to get to maximum. Actually my hip kept gradually improving for a full two years.
Best wishes to any of you contemplating total knee replacement!
-
Like -
Helpful -
Hug
3 ReactionsThank you for coming back and updating us @mnpat. Awesome to hear that everything went well and the surgeons listened to your concerns and came up with a plan that all involved were comfortable with. Keep at the PT!
@mnpat, you said you are already at 106 degrees for bend!? That is already pretty spectacular, but how much bend are you and your physical therapist aiming for?
-
Like -
Helpful -
Hug
1 ReactionThe rehab center and my physical therapist talked about a goal of 120 degrees. When I had my staples out, the orthopedic assistant looked up some data on my implant (Zimmer nexgen) and found out that the implant was designed for up to 155 degrees. Didn't say anything about whether that was after it had been implanted in a real person!