Foot neuropathy (numbness and pain) after total knee replacement (TKR)

I am five months postop and I still have the neuropathy in my foot and to feel that a nerve was compressed. My surgeon keeps telling me that it will come back and that it could take a year. It’s the worst feeling ever and I still have a lot of pain behind the knee and he refuses to give me any pain meds. I’m getting very frustrated at this point, I am very active person And sometimes I can’t do anything.

So sorry to hear you have neuropathy in your foot. Yes it is miserable! Ask for an ABI test. It measures the pressure in your legs. That is how the determined I had a pinch artery. Half of my numbness and tingling went away right after the surgery to open the artery. I still have some but it's not as bad. I also take Gabapentin for the neuropathy and a blood thinner because of the artery surgery. My surgeon was no help keep telling me it was normal give it 1 to 3 years. Now I also ended up with a fractured knee cap on that knee. Surgeon is doing nothing. But don't give up. Be an advocate for yourself.

I had total knee replacement about 8 weeks ago. My knee did great but I was having so much numbess and pain in my foot I thought something happened during surgery to cause a breakage or sprain to my foot. I returned to my surgeon and he did an x-ray but nothing was broken. He offered no further explanation. It's now about 5 weeks since and the numbness feels even stronger and the pain worse. I've done some research and even though my surgeon seems to be taking it lightly, I've found it's more common and debilitating than previously acknowledged. I'm not sure if I need an attorney at this point. I guess they don't think I'm serious!!!

Hi o911. I am almost 6 months out from surgery for a right tkr and had a similar experience. The symptoms really lessened once I was able to be more active and get on the stationary bike a lot. Then it came back more so! And some weeks are bad and others are better without being able to connect any specific or amount of activity to the changing symptoms. I can ride my bike up to 50 miles but to walk more than a block becomes very uncomfortable and then painful in my hip because the foot weirdness foes not allow me to walk right. The type of pain and numbness keeps changing over the months, and is way different now, than when I was first out of surgery. I could not even let the sheet touch my toes without extreme pain and discomfort the first few months! For awhile I thought the compression stockings were the culprit causing the problem. I would recommend having a nerve velocity study with a neurologist. I have seen a podiatrist to rule out any muscle or tendon damage in the ankle. She is befuddled and thinks it is definitely knee surgery related and is out of her domain legallyto pursue it farther akthough she suggested an mri of the foot. I am going to see an orthopedist who specializes in foot and ankle and who is not associated at all with the place where my ortho surgeon practices. I also see a chiropractor every week who keeps it under control. I am determined to find out what it is instead of taking medication that is suggested, such as gabertin or something like that. I am going go see if I can get an MRI of the knee. Of course my surgeon keeps dismissing the whole thing.

Hi there, I had a knee replacement 8 weeks post op as well and since I woke up in revovery my foot has been numb. My dr says that he may have stretched or pinched a nerve. I also had and still have a sore ankle. The dr had no explanation for it said nothing.
Maybe I should be doing something about this too. I went for my check ups and now he wants to see me in six months. No concern at all about my foot numbness. It is so frustrating and do umcomfortable.

Hope you feel better soon.

Josie

@josie1957 Hi Josie, and welcome to Connect and the knee replacement discussions. I have had two TKRs but neither caused neuropathy. When your doctor said he may have stretched of pinched a nerve did he give you any indication if it would recover and if so how long that would take?

I would definitely push him for an answer on that. I hope it is temporary.
JK

I would hope for temporary too. I had TKR one year ago and still have some variable numbness down outer aspect of knee and lower leg, esp. after exercise.I also tend to drag that foot a bit when tired. Have been told it’s normal, but it’s a strange sensation or lack of it! Hope it is temporary for you

Hi there yes he said it would take months. Im just wondering does he really know whats going on.
Thats what scares me the most.

Do you have numbness in your foot.

On and off, yes I do get some numbness along top of my foot, again if I am on my feet a lot