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Burning after total knee replacement
Joint Replacements | Last Active: Mar 30, 2023 | Replies (244)Comment receiving replies
I am only 1 month out from my Right TKR. My doctor and physical therapists acted like he had never heard of anyone experiencing burning with a TKR before. It's been keeping me awake at night, the burning runs the length of my incision from the bottom to just above the knee cap. I did have a burning pain on the inside of the right knee but the therapist said to massage it gently in an upwards motion. I am trying gentle massage on the incision. Some gentle pressure with the palm of my hand. But in a few minutes, it starts again, so I am awake at 4AM.
Replies to "I am only 1 month out from my Right TKR. My doctor and physical therapists acted..."
@cami I'm 12 months post-op of bilateral TKR. I remember the intense burning pain, when asked to describe it I said imagine a hot branding iron being pressed against your knee. It was excruciating! Especially at night. The things I did was to ice 20 min, off 20 min until it would ease up. I also continued with pain meds. Sometimes at night I would get up and walk around the room and that seemed to help. It does gradually get better so hang in there.
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Hi @cami, Welcome to Connect. I am 9 months out from my right TKR but did not experience the burning sensation. I did experience some pain at night due to not being able to position my leg in a comfortable position. My surgeon and care team kept emphasizing the importance to me of icing and elevating. I thought I was doing it enough but I really wasn't. I did find that putting a pillow under my mattress at the bottom of the bed to elevate the leg a little did make a difference for me.
Hoping some other members can share their experience with you. Did your doctor and therapist offer any suggestions to help with the burning?