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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@lindalockie

Hi Debbra all I have been offered so far is pregabalin which makes me very groggy Am still managing to do the physical therapy but as a public patient who lives in a rural area in Australia I have to do it by myself Not a lot of support Have to rely on my local GP who has sent me for a CT Spine Thank you hope you continue to improve

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@lindalockie @debbraw Hi Linda, let me add my welcome to Debbra's.
I am one of the people who as Debbra mentioned had some severe pain that basically resolved overnight! Six weeks is not a long time, hopefully, your pain will start to improve soon, either overnight or gradually.
Not being able to actually go to a physical therapist makes it more difficult too. I always like to have mine check to make sure I am doing the exercises correctly. Can you go with less frequency to have that checked on?
JK

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Has anyone had foot pain and numbness after knee replacement? 4 months post and my arch is killing me.

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@westy1961

Has anyone had foot pain and numbness after knee replacement? 4 months post and my arch is killing me.

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Hello @westy1961 I wanted to say Hello and hope you will hear from patients who have experienced knee replacements soon. It might be making you walk differently which could trigger plantar fasciaitis. I broke my ankle, and I got plantar fasciaitis when I started walking again. Our muscles get weak very quickly when we are not using them. Have you spoken with your doctor about this? I sought the help of a podiatrist and got custom orthotics which are expensive, but they help me a lot and reduce pain. A physical therapist may be able to help as well. Have you tried physical therapy?

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@westy1961

Has anyone had foot pain and numbness after knee replacement? 4 months post and my arch is killing me.

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Thank you!! I have been through PT and currently going to a chiropractor. It does seem to help. I’m also going look into a foot doctor for new shoe insoles. Thank you for your help.

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@westy1961

Has anyone had foot pain and numbness after knee replacement? 4 months post and my arch is killing me.

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Hello @westy1961, Welcome to Connect. You will notice that we merged your post into an existing discussion so that you can meet other members discussing similar symptoms and learn what they have shared.

Have you discussed the foot pain and numbness with your surgeon or care team?

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@westy1961

Has anyone had foot pain and numbness after knee replacement? 4 months post and my arch is killing me.

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Has anyone explained that nerves are sometimes irritated, damaged, or even cut during surgery? The can and do regenerate, but it can be quite a long and sometimes painful process. I have had 5 hip replacement surgeries, with varying nerve involvement after each one. One time the pins and needles in my thigh took over a year to heal, and there is still one numb spot 10 years later.

This summer my daughter, who is an OR and ER nurse, had a traumatic fracture and surgery in her arm. One day she came to me, very upset & worried because she had "stabbing, poking and buzzing" sensations above and below the surgical site. Mom got to be the triage person this time, and explain it was her nerves beginning to regenerate, and that the sensations would move and change over time as she healed.

Every surgery is a little different, even in the same person, and every body heals differently. At 4 months, your body is still actively healing.
Sue

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Thanks Sue! The pain and tingling does move around. Of course the surgeon said he’s never had this happen. It just gets frustrating when you try to fix one problem and end up with another. My knee feels great!!

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@westy1961

Thanks Sue! The pain and tingling does move around. Of course the surgeon said he’s never had this happen. It just gets frustrating when you try to fix one problem and end up with another. My knee feels great!!

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I would rate the pain and tingling moving as assurance it is part of healing.
Some people are experts at only hearing what they want to hear - and letting the rest "go in one ear and out the other" - maybe he's one of them, or he's new at this. Otherwise it's hard to imagine nobody ever said it to him before...
At least you have others here to tell you they've been there. I wouldn't necessarily jump to new orthotics until a few more months have passed. Also a few more PT sessions might be in order to make sure your gait isn't contributing.
Sue

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@sueinmn

I would rate the pain and tingling moving as assurance it is part of healing.
Some people are experts at only hearing what they want to hear - and letting the rest "go in one ear and out the other" - maybe he's one of them, or he's new at this. Otherwise it's hard to imagine nobody ever said it to him before...
At least you have others here to tell you they've been there. I wouldn't necessarily jump to new orthotics until a few more months have passed. Also a few more PT sessions might be in order to make sure your gait isn't contributing.
Sue

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Hi after 2 tkr‘s I developed neuropathyin both feet. I do not have diabetes and have been told that my gait from my new knees are causing the nerve to compress on my inner ankle. I wear orthotics for my flat overpronated feet. The left foot and leg is much worse than the right and the left foot also is flatter than the right. Seems with all this medical knowledge no one can help me. A podiatrist, a neurologist or anyone else. I have had 3 nerve decompressions on my left side only to have it compress again. Very debilitating and actually disturbing my life big time. Surgeries didn’t fix or cause symptoms to worsen as my right foot had no surgeries and symptoms are there but much lesser. I need help with this and don’t know what else to do.

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@kp6350

Hi after 2 tkr‘s I developed neuropathyin both feet. I do not have diabetes and have been told that my gait from my new knees are causing the nerve to compress on my inner ankle. I wear orthotics for my flat overpronated feet. The left foot and leg is much worse than the right and the left foot also is flatter than the right. Seems with all this medical knowledge no one can help me. A podiatrist, a neurologist or anyone else. I have had 3 nerve decompressions on my left side only to have it compress again. Very debilitating and actually disturbing my life big time. Surgeries didn’t fix or cause symptoms to worsen as my right foot had no surgeries and symptoms are there but much lesser. I need help with this and don’t know what else to do.

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Thinking out loud here. When I had serious pain issues after my 4th hip replacement, I was sent to a rehab PT - a clinic that specializes in getting people back in shape after serious accidents, or typical PT fails. My posture, gait, strength and balance were assessed, and I was given very specific exercises, on land and in water, to do to get me walking correctly after many years of bad, hips, knee and back pain.
It took a lot of work, but after 10 years I can tell when I'm getting lazy and start the exercises again or replace my shoes.
I'll definitely be going back there after my inevitable knee replacements.
Sue

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