Total Knee Replacement: Swelling

Good afternoon Gordy. That looks like a very good list. Sometimes it helps to make these lists and then we can rejoice when paying attention to your list means an easier rode to recovery.

Thanks for sharing. What's for healthy dinner tonight? Just teasing.

Chris

Good afternoon, I so appreciate that you found my post of value. If you are only 8 weeks out...with what issues are you dealing? I also was worried about my incision. One of the PT folks suggested taking some X-rays and having my surgeon's PA take a look. That was a good idea and was quite reassuring to me. I am adding the images of my knee that were taken to check out the swelling. Everyone was happy with the result. This image has the front on the left and the back on the right.

May you have contentment and ease.

Good evening @ginzy53, I think you have said it succinctly. Everyone is different and you need to proceed as comfortably as you can. In answer to your question about massage, MFR is more of a treatment than a massage. Therapists in MFR have studied for several years and passed different levels of expertise. My MFR therapist has an "Expert" rating. She has been here for me for at least 5 years as I have progressed with the symptoms of small fiber neuropathy. I see her twice a week now so that my daily life can be more pain tolerable. I can predict that as the condition continues to progress, I may need to receive treatment 3 times a week.

I, too, have always been an athletic advocate.....tennis, golf, and an activity called Inn to Inn walking. We cover about 40-50 miles a week and have walked in many beautiful places. I have great memories. My walks right now while recovering are 1 mile or under. It has been hard for me to let go of the activities I so enjoyed. Several years ago, I replaced some of those adventuresome efforts with my volunteer role on Connect. That has been a wonderful choice on top of mindfulness, meditation, and yoga.

Have you discovered new activities?

May you have happiness and the causes of happiness.
Chris

My thing is , Im 56 years old, had a left hip replacement 16 months ago, went back to work, I own a glass company and just do small repairs with me and my wife.I have been 14 days after total knee on the left side.The swollen parts is the front of the calf and back , the knee has pressure pain , from standing up and down. Does the Dr just cut the top femur bone and the bottom of the tabula. If that is the case how do we know he is cutting straight.I feel the right side is about a 1/2” longer, and my foot , or say from the knee down , my foot turns to the right, which I have been working on trying to correct..Two weeks before the TKR, I had 13 screws and two plates in my foot, which the knee Dr. did not look into what was being held and so on and so on .My whole question is what are the best ways to get the muscles straight ,working correctly, and strong. What I have found, the tabula connects to the top of the foot, were the screws and plates were on the top of my foot.Any feed back on it ? Please let me know .

This is a very good thread … I am 59 had tkr aug 12 right now I am at 75 degrees I can relate to most all that is said ….. I start Aqua therapy on November 1 hoping it will help ….. I started measuring my knee to see what is swollen and just tight because sometimes they feel same last night at bed was 16 1/2 I use cryotherapy at night I switch my front to back of my knee during night when I woke up was little less than 16 .,, but soon as I start moving goes right back up …. My dr not very helpful he gave up at 8 weeks I have been researching on my own and through this site so thank you all for sharing it helps so when I don’t know what else to do read another article where someone tried something else …. Because let’s face it all trial and error at this point ..,,I just hoping something or everything I am doing finally works ….. so thank you again god bless

Can’t say enough a great physical therapist and hard work on our part I believe is success as long as surgeon has done their part. I’ve have reverse total shoulder, and TKR. My TKR in May I was at zero degrees and 62 degrees 2 days post op at pt (physical therapy) my surgeon wanted me to attain those numbers at 6 weeks but was able to get there 2 days post op. Pt has used dry needling, massage, taping,cupping and all kinds of exercises.within a few months I reached 126 degrees. It’s a lot of work and I’m doing exercises everyday and will need to keep them up even after therapy is over. I still have exercise weighs regimen for my reverse total shoulder I do
Also at 8 weeks post op do water aerobics at a rec center. There were times I felt like having a set back but found that everyone said that’s normal. It doesn’t happen overnight.wish everyone the best! My life is better after these joint replacements though not perfect. Still get dry needled on my shoulder when I overdue as I do have limitations with that replacement.

Hmm, are you still icing regularly? It is a really good strategy at the end of your day to elevate and ice to alleviate the stress of getting around all day. When I had one of my hip replacements, and ongoing swelling, I also got my leg up and iced at lunch time (kept a big ice pack in the office freezer.) That continued for over 4 months.
Sue

Good afternoon ezas123. I am going to add a bit to Sue's advice about icing and elevating because I took the question to my MFR therapist yesterday. She has kept my swelling down while I waited about a year for my recent TKR. When the area fills with fluid that is generated by our body to try to fight the infected knee area, it needs to be pushed out as part of the MFR treatments. What you may have noticed is that your calf on the surgery foot has shrunken at the same time that the knee has swollen. And that is from muscle atrophy because we tend to use that leg less the closer we get to surgery.

So....we need to keep the fluid calm and the muscles active. How is your pain level?

May you be safe and protected from inner and outer harm.

Chris

Hi sue yes I have a cryotherapy machine that I have on overnight and during night I move it around to get different areas ….. I do my exercises every 3 hours so I ice for at least half hour after each session

Hi Chris as I was telling sue I ice a lot it does help…. I was in touch with a therapist that does mfr she just called me back this morning I waited few weeks….. I am going to call her tomorrow… I read in some of the post mfr is so helpful I am willing to try anything…..I have been doing massage not very helpful