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← Return to Foot problems after TKR
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Oh my I can relate to that. I was so anxious to start walking and doing things like years ago before my knee got so bad. the first couple of months seemed promising. I no longer had any pain in my knee after a few months. The knee was great. Then I started to have swelling in the surgery leg in my foot. The surgeon said they had to turn my leg and that the muscles needed time to adjust. It seemed to get worse and they sent me to a ortho foot doctor who had no clue what was going on and sent me to imaging center to see if I had a blood clot. Then he fit me with a brace. Why he didn't know that this was a common thing I don't understand. To make a long boring story short.....I went to several doctors none seem to have a clue, I was given prednisone, antibiotics and many other wrong diagnosis. I started researching for myself and found out this is a common problem. plantar fasciitis and neuropathy is just one of the problems that can develop from having your leg turned in TKR surgery. So I am going to go back to a foot doctor and discuss what I found. Hopefully in time the foot problem will resolve enough to have good use of my leg again. I'm in my 8th month since my TKR. Also the foot on my surgery leg was always a flat foot, so when I discussed this fact with the doctor as an additional possibility for problems, he dismissed it saying "it just needs time"!! I find you have to be your own advocate and research as much info as you can. :[
Replies to "Oh my I can relate to that. I was so anxious to start walking and doing..."
@tani I have been doing a lot of physical therapy because of recovering from an ankle fracture 2 years ago. The alignment of everything through the pelvis, hips, knees, and ankles is very important. I lost a bit of cartilage in my injury, and my ankle isn't as stable now. If I circle it around, it cracks a lot, and there are slight differences in alignment that cause pain and I can't step on my foot. My PT showed me how to release it when it gets locked up and push it back into better alignment. Some of it could be caused by weakness for not having normal use of muscles during recovery, or that it also is weak enough that it just gets tired and slips a bit.
The muscles can also be too tight around the pelvis, and this happens from sitting too much causing the hip flexors to be too tight. Tightness can pull on everything down the leg and cause uneven pressure on joints. My physical therapist also does myofascial release which can help balance the body and stretch out the places that are overly tight. You may be interested in our discussion on Myofascial Release.
Myofascial Release Therapy (MFR) for treating compression and pain:
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/myofascial-release-therapy-mfr-for-treating-compression-and-pain/
Hi I had my tkr’s 5 and 6 yrs ago. 3 months after 1st knee both balls of feet and toes started to get numb. PT for “tarsal tunnel syndrome seemed to subside issue. After second knee 12 months after first numbness came back after a week and never went away. Has gotten much worse over time. I have flat feet so I’m thinking my gait after surgeries. Been to several drs and have had 3 yes 3 decompression surgeries in my tarsal tunnel one order foot. No improvement at all from day 1 of each of the surgeries. Both feet feel same on this day only left foot sympthoms are much more prominent. Always has been that’s the reason for decompressions. My both feet are numb, tingly, burning and STIFF. Traveling up my leg. No one knows why. You think in this day they would be able to spot issue. I suffer every single day. Can’t enjoy anything in life anymore….
Definitely have to be own advocate. Cause no one cares about your pain
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After my second set of hip replacement surgeries, I needed "gait training" from PT, new orthotics from my foot doc, and (UGH!) to replace all my shoes that had any wear on them. My lower body alignment & foot position was so changed that wearing anything from before cause much pain. Even now, 11 years later, I must carefully test shoes at home with my orthotics, before keeping them. And NO flip-flops or slides, not even the "good ones" except for very limited use - to the mailbox, to the pool...
Written as I am trying out some new shoes I got last week - I think they are keepers.
Sue