How long after TKR will it continue to hurt to do stairs?

Hi there @affadland, I sort of think you are pushing it a bit at 9 weeks. I had to wait quite a bit longer to be able to work gingerly on handling one step at a time. I think I was permitted to go up a small platform that had two steps. Recently, (one year after my TKR) and under the guidance of a Mayo Clinic specialist in preventing falls, I was able to work on the entire flight of stairs here at home. We have a landing here at home so I had 16 steps to go up and down three times every day. Sure helped to give me confidence.

However, here is my problem today. When there is no railing......like the garage steps or the front porch, I am much more tentative and try to find a friend to hold my hand.

What other strength exercises are you doing at this point? Are you sure this is not an IT band situation?

May you be free of suffering and the causes of suffering.
Chris

I had TKR surgery on my right knee June 30, 2022. While I could do one stair at a time after just a few weeks, I wasn't able to do stairs normally until October, so about 3 months out from my surgery. In addition to PT at home, I did outpatient PT for about 6 weeks and they worked with me on specific exercises for climbing stairs. I have learned everyone recovers at a different pace, so be patient with yourself. You'll get there!

At nine weeks, your muscles and tendons that were stretched and stressed by the surgery are still recovering their tone and strength. Even if your flex range is very good, you'll have to keep on rebuilding muscle strength by having your new knee singly support the full weight of your body to move it up and down, as when using stairs. There are exercises for this. I hated these at first because they were uncomfortable and hard to do at at the start. But they were the best home exercises for regaining knee stability, done 2-3 times a day at 10-15 reps each direction.

Stand with your feet together on the last stair step down, facing the wall, hands on the rail or flat against the wall for support, TKR knee on the up side of step. Bend your TKR knee and try to tap the floor below you with your good toe before bringing the good foot back up beside the TKR foot. You don't have to actually touch the floor below (or a stack of books or board to make it easier) at first, just make your knee do the work of lowering and lifting your body. Do this also to the front, facing down stairs tapping your good foot down to the front, and then another set facing up the stairs tapping your good foot behind you and down.
I think I was given this exercise during the last two weeks of PT, and I continued doing it at home for another month until I had no more issues or difficulties going up and down stairs. I still do it once in a while to check on my knees.

I live on the second floor with a puppy. I have 18 stairs up with no landing. I have been doing those stairs 3-4 times a day since week 3. I also have stairs at work which I had to go back after only 3 weeks. I guess I am probably over doing it but I really have had no choice.

You are spot on
Vince

@afladland - I understand completely. I live in a townhouse. When you enter the front door, you must climb a staircase (a dozen steps) to get to the main floor. The first night after my surgery I had to climb those steps, one at a time, and it was very painful! While most of the living space I need is on the main floor, to do laundry I must go back down the stairs to the lower floor. And any time I want to go out, I must go down the staircase to get to the garage. So even though the stair exercises were hard, it was very important for me to do them. I had to get my strength back. I get it! Don't give up

I'm 9 months out and stairs hurt every day, every time. I exercise 3x week at a gym and one of my exercises is the Stairmaster to get some cardio after lots of stretching and prep. The knee inflames and takes till the next morning to calm down w ice and NAB. The other 4 days I walk or bike ride & the knee inflames after either exercise so it's just a question of how much pain I'm willing to endure to maintain some fitness. FYI, I'm 5'10" 172. If I gain any weight, knee pain gets worse. Right after the TKR, the pain was so intense I couldn't eat or sleep so my weight dropped to 165 and then the pain was less. Based on my observation, weight is a major factor in pain generation from this procedure. Originally, I intended to TKR both knees but fortunately, those plans changed. The non surgical knee is being treated with Hyaluronic acid which is providing some relief but after 9 months and endless PT, I achieved NO material gain from TKR. My unofficial survey says thin people who are sedentary will benefit from TKR but if you are not thin, and/or you intend to dance or exercise, my experience has been relentless pain and remorse. Sorry.

I had tkr in 2016. I didn’t have any pain (after the initial 8 to 10 weeks of recovery and pt) climbing stairs until 2019 when I had foot surgery. I have now been working with a trainer at a gym for 1 year and have started some days to climb stairs one after the other not one at a time. Granted I gained weight when I couldn’t exercise. I am now 75 and hope to regain full knee strength as I loose weight. That has become the biggest challenge of my life.

@mrnomad - I am not thin, or sedentary. I'm normal weight, maybe a few pounds over. I too walk and/or exercise every day. I am wondering, could the stairmaster be overtaxing your knee? Before my knee developed osteoarthritis,
I was active at the gym and used stairmaster. It was hard for me to do then, with a healthy knee. So for a knee that's still recovering from surgery, it may be too much for you right now. I've heard TKR patients say it took a year or more for their knee to really feel normal again.

Thank you for your comments and my thanks to Mayo for organizing this forum so people can share their experiences & learn from one another. I've always been active, my entire life, used to play competitive racquetball. For two weeks in Feb I avoided the stairmaster but that did nothing to mitigate the pain from a flight of stairs. To gauge the impact of weight I climbed a flight of stairs and then repeated wearing 5lbs of weight around my waist. I found the diff in pain to be remarkable. A better exercise alternative is swimming but I've come to accept that pain will be with me bec I refuse to give up exercise. If I can lose more weight it should get better. Eventually, the technology will improve but I'm just thankful I didn't TKR both knees. My suggestion to anyone reading is to explore the alternatives which include, but are not limited to, loss of weight, Hyaluronic Acid, PRP, stem cell, cortisone and dietary changes. If I had it to do over again, I'd sooner go to a weight loss Boot Camp for a month than endure the grief that followed my TKR.