Numbness in foot after tkr

Find an excellent physical therapist

I have bilateral knee replacements. A partial on my left, and a total on my right. I am a CRRN. Certified Rehabilitation Registered Nurse. Although compression stocking, or TEDS are necessary after surgery, they should NEVER remain on for more than 24 hours, without being removed for short periods in-between. I have bilateral peripheral neuropathy, which I DID NOT HAVE before my surgeries. I find it even more debilitating than my surgeries were. I had PT after both surgeries, and was doing well. But gradually the peripheral neuropathy started, and now y feet drive e crazy. I can walk on floors or cement, but walking on grass is much more difficult, because other than pins and needles, my proprioception, an awareness of where body parts (feet) are, is not good.

Same here. My feet are terrible gradually since my tkr’s. My feet are flat and believe it’s my gait after my knee replacements. Unbearable at times. No remedy’s all.

I always cringe when I read "No remedy at all." Have you gone back to PT for intensive "gait training"? After we limp or compensate for bad knees, hips, or back, our body adapts and we develop a manner of walking to compensate.

Then they replace the offending parts with new ones, which often change the shape, direction, and even length of our legs. Oops, the body needs to adapt all over again. While we are concentrating on range of motion, etc, the need to create a new and proper gait for the new situation is very often overlooked in conventional PT.

The solution is to find a PT who will examine you, then coach you into walking properly for your new body, similar to the way it is done after a stroke or loss of limb. It will take persistence on your part, first to find the right therapist, then to do the exercises until your brain takes over. It is completely worthwhile if you really want to reduce your pain.

Are you willing to give it a try?
Sue

I will check pt further

Hi all,
I've been to PT no less than 30 times in my life. Mostly sports injuries and surgeries. The last 5 PT offices I used were pretty useless. While having 5 patients on the floor, I had one PT and 2 interns. They show me the exercises to do and walk away until it's time for 10 minutes of massage. The interns are with you most of the time thinking that pushing me is going to help with rehab. These large offices all seem to be run the same way. After my first Cervical surgery I tried 2 different offices and had more pain after leaving the office than I had going in.
After my 2nd Cervical surgery, I was lucky to find a new office run by one of the best hospitals in the U.S
They assign you one therapist for 45 minutes, who doesn't leave your side. He explains everything that he's doing and why. He is more concerned with building the muscles around the Traps, and never wants me to over do any exercise. This guy is the PTGod. Make sure your treatment plan is what you want before starting with any group. Their job is to help you, not cover the companies bottom line.

Well said. My PT stayed with me during my sessions after both TKRs. And always stop an exercise immediately if there is sharp pain. That's not to say PT won't be hard, it will. But you should feel the pull of a good stretch rather than sharp pain. Sharp pain usually means you're hurting something. A good PT won't allow it.

That would of been me! I had the popliteal artery surgery on April 11, 2019. The artery had been pinched off during my TKR surgery which my surgeon refused to admit. The artery surgeon took out a dead dried blood clot that was in the artery. Thank goodness it was an artery that flowed from my knee down otherwise it would have flowed right to my heart. When I awoke from surgery my foot was warm and pink, not cold and purple. the only problem was that it was almost 2 months that I had not blood flow to my foot. I ended up with permanent cell and tissue damage and have some numbness on the bottom of my foot and a few of my toes, but as my TKR surgeon so graciously put it when I told him what he did..."Why did you wait so long to get it fixed, you could have lost your leg" and still have my leg no thanks to him. I also ended up with a kneecap fracture (lack of blood flow again) and found out that he put in too small of a spacer between metal parts and my knee gives out on me all the time. But at least I have my leg, I'm only 67 and can still get around. (with a little pain) Lori

I am in week 7 of TKR...tough recovery. At this point my foot hurts. I know that in order to get up and walk I need to have flexibility in foot. The foot has me stuck. The PT says that I'm in a pickle, the surgeon offered Tramodol which feels like going backwards

Lori Thanks for sharing. Tough, tough stuff. I'm having a long-winded recovery. The surgeon just wishes I'd recover. He put me back on opioid painkiller. That's all he can do. My foot is numb and in pain and I can't move it much. My wife hurt her knee while serving me in recovery...I need the patience of a Saint. All the best to you. At least we're not alone.