TKR after 2 weeks

How far out are you now? I'm asking because the NP in my surgeon's office threatened me with manipulation at 3-months when I couldn't get enough range of motion. My physical therapist laughed and said not to worry. I couldn't get the range of motion yet with my own muscles, but he could get it in PT so there was no significant scar tissue, even though it hurt when he had to force my knee. It was months before I could use my own stationary bicycle at home because of that issue, but the one at PT had more forgiving settings. At my one-year follow-up my surgeon was pleased with my range of motion.

I am almost 4 weeks after TKR. The scar tissue is really bad. I can't bend my knee hardly at all like 55/60 degrees. The doctor said last week it was aggressive scar tisue. The only reason I agreed to the manipulation is I can't sit in a chair and I can barely walk. I am doing all my exercises and I have pt 3 times a week. nothing is working.

To Nancy, I hope your MUA works. I’m glad you’re going straight to outpatient PT after that. Yes, the worst part of TKA for me was not being told how the recovery really progresses. I’m 70 years old and nine and a half months post-op. In the first few months, I had so much unnecessary anxiety about the difficulty and slowness of my recovery when, really, nothing was wrong. It took me seven months to be free of horrible pain. At six months post-op, my active range of motion (AROM) was -3 to 103. At nine months, it was -1 to 110. (I can walk down stairs normally now with no pain, but I have to hold onto the banister. Yay.) I’m staying in rehab because I’m still improving even though I had to get a new script from my primary care doc because my surgeon wouldn’t give me one. My physical therapist is now focused intently on strengthening my leg muscles, which is really hard. I go twice a week. I also just upped my Pilates (for core and upper body strength) from once to three times a week. Don’t let anyone tell you that you won’t get more AROM after three months. It’s just not true. Try to relax about your progress; you’re right that it’s a marathon.

Hello again, I am one month out from a double knee replacement and I had a fall yesterday. I didn't stumble but the end of my cane was loose and caused me to fall. I know how to fall safely and was able to land on my hip and managed to bump only the side of my knee. I called the Dr. on call and told them what happened. They questioned me and said they would relay the information to my Knee Dr. I didn't receive a reply yesterday and can only assume that there was no need to panic since I had no symptoms. I slept well last night and was comfortable. I had no symptoms after the fall or today. I did notice today that the leg I bumped seems to feel a less tight but that has been gradually happening anyway the last 2 weeks. But there is no pain associated with it. I can walk with no pain, there is no swelling, clicking, warmth or redness. I will keep an eye on it and call the Dr. office on Monday and tell them what happened and see if they want to xray it to make sure everything is ok. In the meantime, if anything changes, I will go to the emergency room. Has anyone else had a similar experience with a fall?

Their driving expectation was ridiculous if your surgery was on your right knee. It took me three months to drive after right TKA and driving was painful because my brakes require a lot of pressure.

I had a double knee replacement and my Dr. told me I could drive the 3rd week. No way was I going to do that. I am driving now but it's the end of the 4th week. But I had someone in the car with me. What's the rush??

I am sorry you are going through this. Are you icing it as much as you can night and day? Do you have any symptoms of an infection? Night sweats, swelling, hot to the touch. The lack of ROM is one indicator. This happened to me. The first two weeks, I could bend it to 115 ROM, then it went downhill from there. I had the classic signs of an infection, and the surgeon dismissed it. Be your own advocate, demand to see the surgeon or the PA. If they won't see you, get a 2nd opinion. Best of luck!

Yes, I ice 2 or 3 times a day and no signs of an infection, night sweats, swelling or hot to the touch. I still don't have any pain either. I do my exercises every day and my flexion is 113 and 114. I talked to 2 nurses and 1 oncall Dr. and nobody seemed that concerned about it. So I decided to call the knee Dr. tomorrow and tell them what's going on and ask for an Xray. Just for my own peace of mind if nothing else. I will get a second opinion if I need to. Thanks for your reply!

@lawanna85
In response to your falling question, I have had two hard falls on my TKR knees, without any permanent damage. But my falls were probably about a year or so out from surgery, not a couple of weeks like yours.
The first time I fell with both knees, downhill, onto a pile of old logs and hard sticks after a rotten sapling trunk I was holding onto for support while leaning forward gave way. It was very painful, and I was worried, but after laying there for a bit, I could walk back to the house, and the pain gradually was gone in a few days. I did called my ortho PA and she said to come in if the pain was still there. The second fall was on one knee, I flipped a hammock that was unstable and landed with my knee right on the metal support bar on the ground. Now that one had me worried, but again any pain or stiffness was gone in a few days. Those implant devices are tougher than we think, but it does take a while for the bone to grow into/around them properly, so a fall early on in the healing process would be of greater concern. I'm glad it sounds like you did not damage anything.

Thank you! Your falls were a lot worse than mine! I was 4 weeks out when it happened. I found out today that it's bruising and it won't show up in an xray. I just have to give it time to heal. But I am glad to know that these implants are that tough. That's a relief! Thanks for sharing your story. We can all relate to it!