Total Knee Replacement-3/23/26

Talk to your surgeon about pain management. My TKR was 3/3. Still have pain while walking and sometimes at night while lying in bed. Still hurts walking down stairs, getting up from toilet. Soft tissue is still agitated and healing I’m told. Doc gave me a script for a Voltarin and it seems to be working better than OTC Ibuprofen. I’m still having to ice a few times a day as well. Everyone heals differently. This requires a LOT of patience!

@skakle
I had my second TKR on 4/13/26. Initial recovery was great, walking with little pain ten days post- then nerve issues flared up, which I had before the surgery in that leg. For a few days after that, on and off, I was in a lot of nerve pain and was very worried that that was going to be it for the long haul. However, after several days it slowly eased. .Then I foolishly allowed an over aggressive PT to push too hard for extension and quadriceps strength, and then did the same thing again, a week later, which irritated my quad tendon above the knee. I’m still dealing with that, but it’s slowly getting better. Most of us get there in the end, with some problems in between. You just have to keep the faith and keep working at strength and flexibility at your own pace, not someone else’s.

Very wise advice. I had a similar experience. Great initial results. Walking almost immediately. Walker only for a week, cane for a few days. Two weeks of home PT, then outpatient PT. I asked my PT to back off on the forced flexion, bought the stretching device and started doing it myself. I can do everything I need to do for living although I haven’t gotten past 120 degrees with force. I can ride my bike, and do my gym routine. I had nerve pain after pushing it as well. I’m slowly accepting the healing will be on its own time. Most important thing is to stay active and moving without overdoing and pushing beyond what the body is ready for. Respect the need to lay down and rest as much as we need to. And we cannot compare our healing to others.

I agree. Some bodies do not respond well to aggressive PT. I found a good massage therapist. She has helped a lot. She works a whole hour only on the tkr leg.

@naturelyn
How important is it to be able to straighten the knee the knee to 0 degrees? My PT pushed really hard and got it to 0
but he next week it wouldn’t get past 5. Surgery was 2 months ago. My other leg is at 0.
Manipulating it really hurts and the knee hurts the next day.

@laurabamford4015
That has happened to me multiple times- numbers up and down for no apparent reason.I think partly it’s swelling, even if you can’t see a swollen knee, and partly I think it’s just inflammation that comes and goes. For my first knee replacement I was disappointed in the extension and flexion numbers and my wonderful PT who I cannot locate now., had me get on the exercise bike and gently pedal for five or 10 minutes to warm it up and loosen things up. Then he measured again and the numbers were better by at least a few points.
It’s my opinion and my experience that if you just keep working on it at home gently, consistently, but not constantly necessarily, you’ll be fine. Slow and steady, like a turtle. 😉

I’m doing all that. It’s possible I’m working it too hard which causes it
to swell. The PT said it could have something to do with what I’d done the
day before which was swimming for 45 minutes. When I see him in two weeks,
I’ll take it really easy the day before so it doesn’t swell up and maybe I
can get full extension. He suggested putting my leg in a brace to
straighten it. My friend who’s been through this herself suggested
contacting the surgeon directly for his advice rather than relying upon the
physical therapist’s suggestions.
On Sun, May 31, 2026 at 6:57 AM Mayo Clinic Connect < nf+aaaf68b9+122305021@n1.hubapplication.com> wrote:

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> @laurabamford4015
> That has happened to me multiple times- numbers up and down for no
> apparent reason.I think partly it’s swelling, even if you can’t see a
> swollen knee, and partly I think it’s just inflammation that comes and
> goes. For my first knee replacement I was disappointed in the extension and
> flexion numbers and my wonderful PT who I cannot locate now., had me get on
> the exercise bike and gently pedal for five or 10 minutes to warm it up and
> loosen things up. Then he measured again and the numbers were better by at
> least a few points.
> It’s my opinion and my experience that if you just keep working on it at
> home gently, consistently, but not constantly necessarily, you’ll be fine.
> Slow and steady, like a turtle. 😉
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@laurabamford4015

I think wanting the 0 degrees has to do with being able to straighten your leg all the way for weight bearing in proper walking form. If you walk with a knee bend, your trunk will have to drop to that side with each step and rotate your hip and spine too much bringing the leg forward, which could bring on back pain and sciatica.
I had a 6” foam roller that I would put both ankles on while laying on my back on the floor or bed, relax and let the knees drop down naturally, stretching the leg for as long as I could stand it, watch TV or something to distract you. Maybe 3-4 times a day. You can use rolled up towels or a padded piece of 2”x4” board. I found that doing both legs at the same time seemed to work better than just doing the TKR leg.

Thank you for explaining why it’s important to straighten the leg. I was shifting my hips as I walked down stairs so perhaps that is why.
PT wants me to focus on keeping my hips even when I go down stairs so I’m working on that. And I do several exercises as well to straighten my knee, including the one you mentioned. It hurts. Thank you!