Where Will I Feel Knee Replacement Pain
As mentioned above, knee replacement pain can come in many different forms depending on the cause. Knee pain is to be expected due to the surgical procedure itself, with swelling, bruising, and the introduction of prosthetic parts.
Beyond that, it is possible to feel pain in parts of the body other than your knee. This is known as referred pain.
Your hips, lower back, groin area, and calves may initially hurt due to the change in your stance and the way you walk. Of course, it is also typical to feel sore due to extended amounts of time in bed during your recovery.
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When Will I Be Assigned A Surgery Time
The hospital will contact you a day before the surgery to tell you what time to arrive at the hospital. Surgery schedules tend to change, which is why most hospitals will confirm the exact surgery time only a day or so before the operation. Please arrive early. The actual operation will usually be less than an hour in duration, but preparation takes much longer.
Get Your Living Space Ready For Your Return:
When you attend the mandatory Joint class if you live out of town, you will get a DVD of the class),you will learn how to get your house or apt game-ready Get rid of any loose rugs, any electrical cords that are on the floor and easily tripped over. Do you have a chair that is secure and not too low? Where will you sit and relax? After your surgery, low, cushy sofas and plush chairs are not safe or comfortable to sit down or get up after your surgery. Is your lighting adequate if you have to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night? Is your bed too low? You will have special aids for your toilet and shower after you leave the hospital. Make sure your railing inside and outside your home is secure. You will need some support from the stair banister or outside railing until your balance and strength improves.
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How Long Will I Be In The Hospital After Total Knee Replacement
The length of hospital stay after knee replacement will depend on:
- Replacement and incision healing routinely.
- Manageable pain levels.
- The patient being able to perform bed mobility and walking without requiring someone else doing the majority of the work for them
- Help at home from family or friends for activities that will require assistance such as driving, cooking, cleaning, moving in and out of bed, sitting down and standing up, walking, or using stairs
These are important for ensuring a patient is safe to go home. The majority of patients meet these requirements and will be out of the hospital within 1-3 days.
If a patient has delayed healing or limited support at home, they may be a candidate to be transferred to a skilled nursing facility or rehabilitation hospital for 1-2 weeks for further recovery.
Do I Need Someone To Stay With Me After Surgery
If you live alone, an adult friend or relative should stay with you, in addition to the home health nurse visits during the week. For very elderly patients and patients with other health problems, a stay in a rehabilitation unit or a nursing facility may be necessary.
You might consider local home health agencies prior to coming to the hospital. If you have private insurance, you will need to make sure you choose a home health agency contracted with your insurance. The best time to do this is before you have surgery. Ask your doctor about these resources they can arrange many of these things for you to ensure a smooth transition to your home.
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What Foods Should I Stay Away From After Surgery
Since constipation can be an issue after surgery, especially if youre taking pain medications, add more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and other high-fiber foods back into your diet. These foods are also nutrient dense to help optimize the healing process. Just remember to stop foods with SGAs seven days prior to the procedure and high-fiber foods 24 hours before.
Gynecologic Surgery Diet Plan
Adherence to the feeding regimen before and after gynecologic surgery is of great importance in the renewal of the female body in the first 24 hours. It is recommended to maintain a clear liquid diet the day before the surgery, here are some of the liquids allowed:
- Water
- Creamy soup or any soup other than clear broth
- Solid foods
After the surgery, eating a cereal, liquid porridge-mash, containing fiber, is allowed. Bread, fatty milk, and soda are not permitted during this period. The menu should be enriched with light food, and you should avoid eating raw foods.
After a week, the diet should be significantly increased by adding leafy greens, low-fat meat, and fish delicacies processed with the steam method.
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Ii The Day Of Surgery
What to Expect Throughout
Your hospital stay will progress something like this:
Pre-Op
In Surgery
Many people will be with you in the operating room during your one to three-hour surgery, including:
- Orthopaedic surgeon your doctor who will perform surgery.
- Anesthesiologist or nurse anesthetist the doctor or nurse who gives you anesthesia.
- Scrub nurse the nurse who hands the doctors the tools they need during surgery.
- Circulating nurse a nurse who brings things to the surgical team.
You may have any of the following inserted:
Immediately After
Back in your Room
Pain Management
Breathing
Your Diet
Positioning
Exercising
As you Recover
Can My Doctor Fill Narcotics Medications Until My Surgery
Before surgery, your physician can prescribe medications that are non-narcotic and non-addictive. These typically include anti-inflammatory medications and some light narcotic pain medications.
Any addictive drugs, such as narcotic pain-killers, should be obtained from your primary care doctor before surgery. Your primary care doctor and surgical team should be aware of all your medications, especially narcotic medicines.
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Two To Three Days Prior To Surgery
Eat a regular balanced diet with lean proteins such as chicken or fish, low-fat dairy, whole grains and fruits and vegetables. Focus on getting all your nutritional needs met through food, as your doctor will likely recommend you stop taking vitamins a week prior to surgery to prevent risk of bleeding.
Make sure you’re getting enough B vitamins, which help your body’s immunity. Lean meats, dairy, green vegetables and whole grains provide B vitamins. For example, have a vegetable omelet, whole grain toast and low-fat milk for breakfast, turkey or tuna sandwich, going light on the mayo, with fruit and low-fat milk for lunch, and fish, whole grain rice and a leafy green salad for dinner.
Foods To Eat Before Surgery
You don’t need to eat a complicated diet that requires you to track your nutrient intake before your surgery. Instead, focus on eating a healthy balanced diet filled with a variety of foods from all the food groups.
The best things to eat before surgery include:
- Healthy proteins: fish, chicken, lean red meat, eggs, beans, soy, tofu, nuts
- Grains: whole-wheat bread, brown rice, quinoa
- Vegetables: leafy greens, carrots, broccoli, sweet potatoes, bell peppers
- Fruits: citrus, strawberries, apples, berries, bananas, avocado
- Dairy: milk, cheese, yogurt, fortified plant-milk alternatives
- Healthy fats: olive oil, avocado, nuts, seeds
The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society says the best way to fill your bank prior to surgery is to eat 3-5 servings of fruits and vegetables every day, eat mostly whole grain and include a protein at every meal. They also recommend you make water your go-to beverage and aim to drink 64 to 80 ounces each day.
You should start to make changes to your diet as soon as your surgery is scheduled. The earlier you start, the more nutrients you can put in your bank.
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Why Might Surgery Be Cancelled At The Last Minute
If you have an unexpected health problem, it may be safest to postpone the surgery until the situation is addressed. Let your doctor know if you have any of the following close to your scheduled surgery: symptoms of a cold or flu pain, burning or frequency when you urinate cuts, scratches, rashes, bug bites, non-healing sores on your skin new swelling on the leg undergoing surgery or a change in your medical condition, such as high blood sugar or chest pain. These situations could mean that surgery has to be rescheduled.
Recovering From A Total Knee Replacement : A Surgeon / Caregivers Perspective
I had the opportunity to experience recovery from a TKA through the eyes of a close family member, who I, as a joint replacement surgeon was the primary caregiver. This experience gave me a new appreciation of what our patients experience in the weeks after TKR. I will break this up into segments: pre-op, day of surgery and the first day of recovery, day 2- day 6, and weeks 2-6.
Day of Surgery and First Day of Recovery
You are on your way to enjoying your new knee but some hard work will be required. Dont get discouraged remember to ice and elevate. See the picture above the post. Notice the foot is higher than heart and ice cuff on the knee. Remember, the knee is straight to assist in gaining knee extension.
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Prevent Constipation With Fiber
Constipation is common after surgery on the digestive tract, but it can happen after any procedure.
One reason is that prescription pain medications you may take after surgeryespecially opioidscan lead to decreased bowel movements.Being constipated can also reduce your appetite, increase your pain level, and put stress on your incisions. These factors can get in the way of your healing.
On the other hand, having regular bowels movements helps your body absorb the nutrients from the foods you eat better, which supports healing.
What About Alcohol And Drug Use
Regular alcohol consumption should be disclosed to your anesthesiologist and surgeon ahead of time. Alcohol withdrawal can happen to anyone, regardless of economic or social background. When it happens, it can be life threatening and can complicate your recovery from surgery. If your physicians know about alcohol consumption, they can take steps to avoid withdrawal. The same is true of recreational drugs. Be sure to talk about this with the anesthesia doctor.
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Outpatient Physical Therapy After Knee Replacement Surgery
Depending on your surgeons protocol and your current healing status, you will beginoutpatient physical therapy between 2-7 days after knee replacement surgery. You can expect to see your physical therapist 2-3 days per week for 10-14 weeks, depending on your recovery time.
As stated above, knee swelling will limit your flexibility after knee replacement surgery, but the normal healing process, along with tissue scarring, will also prevent the knee from bending and straightening. Your outpatient physical therapist will help you slowly improve this mobility and decrease stiffness while also making sure not to aggravate the knee, potentially causing more trauma and swelling.
Stephanie Patek, PT, DPT explains, As physical therapists, we are highly trained to provide movement progressions and graded exercises to help you achieve the best outcome from your knee replacement.
Other than swelling and limited motion in your knee, you may also notice that your leg feels weaker and unsteady. This is most likely due to thequadriceps muscles, which are the thigh muscles that straighten your knee, having difficulty turning on. This sensation of weakness is typical post-knee replacement. Your physical therapist will help you regain this muscle strength that will allow you to become more functional, including walking without a device and negotiating stairs.
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Advantages Of Knee Replacement
- After having a knee replacement, you will be able to move your feet better than before, and the pain will also be less.
- If a small incision is made in knee replacement, not much blood comes out from it.
- With this surgery, the movement of the joints remains normal, and there is very little damage to the tissues.
- After two weeks of surgery, the patient can do all the activities again, and he will not have any problems getting up, sitting, and bending the knees.
- After joint replacement surgery, the victim can sit on the ground after a few days.
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No 2 Compression Socks And Knee Sleeve
Compression is a must-have after surgery. As weve discussed in other articles, compression will help reduce inflammation and swelling, and keep blood and fluid circulation moving through your leg rather than staying in your leg.
Directly after surgery youll be wearing a full-leg sock, but its wise to invest in a compression sleeve for your knee and compression socks for your leg. If needed, these can be worn under clothes or in bed.
I wore mine religiously after surgery for a few weeks and now I wear one during and after exercise or while flying. The best compression sleeves after TKR and socks will reduce the chance of blood clots in the leg!
After I Leave Cooper University Hospital Where Will I Go For Rehab
While most patients will go home after surgery, not all patients have strong support systems when they return home. If you have had bilateral hip or knee surgery or are 85 years or older, there is a high likelihood that you will be accepted into an Acute Rehab Unit. Otherwise, the discharge planner will assist you in finding a skilled orthopaedic nursing facility near your home. I strongly encourage you to discuss your discharge planning needs prior to your surgical date so that there will be no confusion or delay when you are ready to be discharged from the orthopaedic unit. There is no need to call your insurance company prior to the surgery. If you are having a single joint replacement, whether it be hip or knee, and are under the age of 85, plan on going home or if needed, a skilled orthopaedic nursing facility.
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No 5 Post Surgery Pillow For Leg Elevation
Weve already mentioned the I and C of the acronym RICE in ice and compression. Lets take a look at the E elevation.
For elevation youll have a few options. The easiest option is to stack a few pillows from your bed and place your leg on top. This is effective but consider a few things.
Leg pillows for post-surgery are a common item purchased after knee replacement surgery. They are long enough for the whole leg, provide adequate cushion but more support than a traditional pillow, and best of all they are relatively inexpensive.
If you want to read more, I found the best wedge pillow for after knee replacement and wrote about it.
Commonly Required And Suggested Medical Preparations
The medical preparations described below are typical for total knee replacement surgery and other major surgeries requiring general anesthesia. A surgeon and hospital should clearly communicate any required medical preparations well before the time of surgery. Patients who have specific questions or concerns regarding medical preparations should contact their surgeons offices.
See Anesthesia for Orthopedic Surgery
- Cut or decrease medications. Two weeks before surgery, a patient may be asked to stop taking certain medications, such as:
- Aspirin, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs , and other medications that make it more difficult for blood to clot
- Steroids and other medications that suppress the immune system and therefore can increase the chance of post-surgical infection
- Opioid pain medication
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