after full knee replacement how long pain
On days 1 or 2, most total knee replacement patients are given a walker to stabilize them. By the third day after the surgery, most patients can go home. Short-term recovery also involves getting off major pain killers and having a full night’s sleep without pills. 2 doctors agreed: It depends: Full recovery after knee replacement usually takes more than a year. Most patients reduce their use of pain medicines within two weeks of the replacement, by 6 weeks they are comfortable and usually by 3 months the knee is fading into the background, and life doesn't revolve around the new knee. Everyone is different and this is a general time line. The average long-term recovery for total knee replacement patients is between 3 and 6 months. There are a number of contributing factors that influence recovery time. Josephine Fox, the BoneSmart.org knee replacement Forum Lead Administrator and nurse of over fifty years, says that a positive attitude is everything. Many will have great improvement of pain, but never completely resolved after the replacement surgery. It is a big surgical procedure with significant risks/benefits, so do your research and discuss with doc thoroughly. Good luck to you. In brief: May not be complete. Some are fortunate to have the surgery and shortly there after once the wounds healed, they have no pain at all. Many will have great improvement of pain, but never completely resolved after the replacement surgery. Most patients undergoing total knee replacement surgery want to know when they’ll be able to return to their normal life. Questions about “recovery time” are common. There are many factors that can affect recovery time, but typically patients can return to normal life activities within 3 to 6 months. You'll probably be able to drive again six weeks after a full knee replacement or about three weeks after a partial knee replacement. If you’ve had surgery on your left knee and you drive an automatic you should be able to drive earlier as long as you’re not taking strong painkillers. Most current data suggests that both hip and knee replacements have an annual failure rate between 0.5-1.0%. This means that if you have your total joint replaced today, you have a 90-95% chance that your joint will last 10 years, and a 80-85% that it will last 20 years. Pain – Pain caused by bruising from the operation is normal in the first two months, and you'll probably still need to take painkillers at six weeks to help you sleep through the night. You may still have some pain for as long as six months. If you still have pain after this, speak to your physiotherapist or GP. Swelling – Swelling is a very common problem after a knee replacement, particularly affecting the ankle and foot, and may last for up to three months or so after the operation. Pain following total knee replacement has come a long way over the last 10-15 years with increased use of regional nerve blocks, spinal blocks, and various other modalities used for pain control. Total hip replacement is generally considered to be less painful than total knee replacement. Treatment of stiffness after knee replacement depends on the time since surgery, and the cause of the stiffness. The usual treatments of stiffness are: Aggressive Physical Therapy. Physical therapy is a useful treatment for a stiff knee, especially within the first three months after knee replacement.
3 months