leg pain

23455

Hello everyone but especially for those with OA of knee

I know I have OA of right knee and need full replacement but 12 days ago I started with calf pain in L leg. this has steadily got worse and affects my shins too. I cannot weight bear vey easily and it occasionally gives way. By night time my whole leg aches and I cant find a resting place. stretching movement are extremely painful ie putting foot on clutch to change gear
Off to the hospital tomorrow for Xrays
This pain is different than my right leg which was specifically around the knee
My questions are 1) is this a typical pain for OA of the knee and
2) do I rest it or should I be on the move and doing specific exercises I do have a copy of exercises from the hospital for after an operation
I have been to my GP who has obviously organised the exercises

Thank you
Jackie

tedthered64

Hi Jackie,
I too have OA of both knees and occasionally have severe cramps in my right leg but only when walking, after a rest the pain subsides.
I've never really got to the bottom of the cause of it as it comes and go's but it's probably best mentioning it to your GP to rule anything else out.
Regard
Ted

daffy2

It might be the result of favouring your'bad' knee, which will have put stress on the other leg, and used the muscles differently. The x-rays should help to sort out what's going on if only by a process of elimination, ie no OA, and help your GP sort out the best way of dealing with the problem.

stickywicket

You say you've seen your GP who has organised the exercises. That makes perfect sense to me as it sounds like what you have is referred pain ie in trying to go easy on your arthritic joints you're putting pressure on joints or muscles elsewhere. The exercises should strengthen these and so help. I hope so.

dreamdaisy

When one joint is out of kilter it does affect the way we move, sit, stand and lie, it's a natural response to avoid exacerbating pain but often causes trouble elsewhere. It is hard to use the rest of the body as we naturally would if nothing was amiss, pain is both uncomfortable and frightening. I have OA in both ankles and both knees, it's also rumbling away in both hips but in my case it's due to the joint damage caused by my other arthritis: it isn't fun and I empathise. Are you using any form of walking aid? If not that might be of assistance in reducing your troubles - there are some key points to know so if you wish, there's a recent thread by Tethered about using aids, you'll find information on that. I'll bump it back to the top for you. DD