Knee pain after hip replacement

Crookrise
Crookrise Member Posts: 20
edited 18. May 2021, 09:47 in Living with arthritis

I had a hip replacement on 5 May, which went well. I also have osteoarthritis in my knee, which was giving some trouble in the weeks before surgery. The op went well and I am mobilising well. Unfortunately, I now have quite bad pain in the knee. Not sure if it's arthritis, post-op swelling or a change in leg length or all three. Has anyone had a similar problem?

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  • Ellen
    Ellen Moderator Posts: 1,851

    Hi @Crookrise

    A quick search produced this 'old' thread:

    https://community.versusarthritis.org/discussion/10036/knee-pain-after-a-thr

    Hope it helps a little.

    We have two 'newer' threads ongoing ATM:

    https://community.versusarthritis.org/discussion/54075/new-hip-day

    and

    https://community.versusarthritis.org/discussion/54252/post-thr

    might be worth posting there and asking them whether either of them are having similar issues too?

    Best wishes

    Ellen

  • Crookrise
    Crookrise Member Posts: 20

    Thanks Ellen. I talked to a GP about it because I wanted to know if I could start taking ibuprofen again now I'm off the Tinzaparin injections. I asked if the problem could be arthritis, post-op swelling or a change in leg length. He thought a combination of all three. Advised not to worry too much about still needing codeine and not to take ibuprofen yet. Also said I'm doing well which was encouraging.

  • Lilymary
    Lilymary Member Posts: 1,750

    Hello @Crookrise, congrats on your new hip. I had mine on 17 April, and my recovery has been disappointingly slow, but I'm getting there. I had a lot of swelling in my rump and thigh, and my feet and lower leg puffs up if I haven't been moving about enough, so if you already have arthritis in the knee of your operated leg that post op swelling would certainly exacerbate that. My knee is in reasonably good nick, but it does feel very stiff, probably due to the swelling.

    I gather that hip surgery can result in a change in leg length, but it's probably too early to work out whether that's an issue. I'd keep taking the pain killers and wait for everything to settle down a lot more (two weeks is VERY early days) and see how things go. I gather the swelling can hang around for months (I still have some noticeable swelling 4 weeks in), and while it takes around 3 months for the body to get over the worst effects of the surgery, it can take a full year for the body to fully recover. Meanwhile, be kind to yourself, and do what the doc and your physio tell you.

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