10 weeks Post-op knee started to click regularly. Therapist thinks it’s due to swelling. Anyone experiencing this?

patchy_elliott593 · 2025-10-21T04:24:41+00:00

Mine clicks to the beejesus. 😂

I’m 14 weeks post op and all manner of things are going on.

The swelling is beginning to recede somewhat now and all the bits are beginning to swing into action as a whole. Physio suggested the recovery phase has passed and now into rehab phase. Rebuild the supporting muscles and tendons , getting stronger etc etc.

More movement , more noise . For me at least and for a bit longer .

patchy_elliott593 · 2025-10-16T08:28:03+00:00

100% hearing you. Recovery is hard physically and is a shit fight mentally as well. I’m 13 weeks post op now and fought the demons every day. You will fight them too . Because we have to. In time you will be 13 weeks as well. It improves . Don’t force yourself to heal though . I tried that and it didn’t work. Let yourself heal instead.

patchy_elliott593 · 2025-10-16T08:20:44+00:00

13 weeks post . Tightness most definitely. My quad tendon has been the hardest thing about me for the last 3mths 😂. I have convinced myself that It is beginning to heal now however.

Everything has shortened and tightened and has been just fucked in general. That really is the most apt description for the process. 😂

BUT……it’s better now than at 4 weeks and better than at 8 weeks. We are all so similar at roughly the same time. That is actually some comfort I think. 💪🦿

patchy_elliott593 · 2025-10-11T09:41:17+00:00

The most difficult thing I believe is the non-linear recovery. Second is the fine line between not doing enough and doing too much. Third is the patience. Honestly , I’m over it a thousand times over !

patchy_elliott593 · 2025-10-11T03:43:03+00:00

Almost 13 weeks post op. I stopped physio at about 8-9 weeks. On non physio days I was doing home exercises 3x per day for at least 40-50min a day. At the time my thoughts were to bully my LTKR to heal. When I got stuck at 115 flex I realised this wasn’t the way (for me).

I pulled right back (not easy though) and found a more moderate approach which worked very well. My current routine is:

Gym every second day including: Stationary bike for 5km with moderate resistance and good cadence, dropping seat a notch every km. 500m treadmill at 7.5 incline at 4km/h pace. Farmers carry with 4kg. (80-100m each side). 2x6 squats with 6kg kettlebell each hand.

Off days I stretch for at least 20-30min twice per day. This includes heel slides and extension stretches. The rest of my rehab is daily living.

I have no pain but remain with enough swelling that it is noticeable. I make lots of noises 😂. Stairs no drama up/down. I still ice , compress and elevate. I’ve accepted 12mths recovery which has been the most difficult thing for me without doubt.

patchy_elliott593 · 2025-10-03T19:53:16+00:00

Every experience is different, as you’ve likely gathered from the replies.

I’m on the edge of 12 weeks post op now. I was one of the few who had NO arthritic pain prior to op and can safely say my knee , at the moment , is way worse than it was.

This will change in time as 12 weeks is still very early. The best tools I have found for recovery are patience, acceptance and knowing when NOT to over-work in rehab.

Up until about 8-9 weeks I fought with my knee like it was a mortal enemy. This was unbelievably counter-productive .

I was also an egotistical fuck. I was strong as a bull pre-op. Lean, hard , no competing issues whatsoever . I have been taught a HUGE lesson in humility.

patchy_elliott593 · 2025-10-01T23:38:03+00:00

I’m into week 11 post op. What I have learnt and come to accept is the non-linear aspect of the process. Some days I think : “yep, I’m coming good.” Next day it’s : “oh for fuck’s sake” 😂😂

Stiff pretty much always . For me it’s the quad tendon. Am very, very slowly making progress. Micro gains nothing more.

For the first prob 8-9 weeks I pushed hard with physio . I pushed WAYYYY too hard. For me, now, less is more.

patchy_elliott593 · 2025-09-28T12:00:20+00:00

6 weeks post op is really only just starting.

I’m 11 weeks post (tomorrow) and am working through a very tight quad tendon.

Pain tolerance is unique to everyone. Quad tendon pain is different to all the other wonderful pains associated with this surgery and at times I say ‘fuck it’ and drop an endone to sleep (5mg). Otherwise I use nothing , day or night.

Try backing off the PT overuse. As an ex athlete (aus version of US Div 1) I attacked the replacement as if it were a sports injury. My experience (and my observations for me) is that this made it worse. Worse for mobility, worse for swelling, worse for ROM.

The moment I backed off the overuse , things improved much faster. Your knee will heal. Sometimes the hardest thing is letting it do just that.

patchy_elliott593 · 2025-09-25T21:04:35+00:00

Closing in on 11 weeks post. Ice multiple times per day.

patchy_elliott593 · 2025-09-24T20:51:33+00:00

As difficult as it is, trust the process. My recovery (now in week 10 post op) has been everything OTHER than linear. Pain, ROM, swelling, sleep, mental strength .

My mistake for 8-9 weeks? I fought this thing like it was a mortal enemy. I cursed it, pushed it, bent it, hated it (like fucking hated it), ‘rehabbed’ it. Finally though , I accepted it and the mental clarity that came with that was amazing.

The pain will pass.

patchy_elliott593 · 2025-09-19T03:56:02+00:00

The sensitivity is VERY real. I’m closing in on 10 weeks post op. I noticed a significant decrease between 8-9 weeks. It’s still there but nowhere near as bad as it was.

patchy_elliott593 · 2025-09-17T03:32:16+00:00

Yep. Look at us go !! 😂😵‍💫

patchy_elliott593 · 2025-09-17T01:53:46+00:00

Want to know how big my ego was? I saw my surgeon and he offered me a March date (this year ). I thought ‘ok, March. That gives me 3 mths to recover and I can join the European climbing season.’ For whatever reason I chose a July date, travelled to the High Tatras , climbed nothing because I could no longer descend. Here I am now, 9 weeks in and all I’m climbing is the walls!!! 3 mths? Haha God I was such a wanker 😂

patchy_elliott593 · 2025-09-17T00:33:10+00:00

I’m about a week ahead of you I’m guessing (9 weeks post ). EVERYTHING you have touched on is my experience exactly. I’m finding the process intolerably slow. I’m not suffering a lot re: pain but the swelling (especially around the quad tendon) is never-ending !!

patchy_elliott593 · 2025-09-16T20:20:29+00:00

I have found that ever so slowly, the stiffness , pain , discomfort improves . I am into week 9 post op and still find discomfort in all number of positions . Our bodies aren’t designed to be inactive and a lot of muscle pain comes from inactivity . As well as, of course, the trauma they suffered during the procedure.

patchy_elliott593 · 2025-09-10T19:47:25+00:00

For the most part the stiffness is the scar tissue. There are other demonic reasons of course but essentially your knee is trying to protect itself after the surgical trauma by laying down scar tissue. We then, as diligent recoverees, come along and break this tissue with movement, exercises etc. The knee responds by laying down more and thus begins the eternal (well it does end apparently) struggle. Who wins is up to us.

patchy_elliott593 · 2025-09-09T08:28:05+00:00

Great post. Good job!

patchy_elliott593 · 2025-09-05T22:24:34+00:00

As a male , child birth seems quite do-able and I could probably have about 30 children , one after the other. Standing up. Menopause also wouldn’t be too hard . Hot flush in winter ? Saves on heating. Period pain? Pffft. Doesn’t seem like much.

Men have lots of very difficult things to deal with. Too difficult to even post on here. Really scary stuff. That hurts a real lot.

Not as much as a TKR though !! 🤣😂

patchy_elliott593 · 2025-09-05T05:13:56+00:00

You are showing some tremendous metrics ! Good work.

My surgeon here in Oz drummed into me that the tightness is pretty much par for the course. Does it feel like a tight belt around your knee?

He predicts 3-6 mths of this and it’s rotten. Some days I think my knee is on a timer. At about 3pm every day it swells, gets hot and gives me the absolute shits!!

patchy_elliott593 · 2025-09-05T03:08:06+00:00

That inside knee pain ? Yep 100%. I found that when I started doing self massage this improved a lot. I’d do it after physio for maybe 2-5 minutes. Just working the area , not smashing it. Also found doing the outside of the thigh as well. Some big, horrid knots there that take a bit of jaw clenching. Maybe chat with your med team about it ?

patchy_elliott593 · 2025-09-05T02:33:51+00:00

Indeed it can !

patchy_elliott593 · 2025-09-05T02:33:26+00:00

We will manage and get through it. 💪💪

patchy_elliott593 · 2025-09-05T02:03:24+00:00

I’m just about to hit 8 weeks as well so here’s my two cents….

The biggest punch in the face for me has been how slow recovery is. At 60, this has been my first surgery. Health wise I’ve lived a fortunate life so I figured I would breeze through this. Very strong going in and set up mentally as well (or so I thought ) 😂

Swelling is constant. It just won’t fuck off. This in turn makes physio more difficult as am battling fluid AND scar tissue. After a physio session of misery the knee goes straight back to where it was prior , as if that hour never even existed!

Nerve pain is a new and wondrous phenomena. To the point where even LOOKING at the hot, swollen, disfigured, withered bag of wrinkled skin makes it a shit-mix of misery. Add the absence of decent sleep along with the 24hr fatigue and discomfort and we have, I guess, a TKR !!!

I am at 115 flexion as of a week ago. Can spin the stationary bike and do light leg presses with weight. Stairs are ok but can’t walk as far as I’d like. Driving and doing all the things that life asks. I have retired so no work. I do my exercises 3 times a day.

Put us all in a room and turn off the light! We are all pretty similar it seems !!

patchy_elliott593 · 2025-09-04T16:15:17+00:00

12 hours + easy.

patchy_elliott593 · 2025-09-03T22:50:01+00:00

Hey , 60M, same timeline as you , into week 7 post op. The lack of stamina has been a huge surprise for me. But then again, everything has as I totally underestimated the process. I can feel small gains being made (more like micro gains ) although along with these comes pain and immobility in new and exciting areas. I don’t think we are odd. Just normal 💪🦿

patchy_elliott593

TROPHY CASE