Pain After Knee replacement

My mother had one of her knees replaced 18 months ago. After the inicial pain and recovery she was doing fine, very little pain and moving almost normally until about 2 weeks ago when the pain was worse than even before she had the operation. Some days she cannot get out of bed. The doctor has checked her and they took xrays which said the replacement was still in the correct postion. The doctor has now said it is likly just muscle strain and given her some pain killers but I am worried it is more than that.

[S. Kaul, MD]

Hi there!

Well, without a physical examination and probably a few tests, it would be difficult to comment on what could cause the pain in her case. If her doctor believes that the pain is not due to the replacement and is probably just muscle strain, it is quite possible that he is correct. I would suggest following the advice given by him for recovery,  along with the appropriate medications. If her symptoms do not respond to the management or gets worse you may consider a re-evaluation. If you have doubts, you may seek a second opinion.
Hope this helps.

Take care!