A common after effect of surgery may involve a poorly understood effect similar to phantom limb pain that vets would experience. I am 63 and having completed a staged bilateral TKA within a four week period I find that the most recent knee operated on insists on waking me up at night. For me, pain meds were only partially effective in easing the discomfort of the nightime ‘phantom’ pains. These pains seemed to arise simply from contact with the bed sheet or sometimes arise from my mind just anticipating pain. Here is what worked great for me. Since my incision was well healed I applied some hand creame over the knee area and wrapped with the clear food service plastic film. This made for a smooth surface that did not seem to generate nerve stimuli for the brain to misinterpret as aches, sharp pains, dull pains, bone pains, etc. If your incision has not fully healed I personally would completely wrap the knee once with a standard white kitchen paper towel and then apply the food service film over that. The paper towel contains the natural ingredient ‘Lignin’ from pulp which is somewhat antibacterial. If you have a lot of nighttime pain try making a compress with a cloth towel soaked in hot water. Sprinkle on some epsom salt if you have it. Lay towel on the leg and then wrap with a plastic garbage bag or similar to keep the towel in place and prevent leakage to your bed. The epsom salts contains magnesium which typically has a relaxing effect on muscles, etc. With my left …
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