Has anyone had a tight band feeling after total knee replacement?

Hi everyone it's been awhile since I have been on this site so I will give my experience over again. I had my 1st TKR on Jan, 8 2019 which was very unsuccessful. The Dr. did say that he may have misjudged the size of my knee & he put a larger spacer, anyways I had home PT and afterwards I had outpatient PT the knee still didn't bend. My surgeon then suggested I have a (2nd surgery) MUA that was scheduled for February 21st, 2019 I had good ROM for awhile, but then it started freezing up again. My PT contacted my surgeon & told him that something wasn't right and that he needed to see as soon as possible, which he did. He then suggested that he may need to go back in to put a smaller spacer. The 3rd surgery was scheduled for May 21, 2019 which meant I had to start all over again, all the pain the agony loss of sleep etc. The dr. said I had so much scar tissue like none he had ever seen before out of all the years he has been doing surgeries. He went in cleaned up as much scar tissue as possible, took cultures for infections and put a smaller spacer. Once again I did therapy and everything that I was suppose to do, just to have the scar tissue build up again and cause me not to be able to bend my knee. After some months I had arthroscopic surgery in Nov. 2019 once again he went in cleaned out some scar tissue & did another culture because he wasn't able to get enough fluid to send off before. I went back in about two & 1/2 weeks later, he said that everything looked good, but he was puzzled as to why I was still having so much pain & could barely lift my leg. He referred me out to the orthopedic office in Gainesville, Fl. I went there on Friday Dec. 27,2019. The orthopedic took an x-ray and said that everything looks good & that the 1st surgeon did everything accordingly. This doctor said the reason i'm probably in so much pain is because of the multiple surgeries that I have had so close together. He suggested that I get a nerve block to try and break up the scar tissue so that I can bend the knee, wants me to continue therapy. I have to go back to my surgeon soon I guess that he will schedule for the nerve block, but i'm not sure yet. One thing I am sure of is that I want this pain to go and that I will be able to bend my knee without the complications. Well this is my story I may have left a few things out due to experiencing so much in the past year.

Jump to this post

@lynnwade54 You have been through a lot, for sure. I am sorry you have had to deal with so much. I hope the nerve block will give you relief. As I read these stories I realize how fortunate I was to not have any of those problems following either of my TKRs. It sounds as if you doing everything possible though. I will be interested in hearing if the nerve block does help.
JK

Jump to this post

Sadly I’m 8 months out have the syndrome you describe. I walk like a pirate (kind of peg legged). Haven’t slept more than an hour without waking due to the tightness causes the leg to be so stiff it won’t bend. My range of motion is “Norman” but the I feel like I have to force it to Bend. I’m told the X-ray show ms the knee replacement looks great. I wish I never had the surgery. My pain was bad due to arthritis before the surgery (mostly if I over used it). Not it’s constant and regular daily activity is limited. I’m told all will miraculously get better when it’s a year post op. Hmmm that doesn’t make sense. The knee has gotten worse and/or has had no improvement for 4 months.

Jump to this post

Very sorry to hear about your pain and other problems. I have had 4 TKR's and the last one has almost 3 years on it. So fingers are crossed! Have had almost no pain from any TKR but the Polyneuropathy makes up for that. Will keep you in my prayers as I am sure many others are doing as well. I agree completely about wishing you'd never had it done! My L leg is over 3' shorter than the R so I must wear special shoes to compensate for the lost length of my leg. Even with the shoe, walking is proving to be impossible without a walker. I doubt I will ever walk on my own again. I advise anyone considering a TKR to get a 2nd and 3rd opinion and ask the docs if their is any possible way to avoid knee replacement , such as wearing a cast to allow the knee to heel, or anything that can be thought of rather than surgery. I had a bad knee as well as a fractured tibia, but I'd trade a cast to what I have now, and just live with a bad knee. God be with you!

Jump to this post

@lturn9 That's great that you had no pain, but terrible that your leg is now 3" shorter than the other. What caused that, I have never heard of that happening before. I think someone on here did have a slight change in leg length, but nothing close to 3". Did the fractured tibia cause that somehow?

I firmly believe that one of the most important things to do before getting a knee replacement is researching doctors and their outcomes. I had two good TKRs, the second one was great using the Conformis, custom made knee. I hear that the Mako surgery is highly successful also.

A person of course can get Synvisc injections to delay having a TKR, which I did do, but over time that becomes less effective. The only other option is stem cell surgery I believe, and that has to be paid for out-of-pocket because insurance does not pay for it. It is not 100% successful so it could be thousands of dollars wasted if you happen to be one of the people who does not get relief from it.
JK

Jump to this post

I am 8 months post op and still have a tight band below the knee cap and it radiates out to the side. I was told it should go away after a year. Do you think that utilizing exercise machines at the Y causes this by putting stress on the joint?

Jump to this post