Scar tissue after knee replacement

Hi Justin. I am concerned about the procedure...namely, I'm worried that forcing the knee to bend could have some adverse effects on the ligaments and tendons in my knee. I have had 4 surgeries prior to this including an ACL, so to me it sounds a little like we are just going to force the bend and see what happens. I'm not a doctor...so I don't expect to completely understand. I just don't completely know the risk vs the reward. I want to get back to riding a bike...maybe doubles tennis...that kind of thing. I'm working on my patience and long term approach to the whole thing.

I had both knees replaced. I did go to PT when I was not making much progress. Helped me out a lot. Deep tissue massage was painful but the results were worth it. They give you so many more exercises to do than just the few simple ones when you leave the hospital. It was slow going at first but then all of a sudden one day big improvement. My niece is in PT down south and Dr.,s there all send their patients to PT.

Can scar tissue be removed under Lazer surgery on the knee.

Hello @sandcar, welcome to Connect. I moved your message and the discussion to which you posted to an already existing discussion called Scar Tissue After Knee Replacement. If you are replying by email to this message, I suggest clicking on VIEW & REPLY so that you can read through the whole discussion and meet the many members talking about similar symptoms to yourself.

@sandcar, you mentioned that you had your knee replaced 11 years ago (actually, I also had mine done 11 years ago), if you don't mind sharing, how was your range-of-motion up to 4 year ago? Have you had any Xrays? I know eventually my knee will need revision, but the knees they were doing 11 years ago were part of a wave of longer lasting knees. Do you know how your knee is structurally?

I had X-rays done 2 years ago and the knee was structurally fine. My range of motion shortly after the replacement (they didn't give me numbers) was enough to ride a bike and they seemed pleased with that. It has been a gradual change. Two years after the replacement i needed to help my 91 year old mother so my exercise regime went by the wayside. I now walk 3 -4 miles most days and have tried the stationary bike and other exercises that I used in rehab but it's terribly painful.

Hi not sure.how not excericing causes a regression, is it scar tissue making a come back?

I had TKR 16 months ago. Had a operation to remove some scar results negative. Have therapies a number of times Also water therapy. when is a revision called upon?

Hi there. I had a RTKR about 3-4 years ago, which even after P.T. and following my doctor's directions specifically, just never got passed the "hurting" stage. He took an x-ray, saw nothing, but it kept filling with fluid. He drained it several times, and I also has several shots of I believe Synvisc, although I'm not sure of that. I went through P.T. several times, rode my bike and did everything I could .... no help. Finally said, he did not know what was going on in there, but we'd better go for the last resort - a revision. So, about 2 years ago I had a revision, which is a bit more involved as both posts go farther down and up the leg .... they are longer. I went to P.T., Rehab, and once again did everything I could. I can happily say that even though we never knew what was causing that pain from the original RTKR, it is now wonderfully well. The only time I notice it is when it is going to rain .... it's a great barometer - in the "ouchy" way. I do have to strenthen the ligaments and muscles around it so I will be going to the local Wellness Center as I'm a bit "off balance" at times, but otherwise, I am absolutely delighted with this revision. It's definitely a last resort, and not to be taken lightly, but ..... when you get to the end, you get to the end.
Good luck my friend,
abby

So glad to hear that you got relief from all that pain nothing worse than going in expecting relief and coming out with more pain I probably will have to do the same eventually all the best

Hi. Just joined today after finding this thread while googling about scar tissue after knee replacement. I am 42 years old and 6 weeks out from a partial knee replacement, at my post op visit this week was basically scolded by the PA I saw about my flexion and extension (9-100) and was told with "only" a partial I should be back to my pre-op of 0-130 and break up the scar tissue. I left that visit so discouraged. I have been doing my physical therapy religiously daily, but the pain has been so bad that I'm in tears most days. The PA upped my physical therapy appointments back to 3x/week. My physical therapist said yesterday that he feels somewhat responsible in the development of the scar tissue because he should have been more aggressive from the beginning but because of the severe pain I was in backed off some hoping that as the pain subsided I would be able to tolerate more. Well, the pain hasn't subsided but I'm still having to push more through the pain to try to get "normal". I was in tears at physical therapy from the pushing he was doing on the knee to get it to bend further and to break up that tissue. I'm back on the Diclofenac I was pre surgery to try to help with the inflammation and was given Tramadol to take before PT and at night to help with the pain, unfortunately that doesn't really help much. I feel like every time I call my surgeon's office to ask for something more for the pain I'm treated like a drug seeker. I was told that if I don't make significant progress in the next couple of weeks, I would probably be needing a manipulation. I've been through 3 surgeries in the past year (knee scope-where the severe osteoarthritis was discovered, the partial knee replacement, and gallbladder removal), that thinking about anesthesia again makes me ill - and I'm almost out of medical leave benefit. My emotions are all over the place these days. Thanks for letting me vent, for reading, and for helping me to realize I'm not so alone in this journey.