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Scar tissue after knee replacement
Joint Replacements | Last Active: Oct 10 8:31am | Replies (1550)Comment receiving replies
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.
Replies to "Hi. Just joined today after finding this thread while googling about scar tissue after knee replacement...."
Thanks for the reply. I was threatened with a manipulation, but with very aggressive, painful PT have thankfully avoided that. Now the only thing is my extension, I'm close but keep regressing about every other week. My surgeon and physical therapist think that when that comes the pain should go down, I sure hope so. I have a cruise planned in August and have cancelled the excursion we had planned one day because the description changed and said to expect 2.5 hours of walking on cobblestone roads, which could be uneven. I'm too afraid of either not being up to walking that far or tripping on the cobblestones and hurting myself. I am sad at the thought of not doing something with the rest of my family, but need to look out for myself and my knee too.
I ride my bike a lot as walking becomes painful. When I walk my leg swells and it’s been 5 years. Dr stopped my p/t as was not doing me any good. Just lots of pain. Tend to ignore the pain , ice works somewhat. Golf causes pain and swelling. Comes down to what you are willing to put up with.
You will do just fine on the cruise. I am in the industry and leave for Hawaii...on a 6+ hour plane ride. I am optimistic. Will wear a knee brace, take advil and got a seat with extra room. But walking on cobblestones and in August? You should go for it. I will be doing the same in Italy and Croatia the end of May. I am hell bent to do this trip in particular which also involves a 10 day cruise on a small ship with 200+ passengers. No opiods for me. Just OTC stuff. Just do it. You can always cancel a shore excursion 24 hours in advance. Better to have your spot reserved.
pain management for me is 2 advil every 4 hours with food. I tried 3 different kinds of opiods. Just couldn't do it in light of todays political climate. Ice is my best friend as well as a heating pad. I also have a LED lite therapy wrap I use from time to time on the knee. I truly feel like a warrior.
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Pain management was also difficult for me. I am one of the "lucky ones" that metabolize pain medications rather quickly, so they have a short period of effectiveness for me. This creates an issue because I not only require higher doses at times, but more frequent, which is less than ideal because higher doses of powerful pain medications can lead to addictions. I was on long-acting oxycontin as a base medication with Percocet for breakthrough pain, I believe, it was 12 years ago. Pain medications and the way we process them are so variant from person-to-person. Also I elevated my leg with constant icing to help with swelling, which helped the throbbing pains subside a bit.
I think my pain was quite high (constant 6-10 range), which hindered my rehab, for the first year because I had to also have two manipulations. The manipulations were far more painful than the initial surgery. For me, from what I can remember, it was around the year mark when my pain really tapered off and my ROM found its new normal. I did not use pain medications for the entire year, I believe it was around 6-8 months and I was tapered off with the help of my physicians. I am happy to report that once a year or so passed, I have been nearly pain free ever since. I am 12 years out and my knee joint still looks the same structurally as it did in the first year - so no revision in sight as of now.