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Scar tissue after knee replacement
I had knee replacement surgery 6 weeks ago . Through PT I have been working on breaking up the scar tissue only for it to regrow by the time I get back to PT two days later. I have been massaging at home, using a hand held massager and roller. It is painful and swollen. I am getting very disheartened. Any suggestions as to what else I can do. Has anyone had laser treatments to break up scar tissue? Were they effective?
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Hi, I had a TKR in Sept 2014. I have primary Srogrens and mixed connective tissue disorder. Anyway, initially, the knee healed up really well, and everyone including me was very satisfied. However, things started to ache and ache and ache with the dull consistent pain at night that interrupts sleep. Also, range of motion was restricted even after months of PT. Rheumatologist suggested the auto-immune disorders were responsible somewhat for wanting to reject the "foreign" body. After almost 3 years, knee started to be less sensitive. I can now kneel on it although it is permanently numb along the cap and left side. Still, I wake almost every night with the dull nagging ache and Pain that sometimes requires some lidocaine. Mornings I awake with it hot and swollen. BUT I can walk and while I can't hike or go more than say, 2 miles, I'm grateful for small favors!
Wow, you can knell on it. I try to ignore the stiffness and pain. This is why I went to stem cells for the second knee.
I had total knee replacement a little over one year ago, and a manipulation a couple of months after the surgery. I still have a stiff knee with limited mobility although there has been improvement. I have stopped therapy temporarily but have been forcing myself to bend my knee, which has resulted in some periodic burning sensations which have become frequent. I believe the pain is from the breaking up of scar tissue. I will be seeing the surgeon for another follow-up later this month.
I had total knee replacement a little over one year ago, and a manipulation a couple of months after the surgery. I still have a stiff knee with limited mobility although there has been slight improvement in that it is a little easier to put on socks and boots and I can lift my knee replacement leg a little more during showers. I have stopped therapy temporarily but have been forcing myself to bend my knee, which has resulted in some periodic burning sensations which have become frequent. I believe the pain is from the breaking up of scar tissue. I will be seeing the surgeon for another follow-up later this month. My surgeon said my case was not typical. I am unable to do a round on an exercise bike because of the limited mobility. I was in a nursing/rehabilitation facility for about 15 days and I don't think I received the kind of physical therapy that I should have received initially. By the time I was released the physical therapist that saw me initially at home questioned what had been done in the rehab facility. I had nearly zero mobility. This therapist worked with the surgeons to get me set up for a manual manipulation. A physical therapist in the hospital measured my mobility at 65 after the manipulation. Does this seem normal?
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no. but not unheard of. Someone did not do their job. This is why i will not get another tkr
The surgeon said it was the nursing/rehab facility and the various physical therapists I have had seemed to think along the same lines.
I will have to seriously consider doing my left knee; it wasn't as bad as the right. But I am inclined not to get another TKR either. Others have had TKR without any problems. I went to one of the best hospitals in the country with an experienced surgeon - so go figure. I have been taking Instaflex which has helped with discomfort in my left knee. I have been awakened with the kind of pain others have described here. I have not taken pain killers since shortly after the manipulation. I took an Aleve for the pain I mentioned recently. It probably helped but the pain was not constant.
If you would have had both knees replaced at the same time you would have qualified for ACUTE Rehab Facility. Ins usually does not pay for Acute Facility with one knee replacement. That is probably why you went to a SKILLED Facility ( Nursing Home ). It sounds like you did not have proper rehab in the first 15 days which would hugely contribute to your less than par rehab. My surgeon told me to rehab as much and as hard as possible the first 2 weeks because you get close to 80% of you new motion at that time. It takes around 12 months to gain all the movement you will gain. Glad you got the manipulation and hope you can perhaps get a second chance at rehab. I had bi TKR and that's how I found out the difference in facilities. The hospital mistakingly put 1 knee replacement on Ins application for Acute Facility and they refused to allow me to go there. Surgeon appealed it and still said no. He said the per to per person he had to speak with didn't understand orthopedics. So I had to go to a Skilled Facility which is actually a nursing home. Luckily they sub out their Physical Therapy Department so I did receive decent therapy . I was to be there 2 weeks and checked myself out on day 3. It was a most horrible experience. I had both knees replaced and it took 20 minutes to 2 hours for them to help me out of bed for the restroom. With 2 knee replacements I couldn't get my legs off the bed and needed assistance. They gave me someone elses pill cup etc. I sure feel sorry for nursing home residents. An elder man down the hall from me kept yelling help help. My husband came in and said go help that man he needs help. That's when an assistant ran into his room. The dear older gentleman needed to go to the restroom. Wishing you the best recovery from here on out. I am 7 weeks out and feel like I am on schedule but need to start walking outside alot.
Hello @marthajean,
I had my right knee replaced in 2006. Like you, my recovery was long and difficult. I had aggressive scar tissue formation that led to two manipulation procedures. My post-op ROM was 15-45 (I couldn't straighten my leg either after years of atrophy). I finally broke the scar tissue loose on my own after playing catch football with my friends and landing on my knee funny. All said and done, it was probably 18-24 months after my initial surgery that I found my new "normal." I now have 0-105 degree ROM and am mostly pain free, except when I overdo it and irritate the remaining scar tissue surrounding the knee.
All of us are so different and how we recover is much different. I was told by my surgeon that it was one of the most aggressive scar tissue formations he had ever seen and one of the worst post-op recovery. That being said, I did end up with good ROM and the elimination of pain, but it was a hard road to get there.
I am 7 weeks out from double total knee replacements. I seem to be doing ok with my recovery but I do have a question. As far as reading about all the scar tissue problems I'm not really sure how to know if I have scar tissue. I am pushing through the pain to maintain 0 extensions in both. Right knee has been easier all around and at 122. The left knee has been harder to rehab. I have had to go out of town for 3 weeks for a family emergency and am doing the rehab on my own. I hate not going to rehab as I really know it helps me. My left knee ranges
115-117.
How do I know what is scar tissue? I still have some swelling. If I don't do knee bends etc every day my left knee gets very stiff. It is always a little stiff and working to the pain and through the pain is how I get relief. I still ice a couple of times a day.