Acupuncture worked well for me as he was able to ease the spasms in my IT band, lower back and hip. Also strength training on the machines at fitness center, using exercises given to me by my PT have helped. I walk for at least 40 minutes 5 days a week to exercise my dog (and myself), but I have to take extra care to not fall as this whole experience has caused me to have balance issues, which is really frustrating. The tightness is still there and I can feel the popping in both the lateral portion of my knees and also in my sacrum and mid hip. No MD's here can agree on what is causing this.....I've seen 4 now with so many MRI's I probably paid for the machine by now!
I called Mayo Ortho and am seeing an MD that, hopefully, can tell identify the problem and "fix" it and (praying!) I can then solve my balance issue and resume my bucket list. I am petite and my implant is huge in comparison to my other knee. When I asked my surgeon "who choses the implant size?" He replied, "Oh the rep for the company is in the OR and chooses the right size"!!!! One of my doc's said the issue has to be that a nerve is impinged, most likely in the lateral area of the knee....I bet he is right. I will let you all know what the doc's at Mayo say and/or do. (Back in 2002, I needed a 2 level fusion of my lumbar spine and the surgeon in my city turned out to be on drugs and shattered my pelvis, literally in pieces and left me to die when he nicked my glutial artery and I began loosing alot of blood. My anesthesiologist and the hemotologist on call saved my life. Surgeon was gone in a flash never to return again. I went to 15 of our area's best spine surgeons said there wasn't any way to rebuild me and "you will live your life in a wheelchair". My reply was "Oh no I won't!" and I asked the good Lord to lead me or heal me. He led me to an incredible surgeon and his team at Mayo who gave me a chance to walk again, even tho they told me it was only an 8% one, and it was so invasive to the human body that I had a 50% risk of not surviving the surgery. I knew the Lord had chosen these doctors to heal me and He would work through their hands. I never doubted for a minute that I would walk again. It was a huge operation, and ended up being 4 operations as I wouldn't let them give up on me when a few " monkey wrenches" were thrown on our path. My Mayo surgeons and their team, who literally figured out a way to give me my life back were unbelievably talented, creative, determined and caring in successfully rebuilding my broken body. After 5 weeks, I was allowed to begin using my scooter, then onto a walker, then crutches and/or walker and finally after 3 more months, Dr H and his team met me in a room at St Mary's and he said, give me your crutches and walk across the room. No pain, no limping.....I was rebuilt just as God had made me. It had been a long journey, not so much for me, but for all my phenomenal, dedicated doc's and nurses as well. Dr H looked down at me, (he's very tall and I am short), and said "You know none of us thought you would ever walk again but you kept telling us "God won't leave me behind because he led me to you" and we should not give up either as he was working through our hands. Well, you have something to that God thing of yours as we all agreed if you did ever walk it would be a miracle"
So, don't ever give up. Keep searching for the answers, pray to your God asking to be put on the right path to find complete healing for yourself. Believe your knee will be restored and you will no longer have pain. For if we are not our own tenacious, advocate how can we find the healing we desperately need. We may have to have patience as it may or may not come right away, but with a strong postive spirit (which is hard when you hurt and can't do what you want to right now), I believe we can all be healed.