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 @sarastafford - I'm glad you found Connect. And I'm very sorry to hear about all of the pain and difficulty you have had since your knee injury. In a way, our knee issues started in a similar way. It was December 2016, I sat down at my computer to do some paperwork, and when I got ready to get up, I literally couldn't walk. I had to wait for my husband to come home to go up to the attic and find some old crutches we had stored there. It was a torn meniscus. But nothing worked. 4 months later, I had a total knee replacement. I'm happy that mine worked out fine and after recovering, I don't have many problems other than a little loss of balance. But I can definitely feel for what you have been through. If I understand correctly, you surgery was in 2009, you are going to a pain clinic, and they are reducing or eliminating your pain medicine. Is that correct? Are they offering you any options for tapering off?
THC is what I'd recommend, and I'm trying to encourage a friend in a situation like yours to try it. A friend with post cancer pain issues switched to it, and was able to get off her opioids. Shes so thrilled.
This is my knee. It is twice the size of my other. And the hardware. Rods upper and lower leg.
Hi, my surgery started in 2009. I have had 8 total replacements and a infection and around 10 12 manipulations
No medicine no nothing
No words can express how sad I am for you. I don’t even know how to reply. Hope you get some relief.
I am writing tonight because it feels like my adhesions are growing even more. At 12 weeks I have this weird net like feeling down into my calf, maybe it’s a kind of numbness, but it seems to be moving toward my ankle. Crazily it feels just like scar tissue. Does anyone else get this? My incision scar is especially tender, numb on both sides, and I can change the intensity of, or at least change the feeling of the adhesions. And even more weird is the feeling like my incision area is wet. Are there swear glands that become active? This is all so unnerving because no one can tell me what all these feelings mean. So here I am trying to fall asleep as usual. Just writing this helps me somehow.
@sarastafford What am I seeing in the X-ray? Is that a revision or the result of multiple surgeries trying to get it right? I'm am SO sorry for all you've been through. Babette
That is 7 total knee anthropastr
@sarastafford - It sounds as if the pain management is probably your top priority right now. I believe you said that your pain management doctor said he could refer you to another pain clinic or specialist. I wonder if you might want to revisit that suggestion and accept his offer? Sometimes, for whatever reason, a doctor/patient relationship doesn't work out. It could be that you would have better success and find a better fit at another clinic. If you could manage the pain, it probably would make it easier to make the medical decisions you face with the orthopedic issues. Does it feel comfortable for you to call back and get a referral?