Scar tissue after knee replacement

Yes agree with Lori!
It takes time, l went on the same path intense exercising over did it, first l had to reduce swelling elevation less exercising, worked gained better range.
7mths later still trying to get there Pool daily, PT exercises & 3klm walks. Range is now 115
It takes time & definitely patients.
My leg still burns or swells if l over do it.
Pool is gentle best best & gentle.
All the best with your journey & recovery Janette definitely keep both side equal strength = good balance too.

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I’m a year out of TKR on both knees. Im age 62 and wanted to plan for a painless retirement, however it didn’t work out that way. 2 diff doctors performed replacement on my knees. One was chief of Ortho in Baltimore and another who Ive seen before with area Sports Medicine Group, Cornell Grad. He said before surgery my flexion was 90 degrees, after the same and this us usually the way it ends up and reason he didnt do manipulation and submitted an article about it for patients like myself who is a year out. He felt there would be no improvement. My other Dr. head of ortho read my submission, manipulated the knee he replaced to see how things went. My knee surprisingly manipulated easily after a year out, started therapy and no improvement. My knee still tight, can only get to 90 degrees although manipulation got to 120 degrees. Surgery does not seem like a viable answer fir scar tissue grows back, blood and trauma to the knee
Not a good thing. I’m told I need to learn to live with them. I feel worse off now than before i had them replacec and I can no longer take advil or any NSAIDS unlessI want to end up on dialysis. I use a massagers on my knees and lidocaine patches and rubs. Life basically sucks. My knees get uncomfortable and stiffens up. I have type 2 diabetes, now weigh 300 and think it may be biological as my uncle also has issues with his knee replacement. Weight prob just a little cause and possibly diabetes as well. Only thing left fir me to try is losing weight and get my A-C sugar levels to normal as it can affect your muscles, otherwise no one has any answer for me.,

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@klarnold. If you have access to a recumbent bike, that’s great for post-TKR PT. My orthopedic surgeon wanted me to do the bike 5 consecutive days each week followed by two consecutive days of rest. He is also a big fan of pool jogging.

I hope you will be able to get back to a flex closer to where you want it.
JK

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I’m sorry you have stiffness in both knees. I had one TKR and ended up with limited range of motion and a diagnosis of arthrofibrosis. I belong to a Facebook group of about a few hundred people who have this condition. You may want to join it. You will learn of a few doctors who sort of specialize in arthrofibrosis. You will also find support from this group. Dr. Henry Finn of Chicago might possibly be able to help you with his hinged knee replacement. Personally, I’m going to go to the mayo clinic in April and see what they can do for me. I wouldn’t give up if I were you. Another thing I can say is I think it is hereditary also because my mother had a frozen elbow, and after my kidney surgery I was told my abdomen was full of scar tissue from previous surgeries. Now that I have one kidney I can no longer take NSAIDs by mouth but I have been told I can use the topical one, Voltaren gel. You may want to look into that for some minor relief. The best of luck to you.

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I’m sorry you have stiffness in both knees. I had one TKR and ended up with limited range of motion and a diagnosis of arthrofibrosis. I belong to a Facebook group of about a few hundred people who have this condition. You may want to join it. You will learn of a few doctors who sort of specialize in arthrofibrosis. You will also find support from this group. Dr. Henry Finn of Chicago might possibly be able to help you with his hinged knee replacement. Personally, I’m going to go to the mayo clinic in April and see what they can do for me. I wouldn’t give up if I were you. Another thing I can say is I think it is hereditary also because my mother had a frozen elbow, and after my kidney surgery I was told my abdomen was full of scar tissue from previous surgeries. Now that I have one kidney I can no longer take NSAIDs by mouth but I have been told I can use the topical one, Voltaren gel. You may want to look into that for some minor relief. The best of luck to you.

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Please, Please tell us the name of the FB group-- as many of us suffer with this as well as well, after continually botched surgeries I have only 62 degrees flexion and never ending chronic pain!

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Arthrofibrosis Support is the name of the Facebook group. Please join us!

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I joined the Facebook group yesterday, although it is a private group and they took a couple of days to approve my application.

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Hi I had total knee replacement 10 months ago. Lots of swelling. Went to PT had deep tissue massage. VERY painful I felt like I had a very tight band around my knee making it hard to move.. I used a recumbent cross trainer which helped a lot. Getting into the pool and walking had an immediate effect on bringing down the swelling. After 3 months I did fairly well. I was bothered for a long time with sciatic pain making it hard to sit and ride in a car. I had second knee replaced 8 weeks ago. Almost no swelling very good range of motion right after the operation. Doing exercises twice a day and icing 3 time a day. This time around so much better. Some stiffness in knee but nothing compared to last time. My only problem is the hip/butt pain is back but not as bad. Has anyone else had this problem???

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