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Dear @georgieb51
Sounds like it's time for some different doctors and therapists to take a fresh look. I appreciate your frustration because I had it in spades when my leg wouldn't heal for ten months. Everyone has different experiences, but hearing about them can give you clues about what questions to ask going forward. In my case it was soft tissue damage caused by a bad therapist early on, compounded later by an overly enthusiastic and optimistic therapist who pushed my leg faster than it could go. I ended up with bursitis and tendinitis all up and down the leg, and the dratted thing would swell if I even stood on two legs for five minutes. The pain and sleeplessness seemed neverending. Now I know that I also had an underlying condition going into the surgery that no one noticed, and it held back my recovery. Just keep getting doctors to look at everything --muscles and tendons can get repetitive strain injuries, and you sound very athletic. So maybe that's the place to begin exploring. Nerves can get compressed or injured in surgery. The changes in your posture from a joint replacement can cause all sorts of pain in muscles because you move and shift weight differently. It can affect your legs or spine. Also, if you have continued daily swelling maybe you will want to have your venous and arterial circulation checked. Or ask if your heart is pumping efficiently. The human body is so complicated that finding answers is a real journey sometimes. I got lucky when I tried two things: sonar shockwave to boost the circulation and speed up healing and posture exercises that changed my walk and helped me stop overstressing the surgical leg. Insomnia also held back healing for me. If you have trouble sleeping that could be an avenue to explore. There's just no telling what could be wrong, but keep trying doctors in different specialties to get fresh opinions. This is not a "suck it up and stop whining" moment. You deserve help to heal. Maybe even look at your exercise regime and consider whether you are overstressing your leg. You can't force it to heal faster by pushing it too hard. It could even be just one form of exercise that is doing damage. I found that the exercises prescribed by my therapist were causing repetitive strain injuries on the one spot where my circulation was weakest. You just never know. Maybe eliminate one exercise at a time to see if there's any improvement. I hope you find some answers and relief really soon. Don't quit looking for help. Best wishes for your recovery!

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Replies to "Dear @georgieb51 Sounds like it's time for some different doctors and therapists to take a fresh..."

@genie15 This is an excellent answer that essentially say "no doctor will look at everything or knows everything". Sadly, almost pathetically, I've found that doctors who are in business to do surgery will do surgery. It's how they make a living. Jaded? Really? What other professions act differently? I'm going on 7 months of having one knee and surrounding areas continuously swollen (1.5-2" larger in circumfernce) with absolutely no medical professional able to tell me why other than the area was traumatized by the surgery AND "be patient". 12+ months is what I'm told that it might take. In English: "we don't have a clue what the problem is and have no idea how long it will remain like that." Had my Mayo orthopaedic surgeon even remotely mentioned this could be an outcome, I would have never had this surgery...and certainly looked for other opinions. Hang in there!

@genie15 Sounds so familiar. I tried therapy & knew from the second therapy they were to quick to get you going. After the third therapy just thought I'd figure this out on my own, moving at a pace that worked out for me. Yes I used all the paperwork that they gave me but found overdoing anything wasn't helpful. I've had 10 other surgeries on my body & this was the hardest in my mind. I'm a senior & have taken that into consideration, doctors don't seem to think about that all! Keep working at your health, may healing of our bodies be near! Take care