Scar tissue after knee replacement

@twilli2822 My story is exactly like yours, minus the cupping. Dr said wait 1 year, it's been 6 months and started at 5 months. I thought scar tissue only applied to the one you could see and it is great but apparently the unseen scar tissue is the problem, also under the knee cap. My dr also said to use recumbent bike 2x day which I don't have. I did somewhat extensive walking yesterday before I went to PT to have him reassure me about my kneecap and wouldn't you know, my knee didn't crack and pop as much when he examined it. His advice, join a gym. I don't have a pool near me and would have to drive through a lot of traffic about 15 miles one way to get to one. Thank you for the picture of the kit, I will check that out for sure, youtube has been my best friend lately. I hope we can keep in touch as we have such a similar situation.

@twilli2822 I also had knee replacement in October 2025 and was doing great until about 3 weeks ago. Turned my knee and heard a loud pop and crack and was extremely painful. I couldn't see dr until a week later and by that time it had settled down but kept my appt. Dr. said it was scar tissue getting caught in the hinge of the implant and eventually it (scar tissue) would shrink but would take about a year. It wasn't hurting at the time but slight cracking when I straightened it. It has gotten progressively worse and now I have to ease my leg straight or a horrible cracking sound, somewhat painful, will occur. I feel like I am doing damage to my knee but I was pretty much dismissed by the dr, he said he would see me when the year was up. I am not happy, it took 5 months for this to show up, I was much better at 4 months, no pain. Is this similar to you and what kind of physical therapy are you getting?

@lindielulu
My right TKR was October 1, 2025. I did not have the problem you describe but your surgeon is responsible for handling problems arising from his surgery. I had a one week appointment with his principal PA (she removed my dressing and cleared me to drive). a five week phone update with my surgeon and a six month checkup with the magician last week when he declared that I had no limitations. After the surgery he provided me (and all of his patients) with an after hours phone number which he promised would always be answered by either himself or his principal PA.

Your surgeon has essentially written you off. The medical term is abandonment and should not happen. Don't let it happen. Make another appointment. If he doesn't give you one, show up at his office. The last thing he wants is an unhappy patient camping out in his waiting room.

I have a significant scar tissue problem . I had a surgery just within a year for revision of a component, scar tissue removal and a rod inserted in my femur due to a crack that occurred during the MUA I had 8weeks following the original (first) TKR 8 months earlier. Scar tissue came back, which is pretty common so I am told. Sometimes it even comes back more. I had an MUAa go 8 weeks after the revision surgery and have gained another 20 degree sea of flexion. It’s not what I hoped it would be going into the whole TKR experience but better than it was after the first surgery. I do 1+ hours of PT on my own every day to keep the flexion I have gained. TKR with scar tissue not for sissies!

@spinner2 When you say you go another 20 degrees, what did you get up too?
I asked about MUA but said would not do it at my age 76 at the time to get just a few more degree of flex. I would like to ride my bike without feeling my knee with every roatation. I am 19 months post op, can play Tennis, Pickleball and Golf but can't hike any more with the group. I am too slow, and being short (5'0") always had a problem stepping up the rocks. So I have more pain than I imagined and I hope it will go away eventually. Good luck to you.

I had tkr 11/16/2015, and like you, I’m still suffering. I wish I could help you. I can just tell you, you’re not alone. I’ve had manipulation 4 months after surgery, which didn’t help. I had the nerve blocks done, and they didn’t help. I know my problem is scar tissue and nerve entrapment (my own diagnosis). I’ve had 2 second opinions, and both said my joint looks fine. I take 700 mg. of gabapenten every day, and 3 5/325 mg hydro codone. It just dulls the pain. I don’t know where to turn either. My surgeon said he could do arthroscopic surgery and try to remove the scar tissue, but I don’t trust him anymore. I hope you can find a solution.

@bisutton I am with you! I had tkr in 2024. I had manipulation about 5 months later. The next step would be to remove the scar tissue. I really wasn't feeling positive about that because in my opinion it would just come back. Dr says he has something to help with that but I just haven't had the nerve to do it because I am not sure I believe it. He was so positive about me doing the tkr but now I feel like he thinks it is my fault that it is not improving. It has now been 2 years and my knee still hurts every day and it is swollen. I did go to another practice to get an opinion and the Dr said x rays show there is nothing wrong with the replacement. He said stop going to PT and just work on it at home BUT there has been no change and actually it is more stiff now than it was.

@bebe68
I don’t know when I posted that , but I’m no longer taking hydrocodone or gabapentin for my knee. I stopped hydrocodone in 2020, when my dr said he could no longer give it to me if I was taking Xanax. He said I had to choose one of them, so I chose the Xanax. I need it to sleep. I stopped gabapentin about a year ago when I read it could cause dementia. I can’t tell any difference in my knee pain since I stopped those drugs. I hope you can get relief some way. I’ve come to believe we just have to live with some things, and they can’t be fixed. My other knee has been giving some problems, but it would take a LOT of persuasion for me to get another replacement.