IT band syndrome after knee replacement

Have not tried MFR as of yet. Meeting with new PT next week to discuss. Saw PA this morning. Clicking and catching of knee cap caused by scar tissue node which is catching on patella. Will require surgery to remove. Nothing major. In an out same day. Can’t be done until 6 months out from TKR. As for ITB they gave me cortisone to reduce inflammation. hopefully all this will help.

Official name for catch in knee cap is “patellar clunk”. Cause is scar tissue build up that catches.

@scgraham - I just hate hearing that your pain is 24/7 - and that it has been going on since 2017. Wishing you better luck if you continue through a few more sessions to give it more of a chance.

@dickiedo - I'm glad you found out what was causing the clicking and that it can be done fairly easily. At least by November or so, that part of the problem should be out of the way. Does the cortisone give you relief from the ITB?

Along with ITB issues I now have patellar clunk. Knee catches when straightening getting up etc. saw PA last week said I need surgery to have scar tissue removed so knee cap does not catch. Anyone have this procedure done. Had cortisone to relieve ITB inflammation. No help yet. Been 5 days. No more swimming due to catching.

I had the surgery to remove scar tissue sorry to tell you but it's a waste of time. Doesn't help

Did you try anything else or do you still have same issue.

2nd visit with new PT. Included MFR along with aggressive massage for ITB and scar tissue. Tough but feel it was worth it. Also applied KT tape to stabilize ITB. Am sleeping better at night since cortisone but still can’t lay on right side.

@dickiedo - Wow. That doesn't sound comfortable but it does sound worthwhile! Good for you. When I was having trouble with sleeping it helped if I would bend my knees and pull them forward toward my chest. Have your tried bending? Does it bother you that you can't sleep on the right side?

I wanted to reply to you as today I went into see my OS as I am now 6 weeks post op for a TKR. I have been is severe pain since my surgery and it was getting worse since I started Out Patient PT so I called as I can’t sleep, the pain is a dull ache, throb, and some sharp pain all coming from below the knee cap, behind the knee, along the side of my calf and thigh. My Surgeon told me after seeing an X-ray and examining me that I have IT Band Syndrome, I mean this pain brings me to tears. I think he felt so bad for me as this was my 6th surgery, 3 Cervical neck, 1 Back surgery and I first had a Meniscus tear repair that was a failure. He suggested that we try Cortisone injections in the areas that were so painful. It has been 10 hours and the pain is finally subsiding. He told me to rest my knee, ice it and elevate it. I was wondering if your pain finally went away as having to live with chronic pain is much harder then most people understand as I do with my neck pain. I feel sad reading your story when you stated that it takes so much mental energy to rise above the pain, I can relate so much as I try on a daily basis to do just that. I go to pain management for my chronic neck pain, but this TKR has really got me down. I am praying everyday that This to, shall come to pass, I pray that there will be a light at the end of the tunnel. My 36 lb. dachshund pulled me down with her leash 11/2/2017, I had my first knee surgery in January 2018, I lived in constant pain, it was so much worse from the surgery so having no choice, I went to another surgeon for the TKR, it took 48 hours in the hospital to get my pain under control, it was hell and I was forcing myself to do the PT from day one. I was told my range of motion is very good, I think that I over did myself and that is what caused the IT Band Syndrome. I read that sometimes you can go beyond where you should and cause an injury to those bands. I am hoping that the Cortisone will help me as there is no way I want to go in for anymore surgeries. I just wanted to touch base and see how you are doing after all this time has gone by. I really do hope that you were able to get out of pain. Thank you for sharing your story, God Bless you.

I’ve only just found this board, happening upon it, while doing a google search. I’ll need to take the time to read everything, but thought it might be helpful to share what, so far, I’ve learned. I’ve had an IT band + issue.

I had knee replacement surgery in late July, and while the bend of my knee and mobilization was incredible — they’d never seen anything like it, there was awful pain while lying in bed, attempting the knee ‘slide’ exercise... Something would feel like it was catching — which could be detected by hand — and the pain would drive you through the roof.

Moving on to outpatient PT, however, thankfully, it was suggested not to aggravate it, so slides and some squats — basically any exercise that exacerbated it — were stopped. So, my movement really progressed forward. Soon, I could go up the stairs, too, as well as walk outside with hills, etc.. (Initially, coming down hills would aggravate things...)

While the PT thought it had to be my shortened IT band — I’d been knock-kneed for about three years — I’d learned thru research that the fibula bone in the lower knee, too, was involved. With manipulations by a D.O., whom I’d happened to be seeing, fortunately, for an hip “upslipped innominate” which, also, interfered with walking — everything that happens to be seems to be rare — he noticed that my fibula (we’ve two bones in our lower leg bone) which usually should slip freely back and forth, had resistance moving posteriorly. He mentioned a procedure I could share with PT which might help with that.

More research, however, revealed there was a strapping procedure which could be done — that I shared with both the PT and the D.O — that would help hold the fibula into that posterior pocket. The video had shown that, over time with disuse, the pocket could have filled up with scar tissue, keeping the fibula from being able to slide back-and-forth freely.

It worked! No longer would I feel the pain the the outside, lower knee pocket, when going downhill. Taped, instantly, I had no pain. Without it, I’d struggle, frequently. With repeated tapings, over time, the fibula would move ever more freely. On last exam, it was found that the pocket seems to be open, allowing full freedom of movement. And I have nary any pings of pain in that outer knee area, with normal walking. However, if I try to do a slide, Strangely, as originally, or descend stairs, the pain returns. And here I’d thought, mechanically, the pain might have been due to the tight IT band trying to slip over the fibula, when it had been held, unnaturally, always forward.

Which is what has me researching patellar tendon knee straps, today, so I can apply them myself. Researching those, though, I’ve learned about the IT band syndrome which can follow knee replacement surgery, in addition to being a runner’s knee. My new goal, now, will be to learn more about this syndrome. But I thought it might be helpful to those who might be happening the same front side, outer lower pain that I did, to become aware of the fibula, the taping and how it might help. Three months on, now, it’s time for me to be focusing on descending stairs...

I’d be nowhere near where I am in totally natural movement — with the exception of that slide and descending stairs — if I hadn’t discovered this technique. Hoping some may find it helpful...

Linda