Scar tissue after knee replacement

My doctor recommended the dynosplint as well. I would need both types of splints for bending and straightening as there isn't 1 splint that does both. I'm curious as well of this has worked for others.

Jump to this post

Recently two Mayo trained orthopedists recommended the Dynasplint, which I already had. I am using it a few hours a day and I do think it is helping a little with my extension. I’m going to keep it up. It’s hard to walk without 0° extension. Hurts my back and hip to do so. If I feel it is successful, I will try the bending Dynasplint. My insurance pays for it, so what have I got to lose.

Jump to this post

Wow! Thanks . I feel so alone and I’m shocked to know that I’m not and how many of us are suffering . I had my left knee TkR in December and I went through the same stuff including the part about my therapist hurt me . I have no therapy visits left for the year to go anywhere else plus my right knee needs replaced . I’m terrified at that thought and the pain is bad and my surgical knee bends 105 . I’m so tired from lack of sleep . I’m reading too and looking up information to help myself . I’m trying things for self help . I’m pretty frustrated at this point . I thought the knee replacement was going to give me a piece of my life back not take it away . I’m trying . Thanks for sharing .

Jump to this post

I struggled with extension also. I am a cyclist and probably don’t stretch enough. I would sit on the floor and put birdseed on my knee. I would also lie on my stomach on my bed with my knee right on the edge of the bed, put a 3-5 pound weight on my ankle and let it dangle. I would try for 5 minutes. Hurts but it worked. Good luck.

Jump to this post

Thank you, I especially liked hearing about the birdseed fix! I can’t lie on my stomach with my knee on the edge of the bed because I had a neck injury years ago, but I will try the birdseed! Were you able to achieve 0° extension?

Jump to this post

Yes. I did PT for 6 weeks and faithfully worked my knee at home. It helped to
massage me knee and loosen it up. I still work at it every day.

Jump to this post

I am in the same boat as you guys are . A surgery that has gone bad after the replacement (partial),then injections, then a knee manipulation, then a scope and still no relief along with a surgeon who doesnt care at all sort of laughs when you tell him of the pain and how your life changed I don't believe there is any help

Jump to this post

@erikas I wrote a very long answer to your question, but then I thought about it more and didn’t post it because I realized I could not possibly have done anything differently. I think that I did all that I could.

Unfortunately, I felt like I was really at the mercy of the surgeon, and he is the kind of doctor that does one knee surgery after another. If you don’t fit into his cookie cutter mold as a patient he doesn’t care or respond. I tried to get appointments with other orthopedists recommended by my PCP, but none would see me because I had already had a TKA by my surgeon. (That made me really want to give up, but I didn’t. I think my anger fueled my will to keep going.)

On all the nights that I couldn’t sleep due to pain I researched everything I could find and understand about my symptoms. I tried to find the answer myself because the surgeon was done with me. I tried alternate therapies like acupuncture and other manual modalities done by doctors at the same university as the surgeon. One of them contacted my surgeon several
times about my case, and the surgeon wouldn’t even respond to him. That doctor finally sent me to pain management where I am now, getting physical therapy from a PT who understands the problem and treats it appropriately.

During this ongoing journey I discovered that I am not alone. There are so many people out there “like us,” and I take comfort in that. There is not yet an end in sight for me, but I am not ruined. I learned to listen to myself and to not give my power away.

So I would tell people in my situation:

1. Doctors are not gods.
2. You are not a victim.
3. Educate yourself as much as you can.
4. Advocate for yourself. If you reach one dead end, keep searching for alternate ways. Think outside the box.
5. Find and reach out to others who are in similar situations.
6. Follow your gut. (When my original PT pushed me to the breaking point and caused more damage, I should have sought out a different one. I didn’t listen to myself.)
7. Find one medical professional who is willing to be in your corner and help advocate for you or at least journey with you. My PCP has not given up on me, so I can’t give up on me.
8. Be mindful of your thoughts. I catastrophized and, especially in the middle of sleepless nights, I pictured my pain never ending and my life being over because of it. Doing that just caused more suffering.
9. Take things one step at a time (pun intended!) Don’t get ahead of yourself.
10. Be gentle with yourself. This is not your fault. You are not a lost cause. You are not your pain.

I hope this helps someone.

Jump to this post

Good evening @anniesnaps and others who have read your post or need to read it. This was quite a thoughtful recording of your genuine and authentic thoughts and an evaluation of your attempts to find a solution for scar tissue after a TKR.

I just wanted to add one option that might have value and that is MFR, Myofascial Release Therapy. Fascia, the connective tissue in our bodies, can become restricted and painful. Removing the restriction takes gentle hands and specially trained therapists.

May I ask another question? Have you experienced Baker's Cysts? They also can be an indicator of the presence of a cyst-like vessel that has filled with fluid. Here is a link to the foremost expert in this field, John Barnes.
http://www.myofascialrelease.com.

Give it a look and ask any questions that come up for you.
May you be free of suffering and the causes of suffering.
Chris

Jump to this post