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Has anyone had a tight band feeling after total knee replacement?
Joint Replacements | Last Active: Apr 25 5:43am | Replies (758)Comment receiving replies
Thank you for replying. Guess we are just the unlucky ones.. I can't believe either that they haven't found a cause for this and a way to stop it... yes I have nerve damage... they are saying, they will do manipulation under anesthesia and that it's scar tissue. I reached114 flexion, so I hope they wont... im so sad it turned out bad. 4 weeks in and the pain is bad... im afraid to ice and elevate to let it heal, because I'm afraid I will loose my ROM of 11, and he will want to do the manipulation.. it is very stiff, the steel band is very painful tight. I can't hope enough it, a least lessons some.... thank you..
Replies to "Thank you for replying. Guess we are just the unlucky ones.. I can't believe either that..."
Last year I had my left hip replaced. While under anesthesia, I had MUA on my right knee (tight band feeling since TKR in 2017) and right hip (joint replaced in 2004). They did the MUA to loosen up both joints as I had leg length discrepancy. Both my joints had great ROM and still do. The MUA did not remove the tight band feeling.
So, it just confirms nerve damage in my mind.
Both my hip replacements went beautifully with no after effects. I’ve heard that knees are more difficult. I believe it.
So this begs the question, would I do the knee replacement again if I knew about this tight band phenomenon? My answer would be yes. My knee was so unstable. Now I can do most anything I want to.
Icing and elevating is the way to go truly. I understand your concern about losing ROM. Last year after a LTKR I had a set back and most of my day was icing and moving about the house with daily activities and my ROM came out good on the other side. One thing to keep in mind and this is speaking from my own experience-4 weeks post-op is way early in your recovery. Surgeon's don't usually share that total recovery can take up to a year for some. I'm 10 weeks out from a RTKR and I still have stiffness and pain. My biggest obstacle is when my incision closed up and began healing...I think all is good and life is back to normal. My body objects big time and I need to slow down. All the 'stuff' that goes on under the surface during surgery is extreme and that healing takes time. Be kind to yourself and talk to your doctor about the best way to manage your pain. I think if you can do that+ice and elevate your brand new baby knee will be happy and you will too. 🙂
Late to the party here, but you can do both ROM and icing and elevation. Just alternate. Relieving the pain of tight band will help maintain. Just left my best friend who had a knee revision in May and ices 3x day, and has achieved achieved 112 degrees even with additional hardware in her knee. Her problem includes extra swelling and pain above the knee where part of the hardware is attached as well as tight band but she persists
This is early days in your journey. Stay positive and patient.
Sue
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ROM of 114 I meant.