Has anyone had a tight band feeling after total knee replacement?

Posted by mhort1213 @mhort1213, Feb 28, 2019

I am 8 weeks post TKR and have had this very tight band around my knee since week one. My Dr at 6 wks says it is normal and will go away. Has anyone else had this and did it go away and when?

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@lindamarie14

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..

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ROM of 114 I meant.

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@lindamarie14

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..

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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.

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Thank you I reread your message after I woke up... So the manipulation really didn't make any difference in the tight band feeling? And you're ROM was already good before that right? I almost wonder if they're not in there too tight? Yes I had a friend who had hip surgery it turned out beautifully... I also had a friend who had minimal evasive knee replacement And did not have any of the problems I am Is having.... I'm glad to know that the pain gets better even if the band feeling stays there.... I did have a lot of problems with arthritis, I went a year before having surgery in pain....

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@lindamarie14

Thank you I reread your message after I woke up... So the manipulation really didn't make any difference in the tight band feeling? And you're ROM was already good before that right? I almost wonder if they're not in there too tight? Yes I had a friend who had hip surgery it turned out beautifully... I also had a friend who had minimal evasive knee replacement And did not have any of the problems I am Is having.... I'm glad to know that the pain gets better even if the band feeling stays there.... I did have a lot of problems with arthritis, I went a year before having surgery in pain....

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The pain, lack of strength, lack of flexibility pre-surgery was bad enough that the surgeries were such a miracle for me.

Except the knee surgery left me with pain in an area I’d never experienced pain before and this aggravating 24/7 sensation of a tight compression below my knee.

Some very smart highly trained surgeon knows what this is. It is certainly no secret. Maybe one day there will be help for us. I check back to this group occasionally because of HOPE.

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@lindamarie14

Thank you I reread your message after I woke up... So the manipulation really didn't make any difference in the tight band feeling? And you're ROM was already good before that right? I almost wonder if they're not in there too tight? Yes I had a friend who had hip surgery it turned out beautifully... I also had a friend who had minimal evasive knee replacement And did not have any of the problems I am Is having.... I'm glad to know that the pain gets better even if the band feeling stays there.... I did have a lot of problems with arthritis, I went a year before having surgery in pain....

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The MUA did not help me, nor did it help with the leg length desrepancy. I am thankful my doctor tried anyway. Process of elimination…

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@lindamarie14

Did the Myofascial release therapy work? Please let me know! Thank you!

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Good afternoon @deedar. I am pleased that I can say...."Yes!", the MFR therapy worked to relieve the scar tissue. That was my real-life introduction to this treatment. Hold your horses though......it took some time. I started in October with one session a week and two therapists. One of them just worked on the knee. It took about six weeks of therapy supported by at-home Yoga every day.

I am now 8 days after this current surgery and we are paying close attention to any evidence of arthrofibrosis and scar tissue of any kind. Today is my first day walking with just a cane.....no walker. I am just walking around the house.....no marathons yet.

Please let me know how you have decided to treat your knee. What works best?
Chris

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@lindamarie14

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..

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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. 🙂

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@lindamarie14

I've read alot about it. Seems we are the unlucky ones. Did they ever try manipulation under anesthesia? They are threatening me with it right now, to break apart scar tissue... most people on here, it didn't work, and the band feeling came back. Are you out of pain??? I could live with the band feeling and limp, if the pain goes away....

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They have not mentioned an MUA. My ROM is pretty good. My NP has an idea of what it could be so I'm waiting on confirmation from her before I move forward or post her diagnosis.

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Please let me know what your DR. says. Im making an appt with mine. On several sites like this, there are literally 100s of people with the same problem... some have pain still with it after 12 weeks, some have good ROMs of 110 or better, some are stuck at 90 or lower. But they all have the tight band feeling. Some have the heaviness with it like there leg is being crushed.. I just don't get why all these DRs haven't figured out how to prevent this.. thank you...

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@lindamarie14

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..

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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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