Scar tissue after knee replacement

The Game Ready ice machines are the best, and expensive, so good for you. Stick with the stationary bike. Just spin at the lowest resistance setting as long as you can. On days when I'm not lifting weights I'm on the stationary bike. Movement will help decrease swelling, slowly but surely. Same with ice and elevation. Sometimes the most powerful tool we have is patience.

Stick with it sambles. You're doing great.

Joe

Shambles I had a lot of your same pain …. I had my knee done twice the first time I experienced all what you are saying except the scar was closed …. Ok you may no be able to get to mfr …. Some other things that definitely worked ease the pain was my pt taped me …. I wish I took pictures … but she would tape my it band felt the support right away ….I have been taped a lot in last few months very helpful…. But you can buy from Walmart and watch a video on kinesiology taping for instance it band ….. it is not a cure all but takes some pain away …. I also found a very good chiropractor that did everything from laser to cold therapy and Kinesio taping so I was very fortunate…..tense unit was my best friend that’s only way was able to sleep sciatica was so bad …. I used heat and ice also on my hip and it band …. The knee I know it hurts but try continue to exercise it does get better I am proof of that …I hope you find relief

Shamble - Oh, I am so sorry! Hope it helps you to know that I & many, many others can totally relate to the feeling of concrete and super tight elastic bands around your knee. I’ve also learned from this blog that scar tissue formation is very different for different people & some people form loads of scar tissue on 1 knee but not the other. Suggestions: ice frequently, totally surrounding your knee with the ice pack & sleeve & get your knee to toes above your heart - 20 minutes each time; compression sleeve if you can tolerate it with your scar; ask your doc about different/more/ more frequent nsaids, including topical to supplement oral; more help at home so you can keep knee up while not doing your stretches & exercises; PT 2+/week. If your PT is not addressing that scar consider looking for another. My best to you.

Hi. I am sorry for your difficulties. I had a Mako robotic TKR on my Rt knee, about two months ago. The moment I woke up from surgery my sciatic was so reactive.
Before my surgery I watched several YouTube videos for Mako TKR and traditional TKR... eye opening and cringe worthy stuff. This is a very tough assault on your body. Not just the technical removal of the old and in with the new but the extremely aggressive manner in which they test the strength of your replacement before closing you up. It's as if they are slamming your leg into flexion and side to side, up and down to be sure it all holds. After watching the videos I would have been extremely surprised if I had not had any sciatic pain.
There have been a few points of frustration where I couldn't believe I still had so much pain when my PT would glibly say... what do you expect? they cut off the ends if your bones! 😳
( Then they shake, rattled and rolled them)
In these two months I have come to realize that pains can come and go to varying degrees depending on PT and how much I push myself or whether some nerves decided to wake up and let their presence be known. Ice, CBD lotion massages, moving when I really don't want to... Aleve, Tylenol as needed and resting when needed and whatever else works. Oh did I say ice? Love the ice...
Best of luck finding what works for you. This too shall pass.

@ammaw52 You would have to ask the therapist what their cash price is. You may also want to ask that question of a therapist who takes insurance to see if their rates compare. Typically, there is a certain payout level from insurance that varies if the therapists is in the insurance network or out of network, so the practitioners adjust prices , so they will receive an expected amount. They need to cover costs of rent and employees, etc. If a therapist takes no insurance at all, they may have high prices. Sometimes insurance companies will dictate what price is too high, and won't sign up people for their networks if the price is too high.

I do hope you're better. And yeah, a TKR is a routine but traumatic surgery. The best thing to do to ensure a quick recovery - do the exercises and ice, ice, ice! Your PT will show you what to do, but 80% of your success is up to you. Do the ankle slides and do them again. The first week after surgery is critical. You can't take any days off. You can do it and it will be life changing!

Joe (My surgeon used the Mako assistant too. An incredible advancement is surgery technology.)

It's usually best not to watch surgeries before you have one. For a TKR, yes, they move the leg aggressively before they close to make sure the prostheses are properly set. It looks harsh but it does not do any damage. I have never heard anyone complaining of sciatica after a TKR. I suppose it's possible, but rare.

Again if you're planning on having a TKR and get queasy at surgery videos, don't watch!

Curiosity killed the cat. 😉

About sciatica. After I had my right TKR, I waited about a year to schedule my left one because I did not think the knee pain bad enough for surgery. During that time, I developed sciatica on my left side. I had a couple of jolting attacks getting out of bed in the morning that were so bad I sank to the floor, but most of the time it was that nagging undercurrent ache waiting for it to strike. I had dry needling and PT exercises which helped some. After I had my left TKR, the sciatica soon went away and has not returned. My left leg was very pigeon toed before surgery, and the surgeon straightened it during the TKR. In retrospect, I'm sure that the sciatica was caused by the way I was twisting and dropping my hip prior to surgery in order to keep the pain off the worst side of my knee, where the cartilage was gone first. Now, since I can put equal weight on both legs and have a more normal straight gait, the pressure is off the sciatic nerve.

I don't think sciatic nerve pain is considered unusual after TKR. I have struggled with it off and on since my TKR surgery in June 2022. Here' s why: The damage to my knee joint was severe and had caused me to walk knock-kneed. The surgeon told me that being knock-kneed affected my gait and the alignment of my spine. To remedy this, in addition to the joint replacement, during the surgery the doctor straightened my leg by shaving part of the bone. That meant moving some of the nerves in my leg to get to the bone. This procedure aggravated the sciatic nerve on the same side of my body as the surgical knee. So yes, I experienced sciatic nerve pain for several difficult weeks after my TKR. I'm still having sciatic pain off and on (however, not as intense), but my PT therapist assured me this pain should resolve as my spine realigns itself. I did an internet search and found a few exercises that help relieve the pain. It will get better -- don't give up hope!