Knee Replacement Issues-Help Please!

Posted by brianbellairs @brianbellairs, Jan 25, 2023

Total knee replacement 1.25 years ago followed by manipulation under anesthesia & motion machines. Knee did not bend or straighten sufficiently. Many appts/x rays. No infection. Massive redness & burning at times below knee on inside . Knee sweats. Now after I exercise feels like lower leg bone lodges into knee at exact same place. Can’t walk (at all) and excruciating pain then feels like something slides down & problem goes away after 10 minutes.

What is this? Not showing up on x rays, blood work or aspiration. Help please!

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@mpirruccel

Has anyone had persistent lateral knee pain on outside of knee cap eg for over a year? I have been researching this issue and suspect I have an aggravated popliteal tendon caused by my tkr which was done august 2021. Trying to find specialist who can give injection to definitively determine this is my issue. If I get immediate pain relief then an arthroscopic surgery would be done to relieve the pain. Live in California so someone in this part of the country would be most convenient. Thanks everyone

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I am 1 yr and half out from TKR. I had an awesome physical therapist did cupping and had immediate relief got a bunch of feeling back in that area too. Still have some permanent numbness that is slightly larger area than I had from a previous meniscus surgery but no issues. also had me use roller on both sides of knee from top to bottom every day for 3 minutes per roll. No pain at all. Once surgeon has done their job physical therapist is lifeline in my experience.

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Found the comments/explanations that continentalred posted about recovery to be very helpful. I am a little over 3 mos postop and perhaps I have been expecting too much too soon in regards to my recovery. When I think about it, I guess that overall I am doing pretty well. I can walk - no cane - without any pain, which is something I could not do before the surgery. Thanks for the info and encouragement!!

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@continentalred

I would have to say that I am just under 5 months post op TKR and I now feel I have a better understanding of things.
First off. I can see that it takes about a year to recover. You are looking at muscle and nerve regrowth along with bone repair and there is no way you can achieve that in 3 months when you are over 55. Just because we might be walking, swimming or riding our exercise bike we think we are back to normal but things on the cellular level are still not normal. It is also important to remember that exercise in general causes micro tears to muscle tissue and recovery is part of the strengthening process. Now if we have had a TKR and going about exercising with damaged muscle tissue these micro tears that happen are a set back and need to recover. I think most of us try to do too much and I have found anything weight bearing to be the worst for aggravating my knee. Swimming for me is the best and going on my stationary bike with very little tension (moving the legs forward and backwards) is also good. I have a walking bike called the Alinker which I use outside and can’t say enough about. It is fabulous look it up online.
Easy muscle strengthening calisthenics are also important
If possible it is good to carry on with PT but sometimes in my opinion some of the prescribed exercises can be too much if overly weight bearing. For me as much as I love to walk which was the main reason for having the surgery when I do so for an extended period of time now my knee becomes inflamed and it hurts and sets me back. I find icing never really removes the deep swelling (Compression stockings help)
So choose your exercises wisely so inflammation doesn’t set you back.
My little dog haf TPLO surgery on her knee which consists of cutting the top of the tibia (bone below the knee), rotating it, and stabilizing it in a new position with a bone plate and screws. Thinking back to how she recovered has been a good lesson for me. About 5 months post op she looked good but it wasn’t until a year later that she was optimum and running like she was a puppy again.
The other big thing I would have to say is body weight . It is important not to be varying extra weight. Again in my opinion, the extra weight is only crushing your knees when you try to do weight-bearing activity. I also started a year pre surgery doing a modified eating schedule whereby I do not eat after 8 pm or before 10:00 am. Combining the exercise I was doing I lost 20 pounds but it was the modified eating that took off the extra weight. I still follow this and eat what I want in between 10am and 8 pm and don’t feel as though I am sacrificing anything.
I don’t think that the surgeons are up front when they’re talking about recovery time and the importance of weight management or effective exercise. Bottom line as difficult as it has been for me to accept this expect to be in recovery for a year and during that time do not overdo it or do anything that’s going to set you back significantly.

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I am 77 years old and has osteoarthritis only in my both knees. Left us worst than the right knee. I also have AFIB so I am on specific medications Dofetilide and Eliquis for more than three years. As a result only paracetamol or Tylenol are permissible. I do not have much pain but knee stiffness and sometime swelling around my knees. I do some muscle strengthening exercises and walk about a mile per day with short rests but if I stand for more than 10 minutes in one place the knee becomes stiff and it hurts to move it. I try to do message but not much improvement. I take Sinvics 1 but during COVID could not take it. It used to help.
I am scared about surgery and think I might invite more problem and pain. I do not take any pain killer on regular basis at present but with TKR it will be needed as everyone says too much pain for a long time.
At the same time think that if I delay more it can become more problematic.
Does any one had stem cell injection? I am nit suitable for stem cell therapy as the damage has been more. Or is it better to get minimum invasive surgery? Any suggestion?

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@oceanspruce

I had two TKRs in August 2022 (right knee) and September 2022 (left knee). Immediately following the surgery on my left knee, I experienced a sharp, highly defined, and painful snapping or popping of soft tissue in the postero-lateral (back outside) area of my knee. The snapping or popping, which continues to a somewhat lesser extent even today five months post surgery, occurs at perhaps 20-25 degrees within the range of flexion, such as when I'm going up or down stairs or riding a stationary bike, and it even at times makes an audible popping sound. My surgeon, other doctors, and physical therapists don't know exactly which soft tissue is being affected or what's causing it, but I have a sensation that the popping tissue is diagonally oriented behind my knee, very close to where one of my hamstrings connects, and I've come to guess that it might be the popliteus tendon, though I don't know that for sure. I never experienced this popping or snapping prior to surgery.

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I had similar popping sensations and my PT said it could tendons rolling over the implant or simply tendons doing their job but due to the inflammation around the knee they couldn’t move as smoothly as norms

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@nursefran68

Found the comments/explanations that continentalred posted about recovery to be very helpful. I am a little over 3 mos postop and perhaps I have been expecting too much too soon in regards to my recovery. When I think about it, I guess that overall I am doing pretty well. I can walk - no cane - without any pain, which is something I could not do before the surgery. Thanks for the info and encouragement!!

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Hang it there.
One day we will say it was all worth it!!

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@kancha

I am 77 years old and has osteoarthritis only in my both knees. Left us worst than the right knee. I also have AFIB so I am on specific medications Dofetilide and Eliquis for more than three years. As a result only paracetamol or Tylenol are permissible. I do not have much pain but knee stiffness and sometime swelling around my knees. I do some muscle strengthening exercises and walk about a mile per day with short rests but if I stand for more than 10 minutes in one place the knee becomes stiff and it hurts to move it. I try to do message but not much improvement. I take Sinvics 1 but during COVID could not take it. It used to help.
I am scared about surgery and think I might invite more problem and pain. I do not take any pain killer on regular basis at present but with TKR it will be needed as everyone says too much pain for a long time.
At the same time think that if I delay more it can become more problematic.
Does any one had stem cell injection? I am nit suitable for stem cell therapy as the damage has been more. Or is it better to get minimum invasive surgery? Any suggestion?

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How are you but it does sound as if you are pretty active. There are not a whole lot of options, but if you were getting some relief from the hyaluronic acid injections, I would continue on with them. You do have some health issues to consider so having surgery might not be the best option, but speak to your doctor to see how you feel about your proposed prognosis. They successfully deal with people who have all sorts of health conditions going into surgery. If you need.to lose weight I encourage you to do so as it does help lighten the load on your knee

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Thanks. Yes I am going to see what the medical team says.

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See my rather long comments in thread” knee replacement issues, need help. Could be the popliteal tendon which is causing your pain. Call doctor for diagnosis

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@continentalred

How are you but it does sound as if you are pretty active. There are not a whole lot of options, but if you were getting some relief from the hyaluronic acid injections, I would continue on with them. You do have some health issues to consider so having surgery might not be the best option, but speak to your doctor to see how you feel about your proposed prognosis. They successfully deal with people who have all sorts of health conditions going into surgery. If you need.to lose weight I encourage you to do so as it does help lighten the load on your knee

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Oops, my long comment is under ITBand help

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@dmk

I am 1 yr and half out from TKR. I had an awesome physical therapist did cupping and had immediate relief got a bunch of feeling back in that area too. Still have some permanent numbness that is slightly larger area than I had from a previous meniscus surgery but no issues. also had me use roller on both sides of knee from top to bottom every day for 3 minutes per roll. No pain at all. Once surgeon has done their job physical therapist is lifeline in my experience.

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Excellent advice, thanks.

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