Any TKR graduates out there with noisy knee?

@ellerbracke When you said your PT said that 50% of the people with TKRs complain of this I wondered if mine do and I just didn't hear them since I have a hearing problem, so I asked my husband. He said mine do not click. I wonder if your therapist inflated that percentage to make you feel better. I have a PT appointment on Thursday for my hip bursitis so I will try to remember to ask him if he has heard of that much with other patients.
JK

Please do. I’ve known my PT guy for almost a decade, and he is pretty much straightforward. Either the local OS’s all have lousy knees (not their own, the ones they put into people), which is unlikely, or the reference was to people who have some issues with some noise with movements with their artificial knees. I basically asked the therapist how many of his patients had audible noise in their knee post TKR without specifying if all the time, with all movement, or any other specifics. Perhaps his clientele is older and stiffer than average (I’m not, at least not stiff). Not sure.

JK - meant to ask how the hip bursitis is going. We both had it come up pretty much the same time, and I have more or less fixed it with exercises, although it may only have been part bursitis, part other issues. Since cortisone shots don’t do diddly for me.

@ellerbracke Thanks for asking. The cortisone shots did help but I am still uncomfortable if I try to sleep on my left side. It's not nearly as bad as it was though. I have had so much more success with cortisone and Synvisc shots in my knees than I have with cortisone in my hips. The only doctor who really did a great job is in Boston and I thought I could take the easy way out and go to the doctor in Manchester (NH) who I had been to for Synvisc shots. If I need them again I will probably head to Boston. I know that weight can cause problems and back when I had problems before I was much heavier, but I gained about 10 pounds back and wonder if that is what caused the bursitis to flare up again.

It's too soon to know if the exercises are helping or not. I have only been to PT one time and that was primarily an evaluation and he showed me some exercises to do at home -- clamshell, reverse clamshell, bridge -- so I am doing them. I really think something I do when I use the gym at my health club must be contributing but he had no suggestions about that.

I will definitely try to remember to ask him about knees when I go on Thursday. I will send myself a message to remember.
JK

JK: had to look up reverse clamshells - they look very uncomfortable. I don’t even like normal (banded) clamshells too much, but they seem to help. How do you manage bridges with limited flex on one knee? My PT also has me do unilateral - one legged - bridges, and those are challenging. If you find an exercise for the hip problem that trumps all others, please let me know. My hip is much improved (without shot), but it can always be better.

@ellerbracke I do find it a bit more difficult to do the reverse clamshells. I have enough bend in my knees to bridge but I’m supposed to hold it for 30 seconds. I find that very tough. I intersperse them with other exercises because I have trouble doing more than 5 at a time.
I am impressed, one-legged bridges! I am pretty sure I can’t do them but you better know that I will try when I exercise later!
JK

JK... reminder: PT/knee noises. As I mentioned, not all of the patients my PT was talking about had it all the time (some did), or with any movement (I do). 30 second bridges are tough! First 3 not too bad, next 2 I had to put most of weight on heels to keep hamstring from cramping. Good luck tomorrow!

@ellerbracke I remembered to ask! He said a lot of people do have clicking knees. I asked, but 40%? He said he would have said more like 5 - 10%. So, there you have it. If your therapist said 40% and that is correct out there, your orthopedic surgeons don't sound like they are doing a very good job. I am sure some are unavoidable but that's an awfully high percent.

It was a good session. We went through the exercises, I wanted to make sure I was doing them right, and he did correct me on one. It actually wasn't one that he had given me. He gave me another too. Hold onto the kitchen sink, grasping your hands over the sink edge. Position your feet about shoulder length apart, stick out your butt, and bend, like you were sitting.
JK

Thanks...... while generally I don’t mind being in the top 5 to 10% of something, in this case it’s not desirable, for certain! No wonder there were no responses or comments to my post. I will double check again with my PT to make sure I did not misunderstand, but I tend to listen pretty carefully. So - kitchen sink, butt out - almost like a squat variation? I do 30 “normal” squats every day already.

@ellerbracke Yep, similar to a squat. You want your upper legs to be pretty much parallel to the floor. It would be very difficult if not holding on the kitchen sink.

As I commented originally, I think your PT was trying to make you feel better by saying it was that large a percentage of people with clicking knees.
JK