Ligament instability after TKR?

Posted by mpirruccel @mpirruccel, May 9, 2023

I had a TKR in august 2021 on left knee due to OA. First 3 months pain was what was expected however it has never gone away, particularly on lateral side of knee. Operating surgeon at 6 months said I was a “slow healer “ and referred me to pain specialist. Pain is worse with stairs, walking. Tolerable when swimming. Cycling is now limited, used to ride 30-50 miles a ride. Icing and massaging every day. Do ROM stretches every day but painful. Have had 2 genicular nerve ablations with no results. Also tried MFR, acupuncture. Taking 75 mg Lyrica at night for sleep. Been to 3 different doctors all with different opinions. Last doc said only solution was a revision as problem is ligament instability. Anyone else gone through this?

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Mayo is my next stop if can’t get any reasonable answer.

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Have the same problem had surgery 3years ago. I’ve had pain and instability since. I’m functional.I’ve not tried an ablation but I’m thinking about it. Revision has been suggested at present I’m using accupuncture

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@ruthblaze

Have the same problem had surgery 3years ago. I’ve had pain and instability since. I’m functional.I’ve not tried an ablation but I’m thinking about it. Revision has been suggested at present I’m using accupuncture

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Hi, I tried acupuncture before and after surgery but didn’t help. There is a therapy called shock wave that might help. I tried it after surgery but didn’t do much. But there is a stronger version that I may try. These therapies are expensive and insurance doesn’t cover but with 24/7 pain I think it’s worth a try. Please continue to post and let us know your outcome. Three different doctors and 3 different opinions so I am not sure that revision is the answer for me.

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@ruthblaze

Have the same problem had surgery 3years ago. I’ve had pain and instability since. I’m functional.I’ve not tried an ablation but I’m thinking about it. Revision has been suggested at present I’m using accupuncture

Jump to this post

Ablation was a very tolerable procedure and insurance paid for it.

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that happened to me. i know the first knee put in was too big, 2 years of horrible pain and continued to get worse and eventually was told by 2 other docs that said it was instability. i went for a knee revision, my one leg is 3/8" longer to pick up the slack but now stable. i wear a lift in the other shoe

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