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What could casue pain and stiffness 2 1/2 years after tkr surgery?

Posted by azcopper @azcopper, 4 days ago

About 8 months after my tkr in December 2022, I had surgery for peroneal brevis ligament tear, ankle of the same leg, and had to use a knee scooter. It set back my knee recovery but seemed to be ok after I got off the scooter, about 2 months later. A year after that, in had an achilles heel tear, same ankle and leg, and had to use the scooter again for about 2 months. The knee is not recovering well now, with stiffness and shooting pain when pressing several places on the inside of the knee. Could this just be scar tissue from all the abuse I gave it with the additional surgeries and pressure from the scooter?

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loriesco | @loriesco | 3 days ago

Yes. There is so much we don’t know about you. I suggest you go back to your surgeon and he direct you to either rehabilitation (PT)) or to pain management. Scar tissue could affect your area or your muscles aren’t getting enough exercise and they are tugging on the connective tissue to your knees. Good luck.

REPLY
1 reply
genie15 | @genie15 | 3 days ago

Ask your doctor if you have bursitis. I didn't know that I had it. I thought my knee replacement was bad. It amazes me now that 4 of my younger doctors missed the symptoms of bursitis, is a very common injury after knee replacement. They weren't looking for it! It took a doctor in his fifties with a background in sports medicine and physiatry to catch it, and it took him 1 minute of listening to me describe my symptoms. Then he reached over and in 1 second touched the exact spots, heard me yelp and said, you have pes anserine bursitis. He is now curing it, successfully, although it takes weeks. Bursitis has been known about for a long time. It's common. Maybe my younger docs missed it because it isn't fashionable and doesn't require the nerve injections they are all so enamored of. Fads come and go in medicine just like in everyday life. Bursitis doesn't seem to be interesting enough for them to bother thinking about it. If no one seems to be able to diagnose your condition in a way that brings healing, consider finding a doctor with a different background who can look at your case from a fresh perspective. Doctors tend to see what they deal with most often. Check Healthgrades reviews and look at the doctors' specialties and areas of training. Several of those areas overlap in terms of the knowledge they learn about the same parts of the body that surgeons deal with. I didn't choose a sports doc at first because I am a senior and arthritic. I don't do sports. But it turned out that was the right kind of doctor to finally recognize my injury. It's the muscles and ligaments around the surgical knee that were causing my trouble, and sports docs know all about those. I finally got lucky. Keep trying to find a doctor who will take a look at you with fresh eyes.

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1 reply
azcopper | @azcopper | 3 days ago
In reply to @genie15 "Ask your doctor if you have bursitis. I didn't know that I had it. I thought..." + (show)
@genie15

Ask your doctor if you have bursitis. I didn't know that I had it. I thought my knee replacement was bad. It amazes me now that 4 of my younger doctors missed the symptoms of bursitis, is a very common injury after knee replacement. They weren't looking for it! It took a doctor in his fifties with a background in sports medicine and physiatry to catch it, and it took him 1 minute of listening to me describe my symptoms. Then he reached over and in 1 second touched the exact spots, heard me yelp and said, you have pes anserine bursitis. He is now curing it, successfully, although it takes weeks. Bursitis has been known about for a long time. It's common. Maybe my younger docs missed it because it isn't fashionable and doesn't require the nerve injections they are all so enamored of. Fads come and go in medicine just like in everyday life. Bursitis doesn't seem to be interesting enough for them to bother thinking about it. If no one seems to be able to diagnose your condition in a way that brings healing, consider finding a doctor with a different background who can look at your case from a fresh perspective. Doctors tend to see what they deal with most often. Check Healthgrades reviews and look at the doctors' specialties and areas of training. Several of those areas overlap in terms of the knowledge they learn about the same parts of the body that surgeons deal with. I didn't choose a sports doc at first because I am a senior and arthritic. I don't do sports. But it turned out that was the right kind of doctor to finally recognize my injury. It's the muscles and ligaments around the surgical knee that were causing my trouble, and sports docs know all about those. I finally got lucky. Keep trying to find a doctor who will take a look at you with fresh eyes.

Jump to this post

Thank you so much for the information. The surgeon who performed the TKR is a jerk. No bedside manner at all. I'll chase down a sports medicine doctor.

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azcopper | @azcopper | 3 days ago
In reply to @loriesco "Yes. There is so much we don’t know about you. I suggest you go back to..." + (show)
@loriesco

Yes. There is so much we don’t know about you. I suggest you go back to your surgeon and he direct you to either rehabilitation (PT)) or to pain management. Scar tissue could affect your area or your muscles aren’t getting enough exercise and they are tugging on the connective tissue to your knees. Good luck.

Jump to this post

Thank you for your suggestions. The original surgeon wants nothing to do with me anymore. I'll have to find a different doctor. BTW, what would you need to know about me that I didn't share? I'm new to this group and am eager to know what is the best way to get my information across.

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