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Stabbing pain behind knee cap

Posted , 7 users are following.

Halle_90842
Halle_90842

I had total knee replacement 8 weeks ago. Flex 126...extension 0....concerned about sharp pain behind knee cap now when I put pressure on my knee when its bent i.e. going up and down stairs...modified squats..leg extensions...surgeon says xrays are all fine..anyone else have this pain?

0 likes, 13 replies

13 Replies

  • Saint2012
    Saint2012 Halle_90842

    Posted

    I do. My therapist does a procedure called dry needling.It lengthens short muscles due to a a bad gait prior to surgery.Also my ankle to the back of my knee she gave me an exercise today to,stretch the ankle.Thus all evolved today will keep you updated
  • CHICO_MARX
    CHICO_MARX Halle_90842

    Posted

    0 / +126...poifect!!!  Congrats.  And, yes, the 126 can improve a bit more once you've done all the exercising to rebuild your quads, glutes and core...all the musculature to support the knee.  And that could very well be the problem.

    Without those muscles strong and working, the pressure for all of your activities falls solely on the knee joint itself.  That's why a full recovery usually takes a year.  There is a lot of ROM and muscle rebuilding work to do in the coming months.  My wife had similar pain for another reason.  After all the tests and exams, her problem is an inflamed quadricep tendon right above her kneecap.  Felt like the knee but it wasn't.  Here are some other things you may want to consider...

    https://patient.info/forums/discuss/other-pain-after-a-tkr-641040

    If all your imaging turns out OK, then there is no structural problem with the knee.  If your 6-week alignment x-ray lined up properly, then the knee's positioning is perfect.  Doc confirmed all this.  Consider the possibility that your atrophied quads and other muscles are unable to bear the strain you're putting on the new knee joint, therefore, it's gonna hurt.  We have heard this a bazillion times on the Forum, especially from people who expect to be perfectly back to normal in a few months...doesn't work like that.  I've read over 4,000 posts on here and I can count those rare cases with a few digits on one hand.  Whatever expectations you have, ditch 'em...they only screw with your mind.  There is no timetable...the knee will be healed when it is healed...not a moment before.

    Time, work and patience.  Give the knee the time it needs to heal, do the ROM and muscle rebuilding work and have patience with a joint that CANNOT be pushed to recovery. Push it and you're in for pain, swelling and exhaustion.  Listen to your knee!!!  It will tell you when you've gone too far...sounds like it's doing that now.  Then back off, ice, elevate and resume slowly.  You have a looooong way to go.  The good news is that you will be dancing on you one-year anniversary.

    • Delboy1735
      Delboy1735 CHICO_MARX

      Posted

      Got to agree with your 1year idea. It’s best to do the excercise day in and day out. If you have a bad day today it will be bettter tomorrow. Whatever you do after a TKR don’t give up the excercise. Giving up excercise because it’s not getting better is a no brainier.
    • CHICO_MARX
      CHICO_MARX Delboy1735

      Posted

      Yes, you should do your ROM work every day as directed by your doc/PT.  However, when you get to the gym work, it's like any other person doing that type of exercise: You NEVER exercise the same muscle group two days in a row.  When you exercise, you break down the muscle; the day of rest lets it rebuild stronger.  So if you do legs, abs, glutes and core one day, the next day you do upper body, letting those other muscles rebuild.  The ROM work is totally different.

  • CHICO_MARX
    CHICO_MARX Halle_90842

    Posted

    0 / +126...poifect!!!  Congrats.  And, yes, the 126 can improve a bit more once you've done all the exercising to rebuild your quads, glutes and core...all the musculature to support the knee.  And that could very well be the problem.

    Without those muscles strong and working, the pressure for all of your activities falls solely on the knee joint itself.  That's why a full recovery usually takes a year.  There is a lot of ROM and muscle rebuilding work to do in the coming months.  My wife had similar pain for another reason.  After all the tests and exams, her problem is an inflamed quadricep tendon right above her kneecap.  Felt like the knee but it wasn't.  Here are some other things you may want to consider...

    https://patient.info/forums/discuss/other-pain-after-a-tkr-641040

    If all your imaging turns out OK, then there is no structural problem with the knee.  If your 6-week alignment x-ray lined up properly, then the knee's positioning is perfect.  Doc confirmed all this.  Consider the possibility that your atrophied quads and other muscles are unable to bear the strain you're putting on the new knee joint, therefore, it's gonna hurt.  We have heard this a bazillion times on the Forum, especially from people who expect to be perfectly back to normal in a few months...doesn't work like that.  I've read over 4,000 posts on here and I can count those rare cases with a few digits on one hand.  Whatever expectations you have, ditch 'em...they only screw with your mind.  There is no timetable...the knee will be healed when it is healed...not a moment before.

    Time, work and patience.  Give the knee the time it needs to heal, do the ROM and muscle rebuilding work and have patience with a joint that CANNOT be pushed to recovery. Push it and you're in for pain, swelling and exhaustion.  Listen to your knee!!!  It will tell you when you've gone too far...sounds like it's doing that now.  Then back off, ice, elevate and resume slowly.  You have a looooong way to go.  The good news is that you will be dancing on you one-year anniversary.

  • Irish_Al
    Irish_Al Halle_90842

    Posted

    Hi Halle,

    Sorry to hear about your pain. I haven't had it.

    However, my physio did dry needling a few times at my early stage of recovery and I found it to be fantastic. So might be worth a try.

    Take care,

    Alan

    • Saint2012
      Saint2012 missmagwumps

      Posted

      Dry needling is used to lengthen short muscles.My therapist uses 2 needles.She finds spots where there muscles are knotted.By putting a thin needle in those areas the muscles start twitching and eventually break up those knots.It has been working for me so I can now walk down stairs after 9 weeks.i never would have accomplished this at this early stage without it!
    • missmagwumps
      missmagwumps Saint2012

      Posted

      Are you in the uk or USA ? I've never heard of it here but then never been in this situation...I may ask at my next treatment...thanks again for such a swift reply....x

  • Delboy1735
    Delboy1735 Halle_90842

    Posted

    Only experience of partial was a guy who worked in our local Tesco. He was back at work after 8 weeks as if he had never even  had an op. So cannot comment. Listen to your surgeon and your knee.
  • michele68649
    michele68649 Halle_90842

    Posted

    I was told by my doctor not to do squats or any strenuous exercise like hit squats jumping etc
    • CHICO_MARX
      CHICO_MARX michele68649

      Posted

      Squats have to be done very gradually to get your ROM back.  Leg Press machine is good for this but WITH NO WEIGHT at the beginning.  Need to build endurance before strength.  Great for quads when you're ready.  DEEP squats puts too much pressure on the ROM plus weight on your shoulders is probably not a good idea.  Remember.  ROM target is 120 but anywhere between 125 and 135 is most likely OK and very normal from what I've seen posted.  140 gets you into athlete range and 161 is heel to butt.  The problem is we've seen no data on what happens to the device (failure?  shorter duration?) when you push it that far.  Squats are one thing; very deep squats with 250# on your back is probably a no-no.

      Gotta remember...  Early on, your quads, glutes and core are all atrophied...dead...so you're putting all that pressure on the joint when the muscles should be doing the work.  Gotta do the rebuild first.

      Also...NO POUNDING the knee like running, jumping, etc.  That stuff is strictly off limits FOREVER as is any twisting or torquing of the knee.  Not good for the device.

    • Irish_Al
      Irish_Al CHICO_MARX

      Posted

      Thanks Chic.

      This is valuable info.

      2 weeks ago I really pushed a 'squat/bend' in the lower end of the swimming pool and suffered for it big time. OK today after taking it relatively easy for the guts of two weeks.

      Now in hindsight, what you say makes sense. And is common sense, but you know what they say about common sense...............it's not very common🤕

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