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Stiff knee, will it ever go away?

Posted , 11 users are following.

linda6176
linda6176

7months after my TKR and had MUA after 6 weeks, my ROM is 80%  and have a10% loss of extension,  my knee feels as if there is a tight band around it and after 7 months is still swollen and has fluid on it and still painful, I exercise my knee every morning and go to the Physio once a week and exercise for an hour 3 times a week in the warm hydro pool, I recently joined the gym too to see if this help, but nothing does, I am so frustrated, I cannot walk without a cane and am coming to the end of my tether, will the stiffness ever end?

0 likes, 17 replies

17 Replies

  • Oldfatguy1
    Oldfatguy1 linda6176

    Posted

    This is so difficult to judge. You may suddenly get the thing to move. Sounds like your scar tissue is just so bound up and tight. Get back with your surgeon and see if he has any suggestions. Good luck and don't stop excercising.
  • linda6176
    linda6176

    Posted

    Hi Oldfatguy1,  thank you for your fast reply, I went back to my surgeon at 6 months and he said there was nothing else he could do for me, that further manipulation could do more harm than good, and just to keep doing what I am doing.  It is so frustrating, I leave the Physio and feel ok and then it just goes straight back to being sore and stiff cry
    • debz13
      debz13 linda6176

      Posted

      Linda, I feel much the same. I will be 11 weeks post tkr on Monday. Seems like every improvement is followed by 3 steps back! The tightness just does not go away!

      I go to PT 3 times a week, but don't have much opportunity to use a pool. I work full time, with an hour drive each way.

      By the time I get home I am pretty exhausted, and it takes every ounce of energy to get on my bike the days I don't have pt.

      I keep wondering if it will ever get better. I now have a strained muscle on the inside of my knee to add to the fun!

      I see my surgeon this coming Thursday. One of the things I will need then is a cortisone injection in my other knee, as it is taking a beating.

      Here's hoping we both have improvement soon!!

  • dd62
    dd62 linda6176

    Posted

    I feel your frustration! I am 8 months post broken kneecap and although the operation was not a TKR my symptoms are the same! The tight band around my knee and swelling hasn't eased and I go to my surgeon on Wednesday to see what he can do! Last visit he also told me that the operation was a success and all I can do it keep on exercises...I go to physio twice a week and swim a couple of times a week and just can't get past the pain, swelling and clicking! 
  • patsyrose
    patsyrose linda6176

    Posted

    Hi Linda

    I was in a similar position after a failed manipulation at 6 months.  I didn't have fluid on my knee though.  My surgeon said that it was excess scar tissue causing the problem and that I had to wait until nearer the year anniversary to have this removed.  I had this done 25/9 and am now working hard on my bend and straightening again.  I would suggest that you speak to your consultant again.

    Patsy

  • anne07663
    anne07663 linda6176

    Posted

    I am nearly 9 months post TKR. same thing. Mine is tender to the touch as well. I went back to a different physio for the scar tissue and he did ART, active release therapy, for scar tissue. That helped quite a bit and he also worked on my other knee awaiting surgery next spring. I get about 105 bend, maybe a little more. But on the bright side, that dar bone on bone pain is gone! So I'm happy with this. Good luck, Linda. Try not to think about it to much. 
    • debz13
      debz13 anne07663

      Posted

      Thanks Anne. Not one close enough to me, but am going to ask about it on Monday.
  • sarah87162
    sarah87162 linda6176

    Posted

    Don't give up linda.

    When I had TKR 3 and a half years ago they said it would be about a year before I began to feel the benefits and I reckon that was about right.

    Keep going to hydropool.

    What exercises are you doing at the gym?

    Check this with physiotherapy as you may be doing the wrong kind of exercises at the gym.

    Are you sleeping OK or waking up in the night with pain the knee?

    Take care and keep in touch

    Love Sarah xxx

    • linda6176
      linda6176 sarah87162

      Posted

      Hi Sarah, 

      Thank you for your positive comments, I am having a programme put together this Thursday for the gym which the physio is compiling for me.

      I sleep ok most nights but still have nights when my knee is painful and I can't sleep.

      I will let you know how I get on with the gym

      regards Linda

  • tracey59320
    tracey59320 linda6176

    Posted

    Sometimes when I read the posts here I wonder if people are being pushed too hard post-operatively. Don't get me wrong I am not telling anyone to disregard anything told to them by their medical professionals but I just wonder sometimes if they are right. I will find out soon because I am due to have my other knee TKR when I feel up to it.

    I had my first knee done July 1st. I have never been to physio beyond going along to the hospital at 3 weeks post op and being given suggestions for exercises to do at home. I saw the doctor at around 6 weeks and he said he was concerned my knee wasn't straight enough so I was meant to go to physio and do specific quad strengthening exercises. I did those but again I did not go to physio. Infact i don't push myself that far at all. I do my leg raise and bend exercises in bed morning and night and if i get a stiff knee during the day I will ice it with a bag of frozen peas and I will very gently bend and flex the knee to try and free it up. Just had another trip to the hospital, doctor was impressed with how straight my knee was and the bend was well over 100 degress now, he thought i was doing really well. I rarely take pain relief and haven't done for quite a while. I travel long distances over to the Europe (i'm in the UK) so sitting for long periods in vehicles and I dash around on my slightly stiff knee. I don't have a problem sleeping and I sleep face down resting on my TKR knee. The point I am trying to make here is that I have not done much in the way of suffering to get where I am. I only do about ten reps each of the exercises and I do them gently and do not push past was is uncomfortable for me. Is my progress a fluke? Perhaps it will all go wrong yet and as I say I have to have the other knee done so I will soon see. I just wonder if when people are really at a low ebb and are experiencing a great deal of pain if they shouldn't give themselves a week off of PT and exercise gently at home?

    • sarah87162
      sarah87162 tracey59320

      Posted

      I had TKR 3 years ago. I went to physiotherapy for quite a while afterwards starting at 3 times a week, then twice then once until I was about 3 months post op.

      I would definitely not be where I am now without that.

      I was certainly pushed.

      But I think it was well worth it in the end.

      The result has been successful

      Good luck with your other TKR

      Take care and keep in touch

      Sarah

    • patsyrose
      patsyrose tracey59320

      Posted

      It's interesting isn't it.  Some people do vast amounts of exercise and are walking long distances quite quickly.  I'm not sure if these are just people who historically did that any way though.

      I had struggled for years to walk well, not helped I think by a sedentary job based at home.  Because I rarely wore shoes, it was agony when I was out all day at meetings, or a trip to London.My quads have been very tight since my early 30's and although I did aerobics, gym, had a personal trainer and did line dancing...it never made any difference.

      I have struggled with both TKRs, but this second one has been awful.  I'm having to go through the same exercises, having just had it opened up again, and the same pain.  I'm going out walking every day and using a CPM too, but it is proving difficult to keep it as straight as it was post-surgery.  I think that it just shows that we are all different and historic issues some times have a huge bearing on our recovery, as well as how much we do, or don't exercise post-op.

    • Oldfatguy1
      Oldfatguy1 tracey59320

      Posted

      You have probably seen my posts and know I've been through this knee rehab thing a number of times, in my 5th go round. I have to agree with you to a great extent on many of your points. I have always had concerns for those who have been given a pamphlet of instructions and told you have to do these 3 times a day and have no professional help monitoring the activity. Excercise done incorrectly is probably as bad as no excercise at all. I am early in my 5th month and stillgo to my PT once a week where new activity is added and progress is checked. As far as rest, I am in complete agreement with you. Rest is as important as nutrition and hydration. A tired body has a tendency to waver when it comes to proper excercise. One of the areas I had to learn the hard way is speed and pace. Most people are in such a hurry to recover they start hurrying everything. Completing ones stride, taking care to stretch and follow through is more important than how many miles that's covered. Over concern about pain meds. They body will tell you when its time to slow and stop. If you find yourself wanting to use pain pills as sleeping pills you are doing it wrong but if you are taking pain pills so you CAN sleep you are o.k. Hurrying to get off assistive devices because a Dr or therapist tells yourself it's time even if you still need the cane for balance is unsafe. Use it as long as you feel like you need it so you CAN walk properly. Slow down, keep moving, keep pushing, do every stretch complete, ice, elevate, rest and elevate. Listen to your body and hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. Common sense is still the best medicine.
    • gill41350
      gill41350 Oldfatguy1

      Posted

      What you say makes complete sense .I think we often are in too much of a hurry and compare ourselves to others . I have done loads of physio and daily cycling but i need a stick for stability still and my pace is slow as everything feels tight and weak . It doesnt seem like anyone has had my problem of falling which worries me the most . Maybe i expect too much .

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