TKR 18 months post op but still have very tight knees

[Scouser]

Well! my 4 week sojourn n europe is now over and yes I done plenty of walking! resulting in swelling around the laterals of both knees,

I will be in the dark until early September, however, I met a retired Orthopedic doctor who informed me that yes , the water around the knee could be drained but would come back!,

 

[Scouser]

I'm now 18 months post op, arthritic pain gone, but the last 9 months I've been plagued by extreme discomfort / pain & tightness around the laterals of both knees, 6 months ago I had IT band release procedure,
Yet still the tightness & pain remains, On Thursday this week I had a second opinion from another respected orthopaedic surgeon who reiterated there is nothing that needs doing surgically , the x rays taken that day show a perfect example of what a tkr should look like,

Basically they cannot explain what causes the tightness other than to say 10 % of of tkr patients suffer from this condition!
Doesn't help me like!

Is there anyone else out there who has experienced the same?

 

[ski_bum]

I'm now 18 months post op, arthritic pain gone, but the last 9 months I've been plagued by extreme discomfort / pain & tightness around the laterals of both knees, 6 months ago I had IT band release procedure,
Yet still the tightness & pain remains, On Thursday this week I had a second opinion from another respected orthopaedic surgeon who reiterated there is nothing that needs doing surgically , the x rays taken that day show a perfect example of what a tkr should look like,

Basically they cannot explain what causes the tightness other than to say 10 % of of tkr patients suffer from this condition!
Doesn't help me like!

Is there anyone else out there who has experienced the same?

@Scouser Hi, My first knee replacement (right) I had IT Band issues for 9 months, felt like my knee was pushing out. A friend lent me his roller, then I bought one. Leg up rolled to the heart, for why I don't know but it did help. Then my IT Band would pop when walking. That changed and did not pop until after 30 minutes of our 40 minute walk. It was not very painful, just weird.
Second knee Surgeon put a button under knee cap to help movement with IT Band. IT Band has a small pop only a little weird. But pain top of calf into knee outside has never stopped.
Last visit with Surgeon he gave me a Cortisone shot while say he did not like to do that after knee replacement.
I explained to him that since second knee my hands, knees, toes & any previous injury gets so stiff when weather changes.
He suggested I apply for a job at the airport as weather man, funny but not so funny.
I told my family Doctor, he ordered Blood test to determine Metal Allergies, infection then X-rays of both hands for Arthritis, all negative.
He order Nuclear Scan, inconclusive and new Nuclear Bone & Marrow scans are booked for 24, 25 & 30th. Nov., I will post results on my site later.
Saw another surgeon about second knee IT Band. He said it was the muscle beside the IT Band and to walk it out.
I don't have pain when walking or riding stationary bike. Hope this may help.
Good luck

 

[Jockette]

I’m sorry you still have unexplained discomfort and tightness, some of us do continue to have issues, I have some with my PKR.

I merged your newest post with your original recovery thread to keep your history together.

 

[Scouser]

Can anyone advise please? , I am one month short of 2 years post op bilateral tkr, last year I had a lengthening of the IT band , which provided relief for maybe one week,

I had a second opinion on my knees in September 2022 & the surgeon after looking at my x rays and feeling around said he could see nothing wrong and said revision surgery was not required.

Yet! both knees cause me agony at times, my range of motion is less than a few months after the initial operation, I have constant pain on both knees seemingly where the IT band connects to Gerdy's tubercle, and around the tbial plateau on both knees,

I have resorted to sleeping with a pillow between my knees again such is the pain on contact, is there anybody out there has suffered the same or has an answer? I have thought about acupuncture to see if this will alleviate the problem

 

[Roy Gardiner]

I'm afraid I have no direct suggestions from my own experience, nothing like this happened to me. I will suggest, as the doctors can find nothing wrong with the structure of the knees, to consult a physiotherapist and possibly a masseur.

 

[Ghostpipe]

Scouser, get another opinion. I had bilateral two years ago and had two second opinions around where I live, both said they couldn’t see any problem.
Just had a third from a carefully researched surgeon, and there are very obvious problems that even I could see easily from better x-rays. I am getting yet another opinion from another such surgeon tomorrow.
I will update my thread shortly.

 

[DEL2024Dec-40]

@Scouser

Any update on your knee tightness. I suffered from this for years from an initial knee injury and over 15 years 4 surgeries with no relief. Knee sleeve distracting my mind was the best source of relief. I just had a TKR and at 6 weeks complete tightness and Odin walking and standing. I think a lot if this is soft tissue of tendons & ligaments.

Appreciate knowing how you are managing this, is your tightness associated with pain?