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MUA 5 week failure<

I’m glad you are making progress Robin. I haven’t had MUA but I still have a large amount of swelling. My PT has advised that it’s normal and there may still be a degree of swelling for up to a year. I find that it also swells the more I do. I keep icing and elevating when I can.
 
@Robinmhs88
It's taken a lot of pain to get you where you are. Just keep doing ice and elevating. That's what has saved me.

I'm discouraged and tired of this at 3 1/2 months. I try not to think about it because I keep being told it will take a year. Sometimes I am angry, but what's the point? It can't be undone. I'm grateful I have Bonesmart, my job, I can walk etc. I'm tired of people thinking I should be ok by now and I'm tired of being tired. I'm not like this everyway,but sometimes I just have to let it out


We are all happy for you. You have been through so much as have many on this website. I don't mean to be discouraging. I have to work at being grateful. The best thing I can do is encourage you or someone else.

You have been a very brave girl. God Bless you.
 
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Hey Gal! So glad you are doing well!!! Gives me hope for mine! Some days my knee feels looser and more bendy but ROM does not seem to increase. I know about that muscle on top of the kneecap! Wow.. that thing is tight! I do the stretch where you lay on your tummy and use a strap as you bend your foot toward your bottom on your own power and just hold it with the strap (not pulling), for 30 seconds. I love that one.. My knee doesn't hurt at all when I do it but you sure can feel that muscle on top of the knee stretch. You might try it or ask your PT about it.
 
What a heart-warming report! As your swelling goes down, that tightness atop your kneecap should ease a bit and you’ll get better movement. How wonderful that you are happier already with your flexion and progress. It will only get better from here. Keep a tight watch on the PT to make sure you don’t overdo it. It’s amazingly easy to do too much when we feel so good.
 
i wonder when/if the pain ever goes away? Last night the regular pain was accompanied by sharp shooting pain. Still bending fine but trying to learn to walk but can’t get my leg to kick behind me it’s weird.
 
What are you doing? Remember, you need to rest for at least a few weeks or more after a MUA. It causes your soft tissues to become inflamed and traumatized again.
 
Nothing different the everyday pain is in the same spot since tkr but yesterday with the sharp pain I didn’t do anything different and I didn’t feel I over worked it. I spent most of the day sitting, legs bent, and when I stood up I would get the sharp shooting pain. Lasting till I feel asleep last night.
 
Fingers crossed, each day the pains will be less. enjoy the rest of the weekend.:flwrysmile:
 
@Robinmhs88 I had those sharp pains. There is no way to be prepared for this. I will have to go back and read my posts to remember writing about everything that hurt or worried me. I'm almost 15 weeks and still very impatient. When people say I'm doing well I want to scream. Just because I can walk doesn't mean it's over. Try to ice as much as you can. I'm still icing whenever I'm home. And I'm still swelling. This is going to last for a year. I'm finally surrendering to that.
 
It's possible the pains you are feeling are what we call 'zingers'. It is the cut nerves in the knee attempting to reattach or reroute. I describe them like lighting bolts or nails hitting inside my knee. Even now, I still have mild ones in my numb area on the outside of my knee.
 
Congrats! It sounds like your mua was successful. Keep icing, elevating and don't push too hard. I did PT for about 4 weeks after mine and then just normal walking kept it improving.
 
Update :) I did a weeks worth of PT and than decided I got the jist of what they thought I needed. My bend is still around 90. I still get on my stepper, my bike and do my exercises from my sheet. I push through the pain but I don’t over do it. My knee is willing to work harder than before mua I was happy to start driving again last week and my walk is improving everyday. I feel very optimistic :)
 
Well here I am almost 6 wks from MUA and my bend is getting stuck again... ugh all the exercising and now what. So frustrated
 
:sad: I'm so sorry Robin.. but possibly you will keep improving over time... that's what they say here. Are you still at 90?
 
How is your function?

My PT was discussing this with me as my bend is 100 which I’m kind of fixated about! but when I walk he says you’d never know I’d had a knee replacement 3 months ago. I can drive walk for long distances go foot over foot on all steps except the most steep ones in my Cottage. I can pedal 10 minutes a day and do stretches and lovethe hydrotherapy.

But I still have some stiffness and a warm patch that I ice regularly.

My other knee gets to 115 and let’s me live a normal life. I’m never going to be a 145 person- well I don’t think so

I see my surgeon next week so will see if he agrees to function over figures.

I guess what I’m asking is how does 90 feel for you how near to good enough are you getting ? It is so individual.
 
Five weeks tkr- are there concerns about extension? I could drive a matchbox truck under my knee. I work on it constantly using the heel toe walking method I stretch and push gently but there's not a lot of change right now - I'm pretty sure this will improve but..it's still causes me anxiety
 
Robinmhs88 said:
Still bending fine but trying to learn to walk but can’t get my leg to kick behind me it’s weird.
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I don't understadn why you would want to make your leg kick behind you. Is that one of teh exercises you were given? It'snot necessary anyway.

Robinmhs88 said:
I spent most of the day sitting, legs bent, and when I stood up I would get the sharp shooting pain. Lasting till I feel asleep last night.
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At this early stage after the MUA, you still need to sit most of the time with your legs elevated, not bent.

Robinmhs88 said:
My bend is still around 90. I still get on my stepper, my bike and do my exercises from my sheet. I push through the pain but I don’t over do it. My knee is willing to work harder than before mua
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Never push through the pain. "If it hurts, don't do it." Pain is your knee's warning that you are trying to do too much for it. Ignore that warning and you could set up a chronic inflammation, which will retard your progress.
After an MUA, you don't need to do masses of exercises. You just need to keep your knee moving gently.
Myth busting: no pain, no gain

Robinmhs88 said:
Well here I am almost 6 wks from MUA and my bend is getting stuck again... ugh all the exercising and now what.
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And I think the problem is "all that exercising". It is irritating your knee and doing more harm than good. Give your knee a rest from all that exercise.
 
Oh my dear friends thank you all for the responses. Things are not great. I can sit bended and drive thank god but still stiff. I still do not walk right and therefore can not walk long distances. You have to bend and lift your leg behind you, which I cannot do and therefore I don’t walk right. If I don’t exercise I get stiff. I have pain all the time it never went away... been in the same spot since tkr. Left side of knee. I swear I need oil on my knee :) The switch between straight and bend and bend to straight is still hard. Dr was not happy when he saw me last wk. I am trying to be optimistic but this has been such a long process and I can’t understand why it’s not “normal”. I understand everyone saying give your knee a break but if I do I won’t move forward as was the reason I needed the MUA. I can’t wait to be able to swim. I am hoping it will help but at this point who knows.
 
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