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PKR Clunky Knee

Don't be afraid of asking your surgeon to explain details about whatever he's saying to you. You can ask him to show you on the x-ray what makes him think you may have had a fall or that the implant has moved. The prosthesis is properly placed and balanced during your surgery and it shouldn't be moving around afterwards.

But I am glad you feel the surgeon is concerned enough about your knee to do further research if things do not improve for you. That is what should happen. Hopefully you'll continue to make progress. Everyone's recovery is different and your may just take a bit longer. Having a very active job and going back to work fairly quickly can contribute to your recovery time.

Please let us know how things go.
 
Hi this is something i am working on my balance especially on my operated leg is pretty bad i can manage around 10-15 seconds balancing. I do have a balance ball i use as well. The weird thing is i can do all my physio with minimal pain. My issue is walking the pain and stiffness begins behind and around my knee cap and slowly get worse. This has shown signs of improvement i will continue and see where I am in April. Thanks again for all the support and advise.
 
Coming up 9 months post op. Here is what i can do.
Stationary bike for 10 minutes full rotations. leg raises from laying flat with ankle weights 10 times. balancing on my operated leg with and without balance ball and slight knee dips. I can kneel on a cushion on my operated knee as well all these cause me minimal pain.
here is where i struggle.
Walking or standing for longer than 5 minutes causes stiffness and pain this starts around and under my kneecap and spreads around my operated side of my knee. I can average around 3000 steps a day if i take pain medication which i do every day.
I do find this very frustrating. Mentally i find it tough to stay positive i can only hope that one day i will be pain free and be able to walk for longer periods.
I have received a letter from my surgeon they do seem a little concerned and mentioned that if i am still struggling at 12 months then further investigation may be needed. i just wonder that the pain under my and around my knee cap (which i did have pre op) is a sign of further degradation in my knee. I did mention this pre op and the surgeon did say he would look at the entire knee before making a decision weather to have a PKR or a TKR.
This forum is my life line and the help and support is great. I will continue to try and improve and see where i am in April.
 
Thinking of you Ginger1210 & sending virtual hugs & encouragement! Your knee has been through a lot! Many of us are grateful for this forum. It helps to be able to have support from folks with similar situations that are caring. Keep your chin up!
 
Hi I have a question for the good people on this forum.
I have recently been using T.E.N.S machine on my operated knee. When i use this i can walk and work pretty well with little on no pain. I place two pads on my operated side of my knee this does give me relief. Does this indicate that i may have a nerve issue with my knee? If anybody could offer advice or experience on this it would be appreciated.
 
@Ginger1210 Are you using a regular TENS machine on a standard setting- if so this would be for pain relief, it is a temporary fix but I can tell you I certainly appreciate it! It works by disrupting the “transference of pain to the nerve fibres and increasing the secretion of endorphins in the body” I took that from the manual of my TENS.
I can certainly recommend using it for pain relief, you can increase the power if you notice the level you are currently using isn’t quite doing it for you. It doesn’t mean there is a nerve problem at all.
 
Jaycey said:
Many of our members use TENs pre and post op. They are great pain relief with no side effects. And no, pain relief using TENs does not indicate any nerve issues.

Here's an article from our Library you might find interesting: TENS machines for pain management
Click to expand...
Thanks Jaycey that good to know i will continue to use mine as it does help.
 
Hi All coming up 11 months post op and what a tough 11 months. I am still improving slowly my leg strength is definitely getting better but i can honestly say i have yet to experience a pain free day. My Knee cap still becomes sore after walking and it does crack and crunch a lot when i flex my leg.
Last week was my first big test as my wife and i travelled to Tenerife for a weeks holiday, i was anxious about the long walks and queuing at the airports plus the 4 hour plane journey. I managed ok but again if i walk for more than 5 minutes or stand for longer than 15 minutes my knee begins to swell internally which develops into pain and stiffness i managed this well and the plain ride was fine. The holiday was great i just get frustrated as i want to do so much more but my knee rules still and governs my daily activities. I took ice packs with me plus my TENS machine and these were a great help.
I am a month away from my 12 monthly check up these issues i will raise when a see my surgeon.
I am not where i thought i would be at 11 months but reading posts on this great forum shows we are all different in our recovery.
 
Hi Ginger. I’m at 12 months with my bilateral tkr and experiencing the same problems as you. Fed up to the teeth with it.
I have a three times rescheduled holiday next month, and can’t get excited after waiting two years, because I’m worried about the same issues. Glad that you enjoyed yours. It’s good to know that I am not alone.
 
I know what you are going through. I am on the tail end of a beach vacation.

Lots of walking on beach, sightseeing, stairs here and there, and going out to eat.
End of the day my knee is more swollen than normal and I limp with some pain. The worst part is the side of my knee that was replaced feels fine, maybe a bit of soreness with extended walking.

The pain mostly is under and around my kneecap. I believe this pain is caused by the swelling in and around my kneecap which lifts the kneecap up and effects proper tracking. The swelling in my knee is about the same as 3 or 4 month ago. No sign of less swelling and my knee is still warm to the touch. I also, have the cracking and crunching when I bend my knee like you when I flex my knee.

For the plane ride I got comfort sitting with extra leg room so the flight was good.

I have not been able to do my proper daily exercise routine, so I figure this is a chance to see how normal ADLs affect knee. Seems it makes no difference and if I have more issues now is that I am not in the more controlled environment of being at home with my daily routines that focus on keeping my knee happy.

I set an appointment with the doctor for April 19. My message to him was I want him to start taking steps to determine why I have had little to no improvement for 3 months. He knows I am not happy with his pitch that I would be better than new in 2 or 3 months.

A friend of my wife visited us here a few days ago. She had bilateral TKR 2 years ago. She said she was doing stairs at month one with little extra pain. I still only dream of walking up and down stairs without hanging on to the rails both arms.
 
Exactly beesknee i get the same feeling from my knee cap. what is more worrying now is if i flex my knee quickly a can visibly see and feel my knee cap jump. If i rest my leg flat on a chair and tense then relax and move my knee cap by hand it audibly crunch's during movement.
I can feel the roughness under my kneecap when a flex in either under load or not and this i believe is where my internal swelling is coming from. I can do all my physio with little or no pain whatsoever. It is the after effects that cause me a lot of pain and stiffness when walking.
I am concerned and certainly do not want to go through the rest of my life like this. If i cannot find a solution then it may be early retirement. For me.
 
I will demand the doc does more than an eye check and standard xray.

I never had knee cap pain or grinding and that part of my "healthy" knee were fine. I also now have a small knot of scar tissue or something at my medial when I bend my knee. I feel that this may be the issue as it may be pushing my knee cap slightly over.

The last few follow ups the OP dismissed it first saying it will go away, then next appointment that it is probably scar tissue and no big deal. Often after my daily exercises or a long walk it will turn black and blue.

If he gives a quick look and give me the slow healer line I'll start working on a second opinion. I don't want to lose another summer of normal activity because of a bad knee.
 
@Ginger1210 and @beesknee

I‘m sorry you both continue to struggle with your recoveries. Mine has gone similarly.

Every spring for the last 4 years Bonesmart has hosted Joint Replacement Awareness Day (JRAD) and last year one of the topics was “when things go wrong.” I was able to type in a brief description of my problem with my partial and I sat here looking at my ipad screen with 3 surgeons on it who were stumped with my problem. The moderator actually said, surgeons don’t do enough partials to get good at it. I can’t tell you how much I wish I’d known that before I had mine done.

In 2 days it will be 5 years since I got mine and I have regretted it every day. However, mine isn’t bad enough for me to want to go for a TKR and it’s recovery, not that any surgeon has found a reason to convert it to a TKR. I was better off before my surgery. Maybe if I’d waited longer, instead of what I thought was “catching this early” maybe the arthritis would have been bad enough to do a full TKR. One can only hope I would have been better off with the total.
 
Jockette said:
@Ginger1210 and @beesknee

I‘m sorry you both continue to struggle with your recoveries. Mine has gone similarly.

Every spring for the last 4 years Bonesmart has hosted Joint Replacement Awareness Day (JRAD) and last year one of the topics was “when things go wrong.” I was able to type in a brief description of my problem with my partial and I sat here looking at my ipad screen with 3 surgeons on it who were stumped with my problem. The moderator actually said, surgeons don’t do enough partials to get good at it. I can’t tell you how much I wish I’d known that before I had mine done.

In 2 days it will be 5 years since I got mine and I have regretted it every day. However, mine isn’t bad enough for me to want to go for a TKR and it’s recovery, not that any surgeon has found a reason to convert it to a TKR. I was better off before my surgery. Maybe if I’d waited longer, instead of what I thought was “catching this early” maybe the arthritis would have been bad enough to do a full TKR. One can only hope I would have been better off with the total.
Click to expand...
Hi Jokette. The only reason i did go forward for the PKR was i was struggling before and walking was always painful. I knew i had very little meniscus cartilage left on the medial side of my knee.
I am a engineer and understood that my medial compartment had worn a way the bearing that lets it run smoothly. Thus in my mind it needed replacing.
I spent weeks searching for PKR specialists and the surgeon i consulted with does more PKR`s in England than any other and has a huge success rate. During the consultation he showed me all my X-rays and highlighted the portion of my knee that was rubbing bone on bone. He explained that was where the issue was and to my engineering mind it made perfect sense.
The problem i feel is i did have pain and stiffness under my knee cap before which i explained to him. He assured me he would look at this during the procedure and if i needed a full TKR then so be it.
The operation went ahead and again i asked the question and he assured me he would check but a PKR was performed.
At my last visit to his surgery i saw one of his junior surgeons and they X-rayed me again.
To be fair the lady was great and was concerned over my lack of improvement and the pain levels i was experiencing.
I have received a letter from the junior surgeon stating they think possibly the Tibial component may have subsided slightly which has caused the prolonged pain but did expect it to go away in time.
My next appointment is on the 7 of April.
I will continue to do my physio as it does not matter to my pain level because it is there most of the time weather i rest for a week or do physio.
What i do know is most days i would rather have a metal leg fitted rather than continue like this. I know this may sound crazy and probably is, but pain is pain and it has caused me to adjust and restrict life so much i think why not it would be simpler in my engineer mind than constantly adjust everything around one point of my body.
 
Let us know how your doctor visit went today.
 
Hi All thanks for messages of support. My surgeons appointment was cancelled and rescheduled to the 21/04/2022. I will continue to do my Physio and wait and see.
Thanks again to the good people on this forum great support and advice.
 
Hi good people. Today is my 1 year anniversary of my Right PKR. What a year!
Here is where i am.
I still experience pain and stiffness when i over do things i am still on pain medication in order to work. I moved job positions from hands on engineering to management as i truly do not believe i could have returned to my old job as yet.
Walking is still my biggest issue i can climb stairs, swim and cycle with very little pain. but level flat floors are a nightmare.
I think i am improving just slowly my kneecap gives me the biggest issues but again i think this is getting better.
I still regularly ice on a evening as this helps a lot. My one year appointment with my surgeon has been postponed again now due on April 28th.
All i can do is carry on, my Wife is great and helps me a lot this again i find frustrating as i was so active up to 5 years ago. Bonesmart gives me hope that one day i may be pain free. we shall see.
 
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