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TKR Continuous Knee Stiffness after TKR and MUA

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bob-uk said:
The MUA has been very beneficial for me with the ROM becoming much more free moving. If you have that feeling of a steel plate fixed to your knee and quadriceps muscle then the MUA will remove that feeling for sure.
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I found your description of "a steel plate fixed to your knee" interesting. My description of what seems to be blocking my ROM is that if the knee joint were like a door hinge, it feels like someone stuck a stick in the hinge to keep it from closing. Does that bear any resemblance to what you were feeling?

I ask because I know the subject of MUA will come at my OS appointment later this week. Also, was your MUA day surgery, or did you have to stay in the hospital overnight?

Thanks,
Gilina
 
Gilina said:
I found your description of "a steel plate fixed to your knee" interesting. My description of what seems to be blocking my ROM is that if the knee joint were like a door hinge, it feels like someone stuck a stick in the hinge to keep it from closing. Does that bear any resemblance to what you were feeling?

I ask because I know the subject of MUA will come at my OS appointment later this week. Also, was your MUA day surgery, or did you have to stay in the hospital overnight?

Thanks,
Gilina
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Hi Gilina,

If your symptoms are the same as mine was,it feels like a certain patch of the knee and into the top of the thigh was numb to the touch and solid stiff i.e. Like a steel plate. The MUA solved this problem and my knee has felt very free to 95 degrees ROM. My MUA was carried out in a single day, it only takes about 30 minutes and after you wake up they usually place you in a CPM machine to keep the knee moving. When they are happy with everything else you go home later in the day.

Your door hinge description could also benefit from MUA if you can confirm there is no actual TKR joint problem, loose or otherwise.

Regards

Bob
 
Well, I don't have that steel plate feeling. It does feel like the bend goes just so far and then stops--and it has been doing that since about week 3. And that feeling is on the sides of the knee, not the top or the thigh area. I only have a very small "numb" spot on one side of the incision.

If it was a day surgery, I could probably deal with that if I was functional when I got back home. Unfortunately, the way my OS does MUAs involves all the same meds as the surgery--the epidural, femoral block, propophol [sp?], and whatever else they did--and I would have to stay overnight. All of that creates some real problems for me, esp. if I would be less functional than I am now when I got back home. So at 10 weeks out, still with less than 90 degree ROM but able to do everything I need to do and with minimal pain--I dread doing something unnecessary or that will leave me in a situation where I would need help as I will have none, but still have my 90 yr old mother to do things for. Oh, sigh. What to do, what to do...

Forgot--the x-rays showed that everything looks fine with the implant.
 
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Hi Gilina,

Along the side of the knee are the collateral ligaments and along with all the other ligaments and muscles that have been stretched and maybe even a bit torn. Like the good people on Bonesmart have said, lots of time and rest with elevation and iceing is required to promote the healing and reduce the swelling. If as you say you have minimal pain then that is good news. Scar tissue will have formed around the wound and damaged parts of the knee and thigh which will cause a contraction feeling. As I experienced, MUA was the only answer to break adhesions and cure the ROM restriction. If your OS is recommending the MUA then you will see great benefits.

You will need to have somebody with you for at least 24 hours after the surgery, and a few days later you will likely have bruising and swelling depending on how much the OS stretches the muscles etc. You are correct to be concerned that both you and your elderly mother will require help for a week or two as the MUA sets you back a few weeks, but the improvements are well worth it after you have tackled the bruising and swelling with the Bonesmart mantra RICE.

Regards

Bob
 
hi Bob,sounds like things might be a little better for you,,glad to hear it,,,l think today is 14 weeks for me,,l think things are improving for me,,ditch the walker for a crutch which was great,,ROM still not good a whopping 85 last week,,but l think or hope it going to change now that l quit p.t,,,The V.A deny me another 12 session,with only 2 session left l called it done,,it never failed after p.t my knee was shot for 3 days at least,,l can do it on my own without all the set backs l think p.t was causing,,hope things keep improving for you
 
bob-uk said:
Scar tissue will have formed around the wound and damaged parts of the knee and thigh which will cause a contraction feeling.
Click to expand...

I found a video of scar massage, which I did and my incision scar is loose--not stuck to the tissues below, so that isn't a problem. And, isn't the tightness across the knee the IT band thing?

It may be that an MUA will help my ROM or it may be that all I need is more time, but making arrangements for help is pretty much impossible where we live.

Well, I will know more in a few days, so until then I will just have to think good thoughts. Getting too stressed out.

Gilina
 
From what you've described, it doesn't sound like an MUA would be necessary for you.


Jean

LTKR (Stryker Triathlon): 21 April 2015
Right Knee Arthroscopy: 25 July 2006
Left Knee Arthroscopy: 10 February 2005
 
Gilina, my message was for you. I'm not a medical person, so I could certainly be wrong, but you have to consent to an MUA. If you don't believe it will be something beneficial for you, don't consent.

Bob, sorry I inadvertently hijacked your thread.

Jean

LTKR (Stryker Triathlon): 21 April 2015
Right Knee Arthroscopy: 25 July 2006
Left Knee Arthroscopy: 10 February 2005
 
bob-uk said:
Scar tissue will have formed around the wound and damaged parts of the knee and thigh which will cause a contraction feeling. As I experienced, MUA was the only answer to break adhesions and cure the ROM restriction.
Click to expand...
Bob, you don't have this quite right. Adhesions are not at all usual as you are implying. Scar tissue will have formed but where it needs to be - closing the wound and the capsule. This is quite different from adhesions which are actually not that common but are indeed improved with MUA. MUA (Manipulation under Anaesthetic) and Adhesions
 
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