MUA Fractured Knee Cap with fixation<

That's awesome it get easier each time it is for me. Congratulations
 
I hope you can find some relief! Going to another OS might be a good idea.
 
Hi Sistersinhim hope you're day is going well. I will get a different doctor as soon as I know when I have my insurance. Got up this morning and taking my ibuprofen and taylon and im doing ok. I just got done doing dishes and now icing and elavating my leg. Thank you for your response.
 
I say skip the PT. Your knee will bend when it is healed enough and most of the swelling has gone down.
It's more important to let your kneecap heal than it is to worry about bending your knee just now.

@KarriB had her leg in a brace when she had a knee infection and her knee gradually bent well once the brace was taken off.
 
Thank you Celle I'm not doing any therapy anymore I just walk and do light house work that's all. Thanks for your advice much appreciate.
 
gypsyangel, I was so fortunate. I didn't have much pain with mine, but mine was only cracked, not a complete break like yours. I shudder to think what you've been going through. The treatments seems similar, but I imagine your timeframe will be longer than mine.

As your knee gets a chance to recover from (in my opinion, ill-advised on the part of your physcian) therapy, I hope you'll experience less pain and swelling. In time, I'm confident your range of motion will return. I think your plan to seek the advice of another OS once your insurance situation is ready is a good one. Look for an OS experienced with problem knees and in doing revisions. While your implant is likely sound, an OS experienced in revisions will be better equipped to look at your total knee situation.

I was so thankful my brace was comfortable, but toward the end of having to wear it, I did grow weary of it.
 
Hi Polarbear60 thank you for your responds. I have 2 screws and wiring to hold together my kneecap but I wonder in the further if they would want me to do a knee replacement I hope not but I can't help to wonder. You said you had a crack on your knee cap did you have to have a knee replacement or what did they do and how long did it take to heal. My knee is still swollen and it still hurts and burns and stings like someone slapping me in my knee.
 
That's right. I forgot, you only have the patella problem and not a TKR, too. I did have a knee replacement, and most people on the knee part of the forum either have one or are waiting for one. Despite you not being in that category, you're still in a good place to get commiseration and advice on your problem.

I strongly suspect my knee cap cracked because it was shaved during my knee replacement to make it thinner so my surgeon could apply a patellar button on it. The good news is when it cracked, I strongly suspect the patellar button supported it enough so it didnt' break completely.

X-rays confirmed the crack, so my surgeon put me in a brace and had me come in every couple weeks for a month and he took x-rays to monitor it. If he saw the crack widening, he was going to have to do surgery (which I suspect would have been the same as you had). He made it very clear I needed to baby the knee as much as possible, so I did. I wore the brace from the end of January until the end of March. Then I had strict instructions not to do any squatting on the knee or deep bending for three months. The knee has been fine since then.

I'm not sure what the expected recovery time would be for your situation, but I suspect it might be longer, because the bone has so much more knitting to do, and you had the surgery, which wasn't trivial.

I don't remember if you said, are you resting, elevating, and icing (with a thin cloth between the ice and your knee to protect the skin)? That can help the swelling and pain. The stinging could be nerves reconnecting. That's fun, but it should pass after a month or two (some people have gotten a prescription to help with that, if that's what your burning sensation is caused by). In addition to the pain, you may be experiencing numbness on the outside of the knee area too, depending upon the type of incision they did to repair your kneecap.
 
I'm resting and icing my knee a lot .....my doctor after almost 6 weeks unlocked my brace all the way never did 30 60 or what ever the it is. He also did not want it locked at all at night so I'm sore in the morning when I wake up. His staff never called to check on me after surgery I feel they just left me to fight battles by myself. Sorry I'm whining about this. I just hope I get good news with the second opinion. So I'm going on 8 weeks and it is a slow recovery for me. Thank for your kind advice.
 
Boy, I’m sorry to hear about your fractured patella. I was in a brace (24/7 no showering) for 4 weeks after my TKR due to an infection and did no PT for about 6 weeks. After the brace came off I just did a few heel slides a day and concentrated on bending my knee when walking. I basically rested for the 6 weeks except for Dr appointments. Whining is allowed here, being in a brace is no fun at all.
 
I am nervous, because of energy drain, to make plans. Afraid I will get somewhere and be ready for a nap.
 
Thank you for response. ..I have been in a brace from the time I got hurt until now I'm not sure when I will not have to wear the brace. I'm walking without the walker in my house. This whole thing turned my life upside down and it has not been easy. I'm grateful for my dogs who will not leave my side and now they want me to stay home all the time. ....lol. Both my roommates have been very helpful but I know it's been hard on them to. I'm always working and on the go kinda girl and now I'm stuck at home and don't know when I be back to work but I know it will be a while. Thank you again for your kind advice.
 
I'm sorry don't be nervous I'm the same way so I'm with you. I'm always ready for a nap to me its not a big deal anymore. I try to take any advice from here and run with it. ...well maybe not run more like a . ..lol. What did you have done if you don't mind me asking?
 
So your brace is unlocked now? Does it have the capability to adjust for increments? If so, consider locking it back in (and leave it locked at whatever level you're using it at during the day while you sleep), then if after two weeks it's doing well (swelling and pain are reduced), open it up one click at a time. This will minimize the stress on your freshly healing knee cap, and pain should diminish and it will allow you to begin to move it a little. As long as it's doing well for two weeks and feels good, this method should work. The value in this is your knee has support, so it won't get strained while it's freshly healing. If this countermands your doctor's advice and you aren't comfortable with it, don't do it. I'm not a doctor or even a medical professional. That's the process my doctor used for me, and it may not be appropriate for you.

Napping is good at this stage. It allows things to heal, which will help the swelling to go down, which will allow your knee to bend more fully with less pain.
 
Hi Polarbear60 thank you for your advice. Yes my brace is unlocked and im walking for 10 minutes 3 times a day with out my walker. I can feel my knee bending when I walk little at a time but if I'm sitting down my knee is not bending as much. Im not forcing it at all. Every morning I wake up with pain in my foot and around my knee and it is stiff but after a while its not to bad. I'm going to make an appointment with my regular doctor and see if I can get something for pain. My bruising and swelling isn't to bad. I'm not trying to worry about my knee but I can't help but wounder when I don't have pain or all that comes with this.
 
Hello everyone I hope everybody is doing well and your recovery is going good.
 
Have you seen your doctor, or gotten anything for your pain? Alas, knee surgery of any kind can result in pain for a few months. Some people more, some people less, but you have to treat the pain you have. You’re doing all the right things. Walking keeps your leg strong, so that’s important. Pain or swelling on bending, or being seated for any length of time, is common. Icing and elevating is the way to go.

How long it takes for pain to go away is impossible to predict. I’ve been pain-free while walking for a few months now... but just the other day I noticed that a sore spot on my left knee, that would sometimes ache after being in certain positions while sleeping in bed, was gone. No more sore spot, and no more pain in bed. It took almost ten months for that one spot/issue to resolve. So depending on what’s going on in there (hello, knee?) it can take a while, or go away quickly. :shrug:
 
Good morning Susie shoe thank you for your response. Yes I did talk to my doctors front office and they are going to let me know about a prescription for pain. I'm not sure if my doctor will give me any pain medication it's been really hard to get any kind of medication for pain from him I'm not sure how much you were out of my stuff you have right on here but my doctor has been a really rare pain you know what LOL. Also my Bend is still horrible and I know he's not going to be happy with me about this but oh well I'm walking I'm going up and down the stairs and that's all I care about for now not sure how long I'm going to be out of work or if I am going to have a job. I know I have to get the pain under control and I'm trying to do that with icing and Tylenol and ibuprofen that I get from the from my regular doctor but it's only helping a little but I guess that's better than nothing. I hope to see better days here soon and be able to move around a lot more not sure how long he wants to keep me in this brace it is really hard to sleep in. Thank you again for your response and your kind words I hope you have a wonderful day better days to come can't wait for that trying to keep positive thought and hopefully I can do that in the process of everything that's going on. I'm not sure if you had the same problem but sometimes I think my behind is hurting more than anything else from sitting I can't sit I can't stand for long I can't leave for long I wake up at night two three times and go back to sleep anyway positive thoughts right .smiling and I'm healing that's all matters
 
I hope you can get some positive answers from your doctor. I hope you have a less painful day!
 

BoneSmart #1 Best Blog

Staff online

  • Jaycey
    ADMINISTRATOR Staff member since February 2011

Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
65,181
Messages
1,597,070
BoneSmarties
39,365
Latest member
Dave4562
Recent bookmarks
0
Back
Top Bottom