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kneeworn made it to the other side

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Friday night my knee woke me up when I turned to my back and it had locked. I was able to work it loose. It did it again Saturday night less than Friday and again very briefly this morning. This is something it used to do before my surgery. There were a few times before surgery that it stayed locked in a bent position for many hours and I had to go get a steroid shot. I was sad to realize this can still happen. I was in hopes that that part of my knee had been cut off and was resting quietly in some specimen cup!!

This morning in therapy my therapist checked it out for me and believes it is due to the swelling I got last week from the long car ride. She says it sounds like the IT band. She also said she would call my OS and I have an appointment to see him tomorrow. She said there are excersizes we can do to help this.

I had gone walking in spite of this on Saturday for a short 10 minute walk up and down my street. I also did some of my rehab excerizes. It did swell a little more so all day Sunday I iced it off and on and rested.

In spite of it all my flexion improved today from regressing to 110 on Friday to a new record today of 120. So I feel better about that. Tomorrow when I see my OS we will see what he says we need to do.
 
Donna it sounds like you are progressing nicely with the flexion to 120!:th_yahoo:

I am sorry about the knee band feeling tight. :th_console:

I had a problem with my kneecap not moving along the track, but when the swelling went down, it started moving well. The PT's worked on moving the kneecap around and got it to feeling so much better!:egdnc:
 
Donna, please do let us know what your surgeon has to say. I can understand how this would be unsettling to you! I hope everything is okay and this is just a temporary problem.
 
This kind of thing can be really frightening but it's unlikely to be anything serious. But do let us know what he says.
 
Just got home from seeing the OS and he said I need to take another month off. The catching I was feeling was scar tissue. He said the knee is healing and the layers of the knee are like an onion so to speak and they are stuck together now with scar tissue. He wants me to do deep tissue massage everyday to soften and break it up. IT stretches and therapy are good too.

As for therapy he wants me to go to outpatient therapy and push it hard 3 days a week trying to regain ROM and strength. On the alternate days he wants me to get out and walk a lot and do my basic exersizes of quad sets, leg raises, heel slides and the like. He wants me to take the weekends off and to take my pain meds so I will push it and help me get through the discomfort of getting my function back.

He said he wants me out in stores and on concrete walking lots to minic the work surface of the hospital I work on to get me ready to return. He also said one of the surgeons I usually assist was whinning when he was going to release me to return to work and that he needed me back to help him at work. He told him to give me a break that I had had a total knee.:th_heehee:

So all in all I'm relieved that the catching can happen and is just scar tissue. I'm suprised I will be off another month but my job is very physical as well as mentally taxing and he knows that. I plan to use the time wisely to rehab and work hard on my flexion, healing, stamina and function. I have put a call in to my boss and will to my human resourse department. This will exhaust all my banked sick time but I will have vacation time left for emergencies and did not plan to take any until May. So if I need I can use it for my knee which is most important. It will exceed by 2 weeks the allowed FMLA but before surgery I was told I had 4 weeks of personal leave each year for which I can apply.

Whew!! After he left the room when I talked to him I got a little teary. It validated my feelings I was not ready and it made me feel better he thought so in his judgement too.
 
Donna, I'm so glad reason prevailed and you have some additional time to heal. Your surgeon is a real peach for standing up for you!!
 
Yes my OS is a peach Jamie. Not only is he a good surgeon but he has taken great care of me for years always making sure that my work did not cause me harm when I needed time off. He is a real smart guy too and he educates you each visit making sure you feel you have all the time in the world to ask questions. He draws pictures and demonstrates things for you. Just because your in medicine he does not assume you know it all and educates you just the same to be sure you understand. He even demonstrated the deep tissue massage he wanted me to do and turned to Ray and asked him to do if for me too.

So now he wants me to push the knee and I am going to do as he says. He has not lead me wrong before. I will just ice, ice, ice and get my life back.
 
Sounds like they are taking good care of you, and care about you very much. I think that third month is an important one. Not only more time, I think the knee comes along a lot this month. Can't give you specifics or tell you why, maybe it's just time.

But wishing you the best in the next few weeks.

About a year from now, looking back, you may, like me, wonder, how you did as much as you did this far? You are doing really well.
 
Yes, it's looking good for you. But please, remember to only push that knee into the upper limits of discomfort, not extreme pain. That way brings swelling and blocks your flexion which is not what you want to achieve, is it?
 
Thanks Josephine I will do that. One thing after another sleepless night I forgot to tell him the catching feeling comes when I try to sleep on my side. Either side but more when I turn onto the operative knee. I'm going to therapy this morning and will tell her that. I hope the therapy eases this. I just don't understand why out of the blue 10 weeks postop it started locking as before surgery. I remember he said he tightened up something there and told me when I went back for my first postop visit. Here is my plan. I will give it another week and see if therapy helps or I'm going back to see him. It really started suddenly after riding 4 hours one day then stretching it deeply as I could tolerate using the leg press

Donna
LTKR 12/06/2010
 
Ok the therapists called the OS to tell him it happens when I turn on my side at night. She thinks it is scar tissue too. So I'm going to work hard and get better. I got 120 on my flexion today and I was able to scoot closer up on the recumbent bike. Baby steps.

Donna
LTKR 12/06/2010
 
Donna:
I am a BIG fan of the deep tissue massage. I had the 'catching too' and also a snapping like a rubber band when I was loading my quad. It WILL go away, but likely will take its time.
Not too sure I'm into the "push my knee" thing. My knee responded VERY POORLY to this, and it set me back.

Finally I went to another OS who told me to ditch all the pushing and just let my day to day activities work at it. I did, and I have full ROM and full strength now.
It took a YEAR (almost) and I'm not done, but I do have my life back.

BTW, I still see a Deep tissue therapist (Sadistic woman she is), on a weekly basis, and we are making progress.
Have patience. This takes longer than they tell you.
Best,
Sandy
 
Thanks Sandy it makes feel me better that this can happen but will improve with time. I appreciate your words of encouragement. I remember how you struggled for a time. They really never do stress hard enough how hard it can be or how long it takes. Of course we all heal at different speeds. We just have to aim for the end and hold on even if we have one ARM waving in the air having a big fit. He he.

Donna
LTKR 12/06/2010
 
It was four months and more before I could sleep on my side.
I never gave a thought to scar tissue or anything.
Just knew it was too soon!
 
I have slept on my side since the surgery, with the pillow tucked between my knees. I woke up the other morning, and the pillow was gone and I was facing the other direction!! The new knee was out straight and the old knee was bent. Wow! I have tried that position and wasnt comfortable before, but interesting to be able to roll over and not wake up immediately! Someday, I will go back to MY side of the bed...and give my husband back his side! :snk:
 
That is funny about you changing sides of the bed with your husband greeneyedsis. I changed too but I'm keeping it. Closer to the bathroom too.

Great day in PT. I feel the deep tissue massage is really helping. I was able to stretch easier and deeper the last two days. Today I got 122 on my flexion. My therapists thinks my surgeon is right and we are breaking up the scar tissue that is trying to form with the message.

Yesterday I walked outside for 15 minutes. It felt like it rattled but improved a little as I walked. Hopefully as I gain more strength that will improve. It feels really stable I just notice the clunks.

Donna
LTKR 12/06/2010
 
Just checking in to say I'm still working on my flexion and stamina. I am fluctuating around 120 to 123 in my flexion. I have had shin splints some and the therapists says I need to bend my knee more when I walk. When I don't I have to really flex my foot hard causing shin splints. I'm still working on walking on concrete outside to get ready to return to work. That is really tiring trying to keep my muscles moving correctly and getting them stronger. Years of limping and really weak quads is a challenge to conquer. I am able to ride my upright bike for 25 minutes and have lowered the seat too. So my flexion is improving. I sometimes put my leg behind me on the ottoman and squat down into a deep bend to help stretch. This has been helping. I'm hopeful to get more flexion in the months to come. My therapists said people often gain another 5 - 10 degrees when they return to work. A lady in therapy said her first knee did that.

We measured my other natural knee and it is 135 so if I can get there I will be very happy. Walking fast is still a challenge and one I will soon get lots of practice at when I return to work mid March.

Donna
LTKR 12/06/2010
 
Donna, it sounds like you're making some great progress!!! Can you further explain hoe you put your leg behind you on an ottoman? I am always looking for more ways to stretch and gain flexion! Thanks!
 
Hello Greeneyedsis thanks for posting to me. You asked about how I use my ottoman for my stretching. My ottoman is taller than most and hits me at about knee level on the top surface. The stretch I do on my ottoman is simple. I put it behind me and flex my knee with the lower part of my leg from below the knee resting on the ottoman. If I angle the ottoman I can let my foot hang off or sometimes I just let my foot point straight and rest it on the ottoman too. For stability I put my walker in front of me to grasp if I loose my balance. You could use the wall or a chair.

When I bend my standing leg it lowers the knee of my operative leg below the surface of the ottoman stretching the quads. To get a different stretch with the ottoman I will lean back and let the pressure flex the knee more sometimes instead of squating. Ray helps with the back lean sometimes allowing me to really lean into the stretch. If your ottoman is not that tall you might try a dining room chair; hopefully a padded one and do the same thing.
 
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