PKR My Drama Queen Patellofemoral Knee

[mlwreader]

I will be wearing capris this afternoon, so I’ll see how that feels. Wouldn’t it be awesome if my knee does not react like usual!

@Jockette Indeed! Fingers and toes crossed and prayers sent!

 

[SusieShoes]

You mention that in the last couple of days your knee feels different and that “The Spot” on the lower lateral is bothering you less. That's really good, and I hope it's a sign of an improving, healing knee. This sort of change is the way my Lefty healed. Lefty had a spot, and sometimes that spot still shows itself but less and less. Anyway, the way it's been resolving is like what you're describing: the pain that was originally always there when bending... no longer was there when bending. It just kind of went away. The spot can still get irritated by a sleeping position (that's really the primary irritant) and hurt on bending, but only then. Never hurts anymore in the old ways like bending while walking, or bending for sitting. It's not a bending thing anymore. It's a "something irritated me" thing.

I hope your knee is catching up in its healing to where other knees got a while before it. There's no way to know what your knee's healing schedule is. In fact, I'm convinced each part of each knee has its own timeline. This tendon. That bursa. The knee is built of a lot of parts. Getting them all to work together as a team is a lot like trying to get all of the entrees and sides of a big Thanksgiving dinner onto the table at the same time. Sometimes, lots of times, something just doesn't cook as planned and it arrives later. You can't eat dessert until it gets there, though!

Hope the capris don't annoy your knee and you can graduate from shorts.

 

[sistersinhim]

I will be wearing capris this afternoon, so I’ll see how that feels. Wouldn’t it be awesome if my knee does not react like usual!

My prayers are added that the capris won't irritate your knee! I also pray that your healing continues! What a testimony about prayer!

 

[Jockette]

Well, there current answer is “wait”. The Spot is not happy with the capris. I have shorts with me to change into.

But The Spot didn’t flare up until I put the capris on, so I’m taking that as progress!

 

[kneeper]

Every little of bit of progress is good. Hopefully you'll be able to graduate to capris soon.

 

[katchmo]

Hi @Jockette , I had read bits and pieces of your story before but just took the time to read the whole thread. It sounds like our initial diagnoses were very similar. I have had what they used to call chondromalacia but now call patellofemoral pain syndrome or patellofemoral maltracking for many years. I was first told I had this problem at age 20. The cartilage in my other two compartments was "pristine" per my OS description, but under both knee caps it is a grade 4 mess. We didn't even discuss a PKR as I had read negative things and he said in his experience they rarely work for our situation. That's why I decided to go straight for the TKR. My knee MRIs were mirror images, but interestingly my left knee has been swollen and painful since last May when I carried some heavy boxes up two flights of stairs (using my left knee mostly because my right knee used to be the "bad" one!) That swelling never went down and then I had the arthroscopy and a few months later had the TKR. I really think my slower recovery is due to months and months of repeated soft tissue damage. My right knee is hanging in there pretty well in spite of the additional work it is taking on even though it is supposedly just as bad as the other one. Anyway, enough about me but it would be interesting for you to get a second opinion and check the tracking. A resurfaced kneecap might not track any better than the original one did if the ligaments holding it in place still act the same. I'm sorry to be a Debbie Downer.

 

[katchmo]

However, there still is the power of prayer!

 

[jboles]

It would be an answer to yours and our prayers!! I pray the capris don't irritate you one bit!!

 

[Beckadeez]

Praying helps

 

[phrog]

I just caught up with you, @Jockette and hope that Susie hope is correct : that "the spot" on the lateral side hurting less is a sign that things will get better overall. It would be lovely if you graduate to capris by summer. I agree with others who say you might just want to get a second opinion, though - the ideas that @katchmo offered are really interesting. If an MRI can show the deterioration of patellofemoral maltracking it seems worth the effort to pursue that if it might give the doctors information that can help them decide how to make things better for you. Life is awfully short to put up with such pain for so long. Hugs and hopes that you feel better.

 

[Jockette]

Well, I’m back from bowling. I had a decent day there, 114, 122, both of which I was very happy with, and then my last game was a 91. I like to score over 100.

I kept the capris on even though my knee wasn’t crazy about them. As soon as I got home I changed into shorts and The Spot eased up.

I picked up all my info at the surgeon’s office, it will be an interesting read later on. The only info I still don’t have is how many Patellofemoral replacements my surgeon does. They are going to call me with that. I’m curious about just how experienced he is with this procedure. Delaware is a small state, and from what I read this procedure is not very common as only certain people qualify for this procedure, at least in theory. We’ll see what his stats show. I can’t imagine there are that many people in this small area who actually qualify, unless, as has been mentioned, he is a PFR enthusiast.

@katchmo Thank you for sharing your surgeon’s opinion and some of your history. I SO wish I’d had a total. I am not aware of having any tracking problems before surgery but who knows what was actually going on inside. My knees seemed to be fine until I got hurt using an exercise bike in 2010.

Thank you to all of you who post to encourage me, it is much appreciated!

 

[katchmo]

I am not aware of having any tracking problems before surgery but who knows what was actually going on inside.

I didn't either because the original person who told me I had chondromalacia was a sports trainer, and he didn't explain what it was. He just told me that I would always have bad knees! Gee thanks. I now think that proper PT might have fixed it but I didn't pursue it. I deleted my surgeon's opinion from my above post because he could be totally wrong in your case. But the PA did tell me that maltracking can be symptomless for a long time, till there is actually cartilage damage. I am still hoping the best for both of us!

 

[Jockette]

There are all kinds of differing opinions among surgeons. That is one of the biggest surprises I’ve found in this recovery. I find it confusing and disheartening.

 

[sistersinhim]

How are you feeling now that you've been home for a while?

 

[SusieShoes]

It’s entirely possible to have a joint condition and not be aware of it. Happened to me with hypermobility syndrome. Was never in a situation that called it out.

 

[Jockette]

The Spot has settled down.

Is it Spring yet?

We are supposed to get snow on Wednesday.

 

[Jockette]

I just got a voicemail from my surgeon’s office which said he does about 200 Patellofemoral replacements a year. Interesting. Like I said, Delaware is a little state. Not a lot of population.

My daughter lives in Ohio. Her landlord is an orthopedic surgeon, in a more populated area. He told her he does about 5 partials a year. Intetesting. If he specified which partials he does, she didn’t say.

 

[Jockette]

P. S. She said that the Patellofemoral is a type of partial knee replacement and he does about 200 of those a year. So after thinking about it for a few minutes I’m not sure if it’s 200 Patellofemorals or 200 partials. I asked specifically for the number of Patellofemoral. Whatever. I’m not calling back.

 

[sistersinhim]

We are supposed to get snow on Wednesday

It's the first day of spring, and even we, down south from you, are supposed to get 3" tonight and tomorrow! We rescheduled choir practice to tonight. Our cantata is a week from Sunday, Easter!, and we have to rehearse!

She said that the Patellofemoral is part of a total knee replacement and he does about 200 of those a year.

Does that mean he does a total of tkrs and pkrs of 200, or 200 tkrs and 200 pkrs? The count is confusing.

Yippee on the spot settling down!

 

[Jockette]

Does that mean he does a total of tkrs and pkrs of 200, or 200 tkrs and 200 pkrs? The count is confusing.

I don’t know.

The Weather Channel is calling for a possible 8-12” here in Delaware! Acuweather says 1-3”. It’s amazing how often they predict majorly different forecasts.