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PKR My Drama Queen Patellofemoral Knee

Another little milestone today. I went up the stairs at my son’s house, foot over foot, without my cane for the first time. :happydance:I did need to use the handrail, not just for stability but to pull myself up, but I went up the whole flight foot over foot!

Suffice it to say I have not had the average recovery, but I am still seeing improvements after 2.5 years! So, never give up!
 
Glad to hear that you are still improving. I will be 2 years in a couple weeks. I don't want to give myself a jinx by saying this but I am seeing improvement. I still have the band across the knee but it seems to be getting smaller. I carefully did inclines in a yard last week and I did okay. @Jockette you give me hope that my knee will continue to improve.
 
Well, I have discovered sciatic pain. Wow, it is nasty! I’ve had 3 episodes in the last 2 weeks and I can hardly put weight on my left leg to walk, when they’ve happened.

My replaced knee also feels more out of whack than usual, can siatic pain run through the replaced knee area and make it feel bad?

I went to my chiropractor on Tuesday hoping to catch this issue early. She has moved to a different location and the table in the new location is the most uncomfortable and worst chiropractic table I have ever been on. It feels like I am laying on a hard wood floor and even my better knee doesn’t like it.

After the adjustment I had trouble getting up off the table and by the time I was off it, the pain was really bad down my leg and I couldn’t stand up straight or put weight on the keg. I did not walk into the appointment feeling this way.

She had be lay down again and did a little more adjusting, but I had a lot of pain that evening and it’s still tender. I think I triggered something in the sciatic area getting off the table twice.

I’m so tired of going to a doctor and coming home worse. :hairpulling:
 
I was hoping you were feeling better today. There are some sciatic pills that I got from Amazon. They helped a little. This was a few years ago. Have you tried either ice or heat? Man, getting older is the pits. It seems like it's always something. I pray you find quick relief.
 
I iced once, the evening of the chiropractor appointment, to say I did it, but even though the ice (gel pack) is not very thick it was thick enough to be uncomfortable and I don’t want to make my other back area any worse.

This pain flares when I am straightening up after bending over. I can bend down fine.

I bowled 3 games on Monday with no problems. Went to the chiropractor Tuesday. That’s when the consistent pain started. I did bowl this afternoon, but only 2 games instead of 3. No problem until I bent down to unzip my bowling bag to put my things away, and again that awful pain where it hurt to straighten up and hurt to walk. After a minute or so it was better.

I do not want to have to give up bowling again. It’s the only “athletic” thing I do and I enjoy it. :bawl:
 
Oh Jockette, I now see why you asked about my spinal surgery. All my back issues did start with sciatica or lumbar radiculopathy in 2008...11 years later I had the surgery. Sometime neurologists wil try epidural shots, facet joint blocks and ultimately radio frequency ablation (RFA) that are temporary fixes. I had all of those procedures before my surgery and they were very limited in their effectiveness. I hope you feel better soon and don't have to deal with the pain much longer!
 
Hi @Macknit I was actually asking about your spine surgery for my husband. He’s had extreme pain for over a year, and plenty of pain a year before it got to this extreme level.

He had the steroid shot, which did nothing, and he also had RFA, which also did nothing. That was through an orthopedic spine surgeon.

We went on to a neurosurgeon and he recommended spinal fusion. We did some research and declined. We saw a second neurosurgeon who disagreed with the fusion and ordered more X-rays and MRIs and then rushed the follow up appointment and offered us nothing.

Your situation sounds different from what my husband’s is.

As far as my current pain, I’m thinking it might even actually be my hip, rather than siatic. I only thought siatic because the pain went down my leg, so that’s what I’m calling it for now. Bio Freeze might have helped it the last 2 days. I’ve also taken ibuprofen and a muscle relaxer. Whatever it is, it’s not fun.

I do have back issues and some years back I had a total of 10 shots into my spine in 6 months and they did nothing. My pain was always really low, and off to the left. At the time no doctor suggested it might be my hip. I wonder if that is really what it is and that is why those spine shots didn’t work. I guess time will tell.
 
Oh no! I'm sorry to hear this, Sciatica can be so painful.. have you considered calling your massage therapist and seeing if she could work you in? On the hopes that it's a tight muscle or two, or trigger points?

What a disappointment about the new chiro table. :groan:
 
@CricketHip I did wonder about the massage therapist. I like her table! And her nice blanket and her soft, barely there touch. I think I feel better already. :sleeep:
 
Haha,, atta girl!! You also already know how effective and soothing she can be. I hope you sleep well tonight and see her soon. :angel:
 
@CricketHip My current pain seems very much in the left hip and back of the pelvis. Can a hip problem send pain down the leg and make it hurt to put weight on the leg? Can it also affect my replaced knee? My knee has felt more awful than usual since the chiropractor appointment on Tuesday.
 
Hip pain can definitely cause knee pain, but so can other issues, such as trouble with the S.I. joint.
Is there a chance that it might be your piriformis? That can cause hip pain and that sciatic type pain. Did your Chiro Dr give any insight to what she thought it was?
 
CricketHip said:
Did your Chiro Dr give any insight to what she thought it was?
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No, she didn’t. I’ve been going to her for over 3 years so I trust her. She understands how super sensitive my body is. She doesn’t do all the adjustments with me that she does with my husband.

This issue started 2 weeks ago today. I was at bowling and picked up my ball ( 8 pounds, which is almost the kid’s weight ball) and as I straightened up this extreme pain came from the back of my pelvis and shot down my leg and I literally almost couldn’t walk. I didn’t know whether to take my turn or not, but I was closer to the throw line than to the seating area.

I managed to get to the line and throw the ball but I had a friend finish the frame for me. I went to the back area and did a gentle stretch to reach for my toes, came up slowly, walked a little and the pain was gone. I finished the game fine and played the next one fine.

Over the weekend I had some minor issues, when I straightened up from bending, like loading the dishwasher, I’d get up to a certain point and it would feel like something would catch and hurt in that back pelvis area and it would take a few seconds to stand up straight.

I bowled 3 games on Monday with no problem.
CricketHip said:
Is there a chance that it might be your piriformis?
Click to expand...
I’ll check out this article in the Bonesmart library in the morning. I did wonder about that, too.
 
Hi there, I do massage regularly and my muscles thank me for it. I've been waiting since this TKR, my last one was Aug 28th...I really miss it. I thought I should wait until my PT is over, as they do short massages for me there.
Jockette said:
I’d get up to a certain point and it would feel like something would catch and hurt in that back pelvis area and it would take a few seconds to stand up straight.
Click to expand...
Your situation does sound more spine/sacrum and nerves than hip to me, (I'm only going on my personal issues with the acute injury in '08) but I'm just remembering my herniated disc pain.


All the corticosteroid shots are not that effective for most people. I had my first experience with the injections in '08 and it still took about 8 months for that pain to heal, because it was an acute injury.

The scoliosis and DDD now are chronic issues. One of the best ways to help me has been doing the PT for my back and strengthening and stretching my back muscles.

CricketHip said:
Is there a chance that it might be your piriformis? That can cause hip pain and that sciatic type pain.
Click to expand...

The piriformis is a small muscle located deep in the buttock, behind the gluteus maximus. It runs diagonally from the lower spine to the upper surface of the femur, with the sciatic nerve running underneath or through the muscle. This definitely could be the issue too!

I'm sorry the second opinion couldn't offer relief for your husband. I do know that now my curvature is progressing, I'm just waiting to see if there is more of a flare up. The current surgeon also is aware of how my knee is effecting my back pain. I'm just waiting for full recovery to see how my new gait effects my back too. A fusion is not something to rush into and as the research is showing...sometimes it's only 40% effective. Maybe if we wait long enough the neurosurgeons will offer a better solution!
 
Macknit said:
A fusion is not something to rush into and as the research is showing...sometimes it's only 40% effective
Click to expand...
This is why we declined the surgery. It’s a painful recovery and the outcome was only a 40-60% reduction in pain, according to spineheath website, so why go through a difficult recovery and still have half the pain he has now.
 
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