TKR On the other side!

[Dhare63]

Hi 60mom,

Glad to hear you had such good results from the MUA. It isn't a bad procedure at all and when you do have adhesions, it can be the key to jump starting recovery.

The pool is a great way to keep working your rom. Walking forwards and backwards, side to side in both directions is a good start. If you have steps, go up and down switching between start legs can help too. Do lunges, and slowly add squats. In the deep end, take a noodle, wrap it around your back like an armchair, under each arm, and pretend to ride bike, then pretend to cross country ski, with legs moving forwards and backwards like scissors. All these things will help improve your rom. As someone else said, be careful not to overdo. In the water, it doesn't feel as strenuous when exercising. Trust me, it is. Take it slow and easy, as you do with all things TKR.

Control swelling, ice, elevate, and don't give up. You will get there.

Best to you,

Dawn

 

[60mom]

I was happy when I woke this morning that the discomfort I had yesterday is gone. It wasn't bad, maybe a 4-5 but after not having that for awhile you worry a little bit. Went to the pool and exercised and still could bend much further though I think due to some swelling I may loose a little flexion temporarily. What I find weird is I have a pain toward the inside front of my knee when I bend but if I push past it the pain goes away and I can flex a lot further. Hope it is not bad to go past it but if I don't I wouldn't get much flexion. The pain is just sharp and only at a particular point in bending. Just as quick as I feel it and bend more it is gone. Anyone else experience that?

 

[Josephine]

What I find weird is I have a pain toward the inside front of my knee

That's because you had a manipulation the objective of which was to tear the adhesions. Not a lot of people have any idea where these adhesions occur but I can show you exactly where! This is my knee but it very clearly shows the quads muscle/tendon above the joint and the patellar tendon below. I have marked with red dots where it sticks to adjacent structures. Of course, it may vary somewhat from person to person, but you get the general idea!

 

[60mom]

Thanks Josephine that makes sense. I am sure it will take a few days for things to settle down after being traumatized again. Icing and elevating.

 

[AnnMo]

I have my flexion to a 105 now so hopefully won't need that...but I want more rom than that so hopefully with time it will come. Glad u turned out good.

 

[referee54]

I have my flexion to a 105 now so hopefully won't need that...but I want more rom than that so hopefully with time it will come. Glad u turned out good.

It does take time---sometimes a long time, as recovery can be much longer than we would like it to be. One needs to be patient and understand that there was a significant amount of surgical trauma that was sustained by the knee; therefore, time is necessary to allow the joint---which has a very limited and restrictive capsule---to heal.

Take your time, be patient and gentle, and you will gain that ROM back.

Patience, Grasshopper, Patience!

 

[clovergirl59]

60mom, your flexion is great! I had my mua 12/13 and still only have 105. I was sore for 4-5 days, but it was like I had way over done it on exercising type pain rather than the surgery type pain. I found that moist heat to those sore places helped.

 

[KathyH]

Glad to hear your MUA went well, 60mom. Long may you continue to progress

 

[60mom]

Well it has been an adventure to say the least since I had my MUA. At first excitement got to 122 on flexion right after MUA but after 2 days back to 90 degrees and having more pain then I remember after my TKR. After a few times with my PT and seeing my OS I decided to take matters in my own hands. I asked my OS for another recommendation for PT. He suggested another therapist and told me to take a few days and just rest my knee and let it settle down. He was not sure why I was having so much pain. Gave me nerve medicine which I ended up not being able to take and Celebrex. Things have quieted down but swelling still present. I saw the new therapist today and really liked her. Her belief was for me to extend to where I could and not any pushing. So I just used equipment that let me bend to what I was comfortable with. She massaged my knee as well and said my IT band is swollen. I was at 110 flexion but only 16 on extension which surprised me because it was 2-4 prior to MUA and other therapist said I think 2 after MUA. I have been going to the gym everyday since the MUA and go in the water and do all my stretching and let the jets massage my leg. Seems to me I can almost straighten my leg the same as the other so not sure about those measurements. Plus I can go up and down the stairs with now. She feels I should eventually get to 125 on extension. I have felt the MUA maybe shouldn't have been done but thinking about it I do bend easier as that tight band across my knee is gone. It is just the IT band swelling that is preventing me from bending now. I think that once that is gone I should be able to bend much easier so now I think maybe it was right to have done it. Who knows for sure though!

 

[jimmy44]

I prayed hard about my appointment today. If my OS wanted to do it I would go ahead and trust his expertise. My knee was stiffer today then it has been in 2 wks. Don't know why other then this was God's plan because I probably could only bend it to maybe 85 degrees if that. I did less exercise yesterday then usual. Iced and elevated last night so no reason for increased swelling. My extension which has been about 2-4 was maybe 12. MUA 1:15 with PT to follow at 3:00. Then I will go to the pool on the weekend and try to keep things progressing. I am getting a skateboard so I can do extending that is more passive and keeps my quad out of the picture as I seem to have a problem with muscle guarding. I didn't get any response to that question so I guess others haven't experienced that. Yeah me, I always seem to have issues no one else has, lol. Do you think they will numb it up? Totally forgot about my daughters first All Star basketball game at 4:00 and I really do not want to miss it. I will take ice and elevate while there.

Hi 60mom
just read your post about your Mua tomorrow,i had my RTR on Feb 21st 2012 everything was going along fine for the first couple of weeks when i started notice a tighten in front of my knee like a rubber band across the front and as much asI tried i could not get it ti bend more,My surgeon told me then that if it did not loosen up in the next couple of weeks he wanted to to a Mua on my knee.At this point here i had never heard of it and when he explained what he was going to do i remember saying to him that there was no way that was going to happen except i used a few extra words lol.He told me to think about it and let him know in a couple of weeks what my decision would, a couple of weeks later my knee was still stiff and after a weekend of discussions with my family i decided to go though with it
The next weekend was booked into the hospital for the weekend was given a epidural and had it done and i will tell you this it was the best decision i made,it was the turning point to my recovery.I was on the epidural for the weekend and on macine the bends your leg while you lay in bed so it was very pain free,the only problem i had was my knees were a bit sore for the first couple of days after i got out of the hospital,but it was the right decision for me.I trusted my doctor and he was right,just had my LTKR last week and if i had to i would do it again for this knee to.So i wish you good luck and will say a pray for you and hope if you do decide ,it works out and you go on to a great recovery like i did

jim

 

[60mom]

Jimmy, I already had the MUA on Feb. 18th. It has been a roller coaster of pain and not really thinking it had helped but just made things worse. But after seeing the new PT today I realized that the band of tightness I had before is gone. I just have a lot of new swelling, IT band and I am not sure but also the inside of my knee mid way and just below. I think that things will be better once I can get this swelling down. Elevation and icing don't seem to be working! Not sure why. Thanks.

 

[Nanners]

60Mom you need to slow down a little. You are still in the very early days of recovery, and swelling is quite common. You need to keep up with the icing and elevating. This is a long and slow process and REALLY does take up to a full year to heal. Hugs!

 

[60mom]

The swelling before would always be better in the morning after elevating and icing at night. But since the MUA the swelling does not change. Anyone have problems with their IT Band and find a good solution. I have tried rolling it last night to see if that would help but knee is very stiff this morning. Heading to the water to see if I can loosen it up a bit. I do see OS on Monday as he wants to follow my progress carefully since I have had problems after the MUA.

Does anyone have a history of ulcers, and were you able to take Celebrex and not have issues? I have some Meloxicam left from before the surgery and it does seem to help with the pain but it will eventually flare up my ulcer so I know I can only take it for a short time. Someone mentioned a muscle relaxant so wondered if I should ask OS for this and see if that will help. Any Suggestions?

 

[pdx]

So sorry you're still having issues. I hope getting into the water today helps. What the heck; ask about the muscle relaxant. And keep up with the rolling pin. My IT band was worse before surgery; go figure. I found rolling helped a lot.

 

[Suziepi]

Good luck 60mom with your recovery after the MUA.
I had mine at 9 weeks (on 10 Dec 2012) after the RTKR were they got 120 Rom during the procedure. My rom dropped to 60 in January and I have managed to work it back to 75. I am now on my third PT and I am optimistic that she can help me to improve my ROM. She has seen quite a few cases like mine with poor ROM and is able to help. To her I am an excellent self healer, I build scare tissue very quickly hence build adhesion quickly.
Her help was to get me to push my stretching by using the bike and lunges so that its a bit unbearable. I need to stretch the adhesions. I also need to build strength in the leg muscles so she has given me exercises for that. I also walk for fitness and attend hydro therapy.
Pain control is important to be able to push the stretching and to have a decent sleep. So I am still taking OxyContin twice a day.

My PT doesn't recommend massages but I do that as well. I have also tried Reiki which gives my knee a lot of relief. But all this work has only just started for me. I am hoping to get this knee functional in some way as its my daughters wedding in 3 weeks time. And I really would love to dance at it.
Good luck again
Suziepi

 

[60mom]

All of a sudden I have developed pain that feels like it is in the knee cap for 2 days. Very achy and throbbing. Trading between Ibuprofen and Tylenol, icing and elevating, but not really helping. Very few pain meds left and won't get any more and I like to save them for PT. In PT we have been been working on my extension as I am lagging behind a bit, around 5. But that usually creates pain behind my knee after. We have not been pressing on the top of my knee at all. PT was doing some very gentle massage on my scar but that isn't new so I wouldn't think that would cause it. Tried to search for this but to no avail. I am 8 weeks out. Any thoughts?

 

[tashia]

60mom, Why are you saving the pain pills for the PT. She or he isn't surpose to hurt you so you need them. If you hurt please take the pain pills. The fact that it is throbbing please keep a eye on it. What were you doing when it started hurting? Is it warm or Hot? You knee might be telling you to take a easy. In this stage the knee is boss and if it hurts it telling you it didn't like something. Is the scar hurting? I will see if someone might have a better idea than me other than what I have said. Josephine Jamie See what they say. Tashia

 

[skigirl]

If you are concerned---the best person to call is the office of your OS. If it is soft tissue pain or from exertion, then I think that icing will help as well as taking it easy for a day or two.

Perhaps your OS could give you something like Tramadol for pain or even Tylenol three which might help. I agree that you should not need the narcotics for your PT---it should be gentle and not hurting you at all--especially at 8 weeks. Your pt might be able to help you identify the source of the pain---but if not, my OS has a PA in the office who can see you on a drop in basis---give them a call. Kelly

 

[Jamie]

My suggestion would be to ice and take something for the pain in earnest for a few days. Stay away from the PT and limit activity. I think you'll find it gets better. Then you can slowly resume your exercises.

Remember you are not even three months out. You can get pain at this stage and even later. Even a small amount of swelling in the kneecap area can really hurt.

However, if you would like some reassurance that everything is fine with your implant, do contact your doctor for a quick check.

 

[60mom]

I just saw my OS on Monday. But of course this was not happening then. He did order me Celebrex but over $200 so I didn't get it. He wouldn't give me more pain meds and I am almost out. It is just slightly hotter than the other knee.

The only thing we did at PT was a new extension exercise. It was a bit uncomfortable but any extension exercise is for me. Even the dangling my feet over the bed, or just straightening as much as I can. But none of that has ever bothered the front of my knee so I am not sure it was that. The front of my knee has never bothered me before. This is a new PT and she lets me do everything she doesn't push or any of what my other PT did.

I am going to call my Insurance tomorrow because according to there site if you are over 60 and have some reason (I have an ulcer) Celebrex should have been covered. Maybe I need Cymbalta too as I am getting a bit depressed, lol.