Magsmom
member
Hi all
I’ve been spending time on the BoneSmart hip recovery forum as I had both hips replaced last year - the left one in September and the right in late December. Lefty is doing great- pretty straightforward and easy recovery (though I didn’t know that at the time!). Righty has been much slower and more challenging but is coming along.
I’ve come over to the knee recovery area as I have a question. Some quick background- I had a left TKR in Oct 2019. About 18 mos before that I slipped on a wet locker room floor, landed full force on my left knee and dislocated the patella. When I stood up, it sort of popped back in - but not completely. It kind of settled on top of one side of the trochlear groove. My dr said it would need to be replaced eventually but it was up to me Re when we did it. So I stuck a brace on it and went back to CrossFit which I had (and have) been doing for many years. I love the community aspect of it. It’s a supportive environment and we cheer more for the person who is last in completing the workout of the day. I was the oldest member at my box and affectionately known as the Mom of our dysfunctional family. (Btw CrossFit gets a bad rap sometimes as people think it’s just filled with fire breathing 20 and 30 year old kids. But every single movement, barbell work, gymnastics etc can be modified and scaled to your abilities and limitations. Can I get an unassisted pull-up anymore? Nope. But I used to get 6-8 pretty easily. Now I use a giant rubber band for assistance or do ring rows.
Anyhow I white knuckled it Re my knee until 2019. My TKR was extraordinarily difficult. I have an autoimmune condition that seems to prompt my body to produce ridiculous amts of scar tissue. I could barely flex or extend it despite 3 days/week PT and working on my own the other days. I ended up having 2 MUAs and an arthroscopic clean out. I’ve finally been able to flex it to ~110 (vs 135 on my good leg) and got stuck at 11 degrees or so in extension. Doesn’t sound like much but if you’ve had TKR or ACL surgery you know that it is a lot. Repairing my hips did help it. Almost immediately after the left THR, the knee swelling reduced and I picked another 5 degrees of extension. That’s good enough for me. My only other option was a revision……
There’s a particular topic I wanted to ask this group about. Ever since the surgery, I have had ongoing, continuous pain right at the neck/head of my fibula. It feels like nerve related discomfort. So - I had to see a diff surgeon since my original Dr did not participate in my new insurance plan. The new guy specializes in complex primary and revision knee and hip work. He commented that the peroneal nerve (which is a branch of the sciatic nerve tracks right over the fibula head and neck where it splits into 2 branches. Trauma to the knee and TKR surgery are 2 things likely to cause the peroneal nerve to get trapped/compressed and/or have scar tissue build up around it. The fibula tunnel is small with not alot of room. Kind of like carpal tunnel in your wrist.
I’ve been seeing the Dr who did my carpal tunnel release. He was instrumental in helping to diagnose the horrible mess my cervical spine was in. His words… “if there’s a problem at one end there’s often one at the other end as well “. He was right and I ended up having a spinal decompression and fusion of C5-C7. I feel just great now. Complete ROM in my neck and pain free!
But this fibula pain continues. NSAIDS don’t help but gabapentin, which I took for nerve pain does help calm it down. My very unscientific takeaway from gabapentin helping is that it’s nerve related. Dr is convinced I’m headed toward what I hope is a final surgery (I’ve already had 10 in 3 yrs on various body parts) to release/decompress this nerve.
Here’s my question - has anyone else ever had this peroneal nerve issue after TKR or any other major knee procedures?? I’m a really informed consumer when it comes to surgery and hospital related stuff. But this was a surprise. I’m hoping to push the procedure to September so I can enjoy the summer on the beach where we relocated last year (from NYC).
Any feedback or comments greatly appreciated!
Thanks all
I’ve been spending time on the BoneSmart hip recovery forum as I had both hips replaced last year - the left one in September and the right in late December. Lefty is doing great- pretty straightforward and easy recovery (though I didn’t know that at the time!). Righty has been much slower and more challenging but is coming along.
I’ve come over to the knee recovery area as I have a question. Some quick background- I had a left TKR in Oct 2019. About 18 mos before that I slipped on a wet locker room floor, landed full force on my left knee and dislocated the patella. When I stood up, it sort of popped back in - but not completely. It kind of settled on top of one side of the trochlear groove. My dr said it would need to be replaced eventually but it was up to me Re when we did it. So I stuck a brace on it and went back to CrossFit which I had (and have) been doing for many years. I love the community aspect of it. It’s a supportive environment and we cheer more for the person who is last in completing the workout of the day. I was the oldest member at my box and affectionately known as the Mom of our dysfunctional family. (Btw CrossFit gets a bad rap sometimes as people think it’s just filled with fire breathing 20 and 30 year old kids. But every single movement, barbell work, gymnastics etc can be modified and scaled to your abilities and limitations. Can I get an unassisted pull-up anymore? Nope. But I used to get 6-8 pretty easily. Now I use a giant rubber band for assistance or do ring rows.
Anyhow I white knuckled it Re my knee until 2019. My TKR was extraordinarily difficult. I have an autoimmune condition that seems to prompt my body to produce ridiculous amts of scar tissue. I could barely flex or extend it despite 3 days/week PT and working on my own the other days. I ended up having 2 MUAs and an arthroscopic clean out. I’ve finally been able to flex it to ~110 (vs 135 on my good leg) and got stuck at 11 degrees or so in extension. Doesn’t sound like much but if you’ve had TKR or ACL surgery you know that it is a lot. Repairing my hips did help it. Almost immediately after the left THR, the knee swelling reduced and I picked another 5 degrees of extension. That’s good enough for me. My only other option was a revision……
There’s a particular topic I wanted to ask this group about. Ever since the surgery, I have had ongoing, continuous pain right at the neck/head of my fibula. It feels like nerve related discomfort. So - I had to see a diff surgeon since my original Dr did not participate in my new insurance plan. The new guy specializes in complex primary and revision knee and hip work. He commented that the peroneal nerve (which is a branch of the sciatic nerve tracks right over the fibula head and neck where it splits into 2 branches. Trauma to the knee and TKR surgery are 2 things likely to cause the peroneal nerve to get trapped/compressed and/or have scar tissue build up around it. The fibula tunnel is small with not alot of room. Kind of like carpal tunnel in your wrist.
I’ve been seeing the Dr who did my carpal tunnel release. He was instrumental in helping to diagnose the horrible mess my cervical spine was in. His words… “if there’s a problem at one end there’s often one at the other end as well “. He was right and I ended up having a spinal decompression and fusion of C5-C7. I feel just great now. Complete ROM in my neck and pain free!
But this fibula pain continues. NSAIDS don’t help but gabapentin, which I took for nerve pain does help calm it down. My very unscientific takeaway from gabapentin helping is that it’s nerve related. Dr is convinced I’m headed toward what I hope is a final surgery (I’ve already had 10 in 3 yrs on various body parts) to release/decompress this nerve.
Here’s my question - has anyone else ever had this peroneal nerve issue after TKR or any other major knee procedures?? I’m a really informed consumer when it comes to surgery and hospital related stuff. But this was a surprise. I’m hoping to push the procedure to September so I can enjoy the summer on the beach where we relocated last year (from NYC).
Any feedback or comments greatly appreciated!
Thanks all