MUA a year after and having pain often

update: i will be going in for my MUA at 930am tomorrow, a tad bit nervous but hopefully all will go well and then the doc wants me off an additional month from work......Grrrr....keep me in your thoughts and prayers everyone
 
As others said, every rehab is unique. My TKR took 18 months before less painful than other knee and I needed a MUA (Manipulation under anaesthetic) despite working real hard on my rehab.

Don't let my tale worry you though, I'd had more than 10 ops on that knee alone including ACI (autologous condracyte implant) so basically my issue was tons of scar tissue from prev ops.

What I would say is that however long it takes, you'll LOVE the end result once you do finally get there. Just give it time (easy to say - harder to do)

Good luck
 
Also..... take your meds 30-40mins before your exercises so you get full value for medication
We have found that taking pain meds before PT masks pain and causes more inflammation, pain, and swelling. You need to feel the pain so you know when to stop. Pushing pain through the pain causes setbacks. You don't want that!
 
To: itsallgood21900:
I am so sorry you had experience with your OS. I find that behavior inexcusable. I, too, had excruciating pain post surgically (RTKR on May 24, 2022, age 74). It's been a long haul. My bad experience was with my PT who, for some reason, felt it necessary to berate, insult, scold and (it seemed, purposely) inflict pain each time I went in. And I had already reached 110 at the 5 week mark! (Not without a lot of pain, though. I cried a lot.)
I endured 10 treatments with this dis-compassionate PT and on the 10th treatment, for no reason, she came over to the table I was stretched out on and slammed both of her hands down on top my knee really hard. I screamed. I had told her many times that even the SKIN on my knee hurt. With not a single essence of an apology, she snarled at me and said :"Well, then YOU need to massage it!" Wow! (My husband calls her "Nurse Ratchet." LOL
That was the last time I ever entered that clinic. I called very early the next morning and canceled the rest of the appointments I had set up with them. They kept calling my home trying to get me to call back. I simply ignored the messages. (What would have been the point?)
I was freeeee!!!!! Free to follow the Bonesmart guidelines. Free to work at my own pace. Free to heal in my own good time. The kicker here? I worked as a P T assistant for 25 years and knew what they were doing was wrong.
Prior to my surgery, I was such an upbeat person, having taught meditation, Reiki, positive affirmations for many, many years. Here, now, I was made to feel like a failure. I wished and prayed real hard for something encouraging.
I fully respect the profession of PT and PT’s themselves. (Some great ones out there.) But in all my years working in the field of physical therapy, often treating joint replacement patients, none of my colleagues nor I ever EVER treated ANY of our patients in such a degrading and pitiful way.

My husband and family were encouraging me to “just find another place!” But my gut (and my inner Spirit) said differently. It said: ”Quit NOW and do your own therapy at home. You know what to do, for God’s sake!”

So I did just that. The minute I made that decision and cancelled all future appointments, my pain diminished by almost 50%, my general demeanor improved by 100%, and I became a much happier camper. I still have pain but somehow, I am ok with it. Oh, yes, I’d rather not have any at all, but reading page after page in this forum told me I didn’t have to suffer scolding and berating, forced excessive pain, nor bowing to anyone else ‘s expectations.

Now, I fully believe It’s no coincidence that I “stumbled” on this forum. What a blessing! After reading so many comments and experiences, I was so encouraged my mood soared. Even my pain diminished due to the psychological uplift. Soon after quitting PT and visiting Bonesmart is when my pain diminished 50% and my mood improved 100%! I am so grateful
Hang in there. I, too, continue to be discouraged but that just might be my eagerness to get to a mobility I haven't had in years. Whatever I end up with, I'll know I gave it my all and I am now more patient that time will be my best healer. I know I will be a different woman in 2023. LOL
 
@Lucyrick, welcome to Bonesmart! How about starting your own recovery thread? Having your own thread will have all your information, questions, and answers in one place that's easy to find.
I have moved your posts and started a Recovery Thread for you, so we can talk about your recovery. This benefits you because all your information is in one place, easy to find, and maintains a nice journal for you. So, please keep all your updates and questions about your recovery in this thread. If you’d like a new title, let us know what you want, and we’ll change it for you.

Many members bookmark their thread in their computer browser, so they can find it when they log on.
Starting a new thread
 
i had the MUA and it was unsuccessful he says there is just too much scar tissue so we are looking into another surgery, not what i was hoping for
 
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Gosh, this is certainly not the result you wanted. Did the surgeon say how that much scar tissue could build up in just a matter of months?
 
So sorry that the MUA didn’t work. I hope that you find relief soon. You are so young to have limited range of motion. Sending positive thoughts your way.
 
Are you having a lot of swelling?
not too much swelling just a lot of pain since the MUA it feels like there's a constant sharp pain on the inner part of my knee like they pushed a lot on that particular part, I go Tuesday for a follow up and to discuss option 3
 
You’re the perfect example what I worry about with my recovery. I don’t want to stress my knee and be in pain to get rom but if I don’t this is my biggest fear the scar tissue
 
When you have a MUA and your knee is pushed past the point of where it is ready to be pushed, you will have pain afterward. Those inside tissues that were stitched together and still healing are being stressed and traumatized all over again. You will now count your recovery time from the day of your MUA, not your surgery. You need to treat your knee gently, just like you just had your replacement. Aggressive movements will backfire and keep your knee painful. Just be very gentle with it until it settles down again.
 
When you have a MUA and your knee is pushed past the point of where it is ready to be pushed, you will have pain afterward. Those inside tissues that were stitched together and still healing are being stressed and traumatized all over again. You will now count your recovery time from the day of your MUA, not your surgery. You need to treat your knee gently, just like you just had your replacement. Aggressive movements will backfire and keep your knee painful. Just be very gentle with it until it settles down again.
yes I've got quite a bit of pain in my upper knee quad area I'm just depressed and feel like it's worse than it was right after knee replacement:( hes wanting to go in and get scar tissue out but i can't do it until November with work so idk how i feel about it he says the MUA didn't work and that he couldn't get it bent enough and that there is just a ton of scar tissue that needs to be removed or i may need him to do the surgery all over again, im just very discouraged and sad at this point
 
I would find a new doctor that has no affiliation with your current OS. He has had a chance to fix your knee and he hasn't. It's time for someone else to look at it. You should look for a revision specialist. They deal with problem knees. If your doctor couldn't get your knee to bend much during the MUA, then it's possible that your spacer is too large. A revisionist would be able to spot this.

I think it would be a mistake to let your current doctor go back inside your knee. Give it some more time and don't try and force your knee to bend any further than it can comfortably. Hopefully, as time goes on, it will improve. It has only been a month since your latest surgery, and that is a little bit of time compared to this year-long surgery.
 
Here is an example of a member who went so far as to stop seeing her surgeon, until she was much more recovered.

This is what one of our members, TortiTabby, experienced:

(Just so you know, ADL means Activities of Daily Living.)

“At my six week appointment this is what my OS wrote in my visit summary: "She reads an online website called Bone Smart which states to not push through pain following knee replacement. If she were to follow this direction, she will have to learn to live with a knee that only reaches to 85 degrees of flexion. I believe this website is very misleading."
This is why it is so hard to trust doctors. It's certainly a conundrum that technology has created all kinds of incredible treatments for disease and injury but the doctor's ears don't work nearly as well as they did even a hundred years ago. And we have to trust them to some extent because we need those state-of-the-art treatments. I haven't seen anything on this website that says to just lay around and not move until the pain goes away. Quite the contrary, I see a lot of encouragement to get up and move and do ADL.
 
At 3 weeks post op you wrote:
I had knee replacement on May 18 2022 and thought i was doing well with PT but i saw my surgeon for the first time since today and he not only said im way too stiff but without notice, he just grabbed my leg and forced it into an almost complete bend, i have been in pain ever since.

i had PT today and looks like I've gone from a 78 down to a 74 somehow but man did she push.


At 6 weeks post op you wrote:
im still not going anywhere with my bend, still back down to 78, im at abut my 6th week now, i do my stretches at home and i walk around a lot without a walker you can just tell im walking with a severe limp. Ive started doing the treadmill on my off days of PT, i do a high incline and very slow walking pace to try and strengthen my knee. It still seems to shake a lot when doing certain things.

on wed my bend was still at 78-80, i ice several times a day and have been doing squats and things outside of PT but i just can't seem to get any better results.


At 8 weeks post op you wrote:
my surgeon scheduled me for a MUA on the 17th of August. He wants to do it asap before the tissue and things settle in and then he risks harming my leg by breaking something with the MUA.

Today, at 4 months you wrote:
idk how i feel about it he says the MUA didn't work and that he couldn't get it bent enough and that there is just a ton of scar tissue that needs to be removed or i may need him to do the surgery all over again, im just very discouraged and sad at this point
All totaled, you are “only” 4 months into a recovery that can take an average of a year, which means some take less, and some take well into the second year for complete healing.

Please reread the above quotes. Your knee has had a lot of “interference“ for lack of a better word, in the effort of rehab. It seems to me that your knee has never had a chance to just “be” and heal.

I agree with everything sistersinhim said. It may be early to seek a second opinion, but keep it in mind. If it was me I wouldn’t let this doctor do any more procedures on me.

All you’ve done so far hasn’t worked, so you have nothing to lose by stopping all of it. Take a break from all formal PT, and then rest ice and elevate, do your ADLs, and as Josephine was fond of saying, give your knee the privilege of sorting itself out.
 

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