MUA Rubber band feeling'

[jmp65]

@Pontoon I had a MUA almost 6 months after TKR and am very happy with the results. You will have more discomfort after MUA...but I was surprised...I was expecting to have way more pain than I did have. I am still not to 100% but I am still improving slowly. Good luck with your MUA!

 

[Pontoon]

Thanks jmp65. Were you also suffering from a banding sensation or just poor ROM,? My ROM was good then I stopped progressing and actually lost some rom

 

[BARBRI]

Good luck on Tuesday Pontoon. I am very optimistic that you will be very happy with the results. I was.
The last couple of days have been the best that I have had in almost 5 months. Good ROM,minimal stiffness and much less pain. Happened all of a sudden, Who knows.

 

[BARBRI]

How did your MUA go?

 

[Pontoon]

Just got back. The Dr told my husband that it sounded like Velcro ripping apart. I have to go to PT for the next five days at least to prevent anything reattaching. When the pt guy came in to bend my knee he got 130 but I screamed out in pain . I have to work hard over next few weeks, right now on my bike with zero resistance. Thank you so much for asking

 

[newlybionic]

There's no reason to let a PT push on your knee. Please be careful because that will cause your knee to swell and then cause your ROM to decline. Make sure you do ice and elevate to keep the swelling down.

 

[Spex10]

I was very pleased with the result of my MUA. PT certainly didn't do any painful bending at all. She was very helpful and supportive. Pain was nothing like as bad as I'd been led to believe it would be. I hope your recovery is as good as mine and the others' was.

 

[KarriB]

Just as after TKR, don't let anyone push or bend your knee. Your soft tissue is going to be swollen and angry again.

 

[Jamie]

I have to work hard over next few weeks

No, you don't have to "work hard" over the next few weeks. Please don't do that or let your therapist push your knee at all! What you need to do is gentle exercise to keep the joint mobile and give yourself some time now that you've had the MUA. If you overdo the exercise you quite possibly may find yourself right back in the same situation you were before you had the procedure.

Since your surgeon described a velcro noise when he did the MUA, it sounds like there were some adhesions present. But your tissues are not in there just waiting to band back together overnight. This is much more likely to recur during the next couple of months in a knee that is hot and inflamed. So the goal is to keep swelling at a minimum. Swelling makes the tissue drier and more apt to stick together to form adhesions. You might not even see swelling as it doesn't take much fluid to cause a problem. It can be totally within your small knee capsule and not visible by looking at your knee.

Ice your knee as much as possible. Take whatever pain medications are needed. Do gentle stretching and bending along with your bike (no resistance) for short periods throughout the day. The goal is a cool and calm knee for the next month. This is a time for gentle treatment and lots of patience. "Working" your knee will not make things better.

 

[jmp65]

@Pontoon Yes, I had both the tight band feeling and also poor ROM. I was stuck at about 80 to 85 degrees of bend. Hope everything goes well for you in your recovery! I had to use a CPM machine for 12 hours per day for 3 weeks....then was in decreasing amounts of time for 2 more weeks.

 

[BARBRI]

How's it going Pontoon now that you are a few days post MUA?
Although my extension and Flexion are good I still have ongoing pain that wakes me at night. It is still more painful for me than prior to TKR. For my own peace of mind I am having my knee x-rayed next week.

 

[BARBRI]

What say you Pontoon??

 

[Pontoon]

Barbri I'm going thru pt right now , on my own I'm at 110, PT can get me to 128. I have a follow up with my OS tomorrow. Banding is still as severe as ever. Will follow up again in a few days

 

[Celle]

The MUA won't make that banding feeling go away, @Pontoon . Only time will do that.

 

[Jamie]

Pontoon.....please don't let the therapists push your knee like that. It won't help you; it just makes the therapist look good to be able to state the higher number. When your knee is not as swollen, it will go to those higher numbers with only your effort bending it. The more pushing, the longer you'll be waiting for that day.

 

[Pontoon]

I'm back looking for advise and feedback. I had my right knee replaced Oct of 2016. in March of 2017 i had an MUA regained my ROM. but went downhill 5 months later. In September of 2017 i had arthroscopic surgery and MUA to remove and release adhesions. I again went back to PT and my bend is now stable at 120. I have NEVER lost my severe banding problem that I've had since day one. I'm at my wits end thinking that I will need to live the rest of my life with this horrible banding problem. Feedback would be appreciated.

 

[Jockette]

You have been given excellent advice and feedback through your whole recovery. Maybe if you go back to the beginning of your thread and read through it again you will find it helpful.

This is a very long recovery. I am 9 months post op and still have tightness in my knee. It won’t go away until it’s ready. My knee is on its own schedule, not mine.

I, too, expected a 2-3 month recovery.

Your poor knee has had several procedures within a relatively short time. It still needs time to recover from all of them.

Best wishes on your continued journey!

 

[MyTest]

@Pontoon Hello. I think I have the feeling like what you are describing. Does your knee feel full inside? The band feeling, does it feel really thick but goes down for a 'little while' when you ice it? And when you bend, you hit that band feeling?

I was originally told it was scar tissue. Then I had a MUA but 3 days later, that feeling came back and I was NOT happy! (the MUA did help my bend though ). Since then, I have learned from this site that it may be internal swelling. I was also told the MUA restarts some of the healing so it may further delay the band feeling. The first time I had a replacement the feeling went away in appx 6.5 months.
So as much as it seems to get in the way and affect our knee performance, we just have to wait for it to disappear, which can take months. Good Luck!!

 

[Spex10]

I can't remember when that feeling disappeared but it did! Be patient. One day you'll look back and realise that your new knee is absolutely fine! No rush though!

 

[Pumpkin]

The "Tight band" feeling across the front of my knee can linger for quite awhile. For some a year + since the last procedure.
It is frustrating, but it will go away eventually.