Spine Severe L3,4,5 Compression after TKR

[Jaycey]

my back feels good and for the first time in well over a year I can play pickleball without pain.

Major milestone @WillB ! So glad that spinal pain has eased.

Please let us know what your surgeon suggests for that stubborn knee!

 

[WillB]

Good morning Jaycee! Knee at 9+ months is ok according to my doctor. Still stiff, ROM at 110 and a tight band feeling above fhe kneecap. He did have me get a SedRate blood test which came back high at 33 indicating inflamation throughout my body. Have an appt this am with my back surgeon. Backs actually pretty good but still have some pre op symptoms. Might ask him if I need another MRI to see how things look!

 

[Jaycey]

Have an appt this am with my back surgeon.

Please let us know how your appointment goes. I found recovery from spinal surgery way longer than from joint replacement.

 

[WillB]

Have an appt this am with my back surgeon.

Please let us know how your appointment goes. I found recovery from spinal surgery way longer than from joint replacement.

Back is awesome! No issues and no appts until August ‘24…the 1 year date. All in all for 76, I’m doing well….lots of painfree pickleball, yeah!!

 

[DEL2024Dec-38]

Will, you sound great! I take it you did not have to have back surgery? I had an MRI of my back -- I recently found out my back might be causing some of my knee trouble. Going to a pain management doctor soon. I wish I would be doing as well as you are and I'm 68! I'll keep trying. I hope you stay well and have a happy Christmas with lots of painfree pickleball!

 

[WillB]

Checking in with the new year…I know it’s now April? Back surgery went well though I honestly say I still have pre op symptoms but certainly can live with them. No back pain though which is a positive.

But I now have a bilateral meniscus tear of my right knee? Seeing surgeon tomorrow. Maybe a scope procedure is down the road!

 

[benne68]

Thanks for stopping by, , @WillB. Glad to read that you back is doing well, but sorry you've torn the meniscus in your right knee. It's always something, isn't it?

Please let us know what your learn at your appointment.

 

[djklaugh]

@WillB For your sake I hope the meniscus tears can be repaired via an arthroscopic procedure! About 20 years ago I fell on my left knee (landed full weight on bent knee) and had a fracture of the tibia plus what the surgeon described as "shredding the meniscus" - lots of little particles floating around in my knee and shreds dangling. For me an arthroscopic procedure worked very well and so far, 20 years on (knock on wood!), that knee is functioning very well! Surgeon suctioned out all the floaters and trimmed the dangling shreds. Recuperation from that procedure was fairly easy and short ... I think about 2 months until I was back to full ROM and functioning.

 

[DEL2024Dec-38]

@WillB and @Jaycey - I am wondering if I have something going on with my back? I had an MRI of it and it says something about the L-5 narrowing, I don't understand it. My surgeon wanted me to get an epidural there and I did; it didn't do anything. For months I have had weird leg pain (like Will talked about) where it's burning (my thigh area) and my calf/feet area gets cold, and my right hip is killing me. Of course the MRI of my hip is "normal." (But the doctor said that area's not my hip but my back.) Because of this burning feeling in my thigh, I'm seeing a neurosurgeon. He prescribed Lyrica which I take 3 times a day because I'm always in pain with my leg or my hip, er, back. Whatever, it aches most the day and is worse at night. I wish I could get a surgery instead of taking all these pills, but no one knows what to do with me. I did get a cortisone injection in my hip (back?) in January and it did absolutely nothing. This whole thing has been a nightmare. I didn't have any of this before I had my TKR. I stopped seeing my TKR surgeon as it appears I am now dealing with other new ailments and doctors. I am seeing neurosurgeon #2 on the 4th, doctor #1 was not helpful and almost a two hour wait for ten minutes. Next!

 

[DEL2024Dec-38]

Oh well. Seems no one has anything to say. I don't need to be on this site anymore.

 

[benne68]

I think you didn't receive a reply because the folks you tagged have not been on the forum since before your post.

Perhaps you could ask this question in your own thread? This one doesn't get a lot of traffic.

 

[WillB]

I really never had a back issue until 3 mos or so after my TKR. You know I had those weird sensations down my leg, through the repaired knee and towards the feet. You said an MRI disclosed narrowing of L5. The L5 controls most nerves from the waist down. A laminectomy, which is a pretty easy proceedure, could really help. A good spine specialist could do wonders!! Hang in there.