TKR Suggestions needed for “tight band” feeling

[Stiff knee NC]

@DBN: THANKS for sharing this! Have never heard of this device. Looks like it goes right underneath the kneecap. Does it inhibit bending in any way? And would you mind sharing the brand name/company contact info? Really appreciate this!

 

[Jaycey]

@Stiff knee NC just put the name of the device into your search engine and you will find the information. Unfortunately our forum rules do not allow links that take our members off the forum site.

 

[Stiff knee NC]

@Rockgirl4: yep, lots of tightness/pain, all day. But decent ROM! It is ALL a puzzle to me how these new knees heal...everyone’s journey is so individual, and probably dependent on dozens of factors. At the end of the day, though, I’d gladly give up some ROM for less tightness!

 

[Stiff knee NC]

@Jaycey: ok, I didn’t realize that. So someone can’t even say the brand name that they’ve had success with (no link...just the brand)? When I typed in the name, a BUNCH of different ones popped up.

 

[Stiff knee NC]

@Jaycey: I’m NOT questioning the rules or anything like that! I’m just wondering...

 

[Jaycey]

@Stiff knee NC Yes, it is OK to mention a brand name. That way people can research for themselves. The link was to a page called braceability.

 

[Rockgirl4]

@DBN Does it help with any range of motion or to just make the stiff "feeling" go away???

 

[DBN]

There are a variety of these devices online. To me it soothes the tightness and provides stabilty to allow me to not focus on the tightness and work through it... Not expensive... worth a try while you continue healing...

 

[DBN]

And does not inhibit bending... different from other braces...

 

[Stiff knee NC]

@DBN, @Rockgirl4, @Jaycey: I asked my doctor about this thru the portal. He said he was familiar with this device and the brand he recommends is Donjoy. Just fyi!

 

[Daneez]

It's been awhile since I posted. I'm at 7+ months. I have had extreme tight band feeling from day 1 (along with tendinopathy & nerve zinger issues). Long story short, after my surgeon said he had never seen my particular outcome, he sent me to get a consultation with a specialist. That surgeon said he sees maybe 1 patient per year with this level of nerve pain/tight band issues. He referred me to Pain Clinic & PT, which I went to last week.

The consensus all around (given that all films, scans, etc. look okay) is that for some people it takes 1 year to resolve, for some it's 2 years, and for some they just have to adjust to it. I can relate to much of what you've experienced - my knee continues to be warm, it's almost impossible to NOT think about it given the level of tightness, I'm on gabapentin & anti-inflammatory, & they offered nerve block (but I'm not doing that now). I'm using walking sticks to go for walks and that helps me take better strides. My muscles on my left leg have really weakened and atrophied, and the PT said I need to build those up because the soft tissue around the joint is trying to do the work of stabilizing the joint and that's contributing to the problem. Apparently I had tendinopathy prior to the surgery, and this has really increased it.

It's all way worse than prior to surgery, so I am hoping one day I will be somewhat glad I had the TKR...

 

[Jockette]

The consensus all around (given that all films, scans, etc. look okay) is that for some people it takes 1 year to resolve, for some it's 2 years, and for some they just have to adjust to it.

I am 3 years and 3 months post op, and yesterday afternoon I noticed a specific improvement, so I’m one of those longer than most recoverers. I was so frustrated that first year, and even the second year, but, amazingly, it’s still coming along!

 

[Stiff knee NC]

@Daneez: I’m so sorry that you are still having tightness...you know I KNOW what you are going through! I’m wondering if the compression sleeve I’m wearing would help you? Happy to pass along the brand, etc. It might really help stabilize your knee/leg. I, too, notice my left leg is weaker, esp when I walk for “exercise.” Thinking about walking outside but it has gotten SO hot I’m just hoping my gym opens soon instead. I’d be interested in a “pain clinic”...my doctor had not even suggested it. Interestingly, my knee hasn’t been warm in several weeks...not sure that’s good or bad! Some say it’s warm because of healing, others say it’s because it’s inflamed. I hate to think I will be dealing w/this for another year...or 2. I will keep my fingers crossed that we BOTH (and anyone else still struggling) will feel much better, like Forum Advisor, Jockette! Take care!

 

[Rockgirl4]

@Stiff knee NC The more posts I see, the more I understand your predicament. I'm lucky in that I have COMPLETE stability and strength. My problem is purely a stiff knee, meaning it won't bend a whole lot. I'm thankful that's all I have to deal with after reading what a lot of you are going through still. :(

 

[Stiff knee NC]

Tykey, judgar, sistersinhim, Jockette, NightQuilter, Rockgirl4, Daneez:
This will be a lengthy post but it contains info that those who have been experiencing “tightness” might find useful!

I am 11 months out and had an appointment with a pain management doctor today. She suspects that I have something that is relatively rare and called “complex regional pain syndrome.” (She said this syndrome has been documented as far back as the Civil War). I will leave it to a moderator/forum advisor to more fully explain this syndrome.

She based this on the fact that I exhibit some of the hallmarks of the syndrome: skin sensitivity that lasted for a month or so after surgery (I couldn’t tolerate even a sheet being on my skin); sensitivity around my kneecap (when I shaved) that made me feel somewhat queasy (this lasted up until about a month ago); the fact that my compression sleeve (that I wear except for sleeping and showering) has, for the past few months, made me not notice any tightness; the location of my tightness (side to side, across my kneecap); and the fact that my incision scar is still very red and noticeable.

I suppose some of these may just be a coincidence but all together they made her think of this syndrome.

Here’s what she recommends: gabapentin (300 mg once daily for a week, then twice a day for a week, then three times daily for a week (I was previously on Lyrica w/no improvement); acupuncture (I have a session tomorrow and will have 5 more); walking (I walked 3 times last week for 45 minutes each and experienced NO additional tightness/pain); and massages.

We also talked about a nerve block and nerve ablation, but she is conservative and wants me to see how these measures work first before going down that route.

She was happy w/my ROM and thought I walked okay. Thinks my new knee structurally is fine (looking at x-rays and the three-phase bone scan results) and does NOT think I have excessive scar tissue. Interestingly, based on what I said, she thinks the syndrome may be resolving itself.

It was exciting to have a possible explanation for my tightness/pain...and I am hopeful that I will find relief in the coming weeks/months ahead.

 

[Rockgirl4]

I'm glad you had such a positive experience with the pain management Dr. It helps so much to have hope, and I'm glad you're seeing some improvement.

I'm also considering looking into my situation further, as I'm hoping more can be done to improve my bend. My soft tissues above and below the knee give me so much tightness that I think my knee isn't the sole source of my bending issues. Thanks for giving me a reminder that continuing to search for improvement isn't a bad thing, and one never knows what might help.

 

[Jockette]

You’ll notice that I edited your post and removed the multiple tags. Bonesmart prefers that multiple tags are not used, here is a full explanation:

Use of multiple tags or alerts in posts

We have a great feature on BoneSmart which enables us to call a member or member of staff to a post for some reason: the tagging feature. Sadly this has become misused of late as people are tending to create blocks or strings of tags like this One of the problems with this is that it makes it...

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[partialfixFeb]

@Stiff knee NC My sister had the exact same syndrome that you describe. It was awful. She got relief after meds were adjusted/changed but it did thankfully pass eventually and her wrist has healed nicely. There is hope.

 

[Stiff knee NC]

@partialfixFeb: thanks for sharing that...it’s always good to know I have someone who’s been in the same boat as me! But even BETTER to hear that she is doing so well!!! I’d be interested in knowing about how long after surgery until it had fully passed.

 

[Stiff knee NC]

@Jockette: okay, thanks for letting me know!