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TKR Unknown lump on front of knee'

Jackieray,
You have a wonderful internist, one who really listens, they are rare.
A PT tore the ligaments in my foot (2011), they did heal with time and patience, this is the first year the weather no longer bothers my foot.
Glad you are finally on the right track with the support of your internist.
 
I have something I haven't mentioned before because I thought was normal post op pain but after meeting with my doctor yesterday, I'm not so sure. When the nerve block they gave me wore off the morning after my surgery, I noticed a sharp pain on the inside of my knee (I believe it's called the medial side?). I thought it was the ice wrap poking into my knee and expressed to my doctor. They took off the stabilizer and loosened the wrap. I felt better. However the pain was still there but not as intense. However, when I started PT that was the chief reason why my knee wouldn't bend. It was extremely painful whenever I would bend my knee. It is just as painful today. I told my OS about it at my six week check up but he said it was being pulled. I reminded him I told him about it right after my surgery but he had no comment. When I told my doctor about it yesterday, he was concerned but because I had taken my pain medicine, I couldn't pinpoint the exact spot where the pain was then we kind of forgot about it. A little while after I had gotten home, I had pain flare up I figured was from doing so much walking. Most of the pain was on the inside of the knee. It was so sensitive I couldn't even ice it. Now I'm thinking maybe it's not normal post op pain.
 
Jackieray, I'm no doctor and I can't say for sure, but this could simply be a tendon or ligament readjusting to it's new position. Remember that these structures can shorten significantly due to years of OA, and restoration of normal length and function takes time. Some of the worst trouble I had after my RTKR was a pinching sensation behind my knee and burning at the lateral back area- pain in two places. What I was feeling was an irritated hamstring and biceps femoris tendon. Extremely ouchie, but I just had to wait it out. After four months it is finally better, though I still feel it now and again. Be patient and continue to ice as needed.
 
I sure hope so. I feel like if my doctor had been concerned, he would have pursued it. I'm sure that what I'm already doing would be beneficial to whatever else is going on. Phew! What an adventure this has been!
 
You should be aware that the medial side of the knee cap is where the surgeon cuts around the knee cap to be able to flip it out of the way to access the joint for the replacement. It is then stitched back together when closing you up. It is not directly under your incision scar. I had considerable pain in that area early in my recovery especially during flexion. Now it's more of nuisance type of pain. @Timetolive has pain in that area also but her increased pain may have been caused by too aggressive PT.

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Thanks so much for your input smarttoys. That's what I was told early on in PT but I guess in just thought it would be better by now. I didn't worry so much because there is not a lot of swelling in that area and is pretty comfortable unless I'm bending it or doing a lot of walking like going to drs appts. I appreciate your sharing your experience. I sure don't want something else to be wrong. Can someone tell me how to tag someone?
 
I relate more to the MPFL pain. It wasn't caused by PT because I felt it the day after surgery when the nerve block wore off. It could been made worse by the PT. I had changed pts after the woman who was determined to get me to 120 in a day. They kind of rotated us in PT. You never knew who you were going to get. There were times the pts had 2 or 3 people they were working on at once. I started asking for a particular PT when I made my appointment. This was the guy who was bullying me but he was also the gentlest of all the pts. I knew what he was doing the day he was the hardest on me. He was trying to motivate me. One day I finally told him to just shut up. I told him that didn't work for me. Anyway, he used to just press hard on the medial side. It was similar to the massage suggested for MPFL without the massaging action. That did work for me so maybe that's what it is. Now it is being pulled on by the swelling from the ligment tear on the other side so maybe that's just keeping it irritated. I'll give it more time before begging for an MRI or something.
 
@Josephine
I'm not sure what to do now about heel slides. I'm not sure what to do about a torn ligament in conjunction with a tkr.
 
Hi Jackieray, I had my RTKR on Dec 7th, same day as you ! So glad you found someone to listen to you. I'm doing OK, little things here & there, nothing serious. P T people can be so rough on you sometimes, wish they weren't trained that way. With my first knee one of the therapists pushed me beyond what I could stand. Asked him to stop,he kept going. Well my good leg shot up & kicked him in the shoulder !! Not on purpose, automatic response to pain. He listened after that, ha,ha. But we can't go around kicking our therapists either !!! Hope with ice, elevation & rest you continue to do well.
 
Good for you, Karol. All I did was slap her hands off my leg but everyone heard. They tell you to relax but there is that kind of pain, your body automatically reacts which should be a sign to these aggressive pts. I'm glad you are doing well. I get so angry to think my recovery has been delayed but anger is not going to help and I pray that God will give me the grace to forgive.
 
Forgive me and no offense, but I'm skeptical that your internist (much as you love him) correctly diagnosed a "torn ligament". Wouldn't you want to confirm this with an orthopedic specialist and find out how to proceed?
 
Thanks for your concern and it's not something I haven't thought about. My OS with only looking at it said it was normal swelling. It's not normal swelling. It doesn't show up very well in the picture I posted on here. My internist did some tests that my OS at least should have done instead of announcing I need to have a MUA and in the same breath tell me I'm high risk for it. The only way to really be certain what is going on is to have an MRI. I'll give it a week doing what my dr said to do and if it's not showing some improvements, I'll have him suggest a different OS for me to see. I've read that sometimes doctors see what they are expecting to see and it takes a fresh pair of eyes.
 
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Jackieray said:
@Josephine
I'm not sure what to do now about heel slides. I'm not sure what to do about a torn ligament in conjunction with a tkr.
Click to expand...
Just don't do them. It will be okay. Is your ROM much the same since Wednesday 20th? If so they are perfectly ok for 7 weeks out. Best to let whatever it is settle down for now and then think again if necessary.
 
The stiffness seems to come and go. It's stiffer today since I haven't been up much but if I keep the ice on it and really keep them elevated, the stiffness gets better. I can still bend it and when I hang it off the sofa it will bend almost to 90 degree.
 
I just had the weirdest sensation for the second time since my surgery. First time it happened I was getting up from the toilet. I stood up and a few seconds I didn't feel any stiffness. It felt like a totally normal leg. It felt like it just went away. But then I took a step and the stiffness was there. It was really strange. Then just a few minutes ago, while standing up from a sitting position on the sofa, I felt it again. No stiffness and I could bend more than usual. I almost didn't post it because I thought these people are going to think I'm a nutcase but then I thought maybe someone else experienced this. Anybody have this?
 
Yes! It felt so wonderful! I had no idea there would be so many ups and downs during this recovery. I had a lot of trouble with pain last night. But the area that was so hard in the joint is starting to soften which may cause more pain because it was so swollen that it was numb. I was ready to call my doctor and and say its time for an MRI! But it's better this morning.
 
I noticed this morning that after taking it easy yesterday and staying off my feet, while I was stiff at first, I'm now noticing the swelling going down and I'm not as stiff. However, after I spent about 10 minutes fixing my breakfast, it started to stiffen and swell some. Off my feet again and hook up the ice machine! I'm really hoping the ligment is only sprained and not torn. That's a recovery that takes months! Like the rest of you, I want to get going! My grandson got me the new Lego Avenger's video game (the lego games are the only ones I can play
Lol!) so I'll have something new to do. Just had a meltdown. I'm physically and emotionally exhausted and just worry too much. I thought by six weeks I'd be whisking my grandson back to Atlanta. Now there's this other issue with the ligament/tendon whatever it is. I feel like a yo yo sometimes- first my knee is stiff then it's not stiff, then it's stiff again. I'm just having one big pity party! :beg:
 
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