TKR Unknown lump on front of knee'

[Jackieray]

I had surgery on the Dec. 7 and on the 15th (I know my I texted my daughter about it), I was doing heel slides on the wall and I was measuring about 86 flexion and I had 0 extension from the get go, she was starting to measure and suddenly pushed really hard and I yelled out and sat straight up, pushing at her hands to let go. I just sobbed. Then it wasn't too long after that I noticed the spot on my knee that started swelling and has caused trouble ever since. What was the rush!! I was doing pretty good it being the beginning of the second week!

 

[Jackieray]

@Clipless If you read the posters underneath the article, one lady says she had been to Bonesmart and that we were just looking for an "excuse not to engage in any rehabilitation that causes the slightest discomfort." Last name Gabriel I think. Obviously she didn't read much on here.

 

[Clipless]

That might have been a troll. One guy has a personal campaign to put down Bonesmart on social media. He rants under various aliases. He seems mentally ill to me.

 

[Jackieray]

Could be. I know I'm going to hang on to that article and show it to any future PT I go to if I go at all.

@KarriB Whenever I get afraid of my knee not bending , I think "it'll bend when I tell it to bend".
Your story has given me a lot of hope for an eventual good outcome.

 

[KarriB]

It was stiff @Jackieray , but it did bend. I actually had stopped almost all pain meds except one or two oxycodones in the evening or before bed and started again when the no bending order was lifted. I hope all goes well for you.

 

[Josephine]

@Clipless If you read the posters underneath the article, one lady says she had been to Bonesmart and that we were just looking for an "excuse not to engage in any rehabilitation that causes the slightest discomfort." Last name Gabriel I think. Obviously she didn't read much on here.

I posted on it! If it is a troll, s/he's bound to respond!

 

[Josephine]

Josephine,, Ace makes something called Knee Brace with Side Stabilizers. I bought it and only put it on when I walk. It makes the pain so much better. I wouldn't mind keeping it on all the time but am not sure if that's good for my replacement. Also, is there such a thing as icing too much? The only time I don't ice is when I get up and that's not for long.

I think maybe wear it for limited periods, and hour or two a day but not all the time.

Fantastic article, thank you for sharing it! Moderators, doesn't this article needs its own sticky here?

I'll make a article of it for the Scientific Articles section.

 

[kneeper]

But the area that was so hard in the joint is starting to soften.

I told you so!

You can get the weirdest pains one day and feel pretty good the next. All part of recovery. Congratulations on the little "normal" preview.

 

[kneeper]

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.

Yes, the stiffness with standing takes a long time to go away. You are in very early days, so I think you're pretty typical in this regard. You did just right to then get off your feet and elevate.

 

[Jackieray]

@Josephine Thanks for your input. I think I'll just put it on when I walk. It's made neoprene so the knee can still bend a little but not enough to strain the ligaments. I'm going to call my internist on Monday and ask him to talk to my OS. I would just like to know exactly what's going and if we need to do an ultrasound or something, then let's do it. Whenever I do walk, there's kind of a movement like a flutter where that swollen bump is. I always thought maybe it was fluid moving around but I don't know now.

 

[Jackieray]

Yesterday I had a little upset tummy (red beans? Haha) and didn't feel well and that kind of set me off feeling sorry for myself and worrying. My faith is very important to me so I picked up my Bible and just started reading and just a few verses in I read "let not your heart be troubled nor let it be afraid". Just what I needed!

 

[karol723]

Hi Jackieray, So easy to worry & feel sad, isn't it ? Glad that reading those verses in the Bible helped you. I drove to the post office yesterday,only # 3 miles. Walked around stores for maybe 20 minutes and drove back home. Boy, just that little bit of activity got my knee/leg aching again. Also my swelling increased. So, back to the sofa with pillows and ice. Much better this morning. Today is my sister in laws Birthday, going out for dinner to celebrate with family. Trying to figure out what to wear so my foot and leg will be comfortable. It will be nice to get out and not have to make dinner. Hope you have a good day !

 

[Jackieray]

@karol723 So glad to hear you are getting out. I really want to and would like to get back to doing some Bonesmart therapy but since I don't know exactly what's wrong with the ligament, I'm not sure what it's ok to do. Dr said elevate, ice and stir around a little. I'm going to call him tomorrow and tell him I want to find out exactly what's wrong. Seems like I spend all day getting the swelling down and it comes back if I'm on my feet for just a few minutes! Even if you have to ice a little extra tomorrow, I'm sure it will feel good to be out with other people. Maybe take a small sofa pillow to prop your foot on. Have fun!

 

[Jackieray]

This swelling is getting to me. It just seems to move around in my knee. If I'm elevating high, the swelling will be on top of my knee. But it doesn't ever seem to go away. I know there's sort of a capsule of fluid around it. It feels like this fluid just moves around. I've got to move around some though. The muscles in my back are so sore and the T-11 and T-12 surgery I had 20 years ago and has never bothered me since has risen it's ugly head. I like wearing the soft brace because it seems to provide the compression to keep the swelling down. I got in my van and drove for the first time since Dec. 6. All I did was drive up our road, turned around and came back. That little normal made me feel so much better. I was seriously feeling panicky, of what I really don't know. But we live on 50 acres and I don't see people very much. No neighbors close. I normally love it. I've got my big garden. The wild life is incredible but it can feel really isolated if I'm not getting out. Happily the grocery is about 8 minutes down the road and I may have myself a little outing. I think doing something for my emotional health can make my physical healing better.

 

[Jackieray]

Hahaha! I wrote the above yesterday but forgot to post it! I had so much anxiety yesterday and I couldn't seem to work myself out of it. I have some Ativan my doctor gave me several years ago to help me sleep. Since they are an anti-anxiety medicine, I took just one. It helped so much! I was able to relax and that helped my knee to relax so it didn't feel as tight. I have an appointment with my internist this morning. I'm going to ask to please schedule MRI, ultrasound, CT scan whatever can see what's happening to the soft tissues around my knee. I know I'll feel better if I know exactly what's going on.

I talked a physical therapist that I've known since he was in high school with my son 15 yrs ago. He told me that a pt should develop a program for each patient not some overall one size fits all. He said an athlete would need a different program from a grandma like me whose goals are to take care of my grandchildren, home, with some gardening. He also said I needed to get some films to know what's going on. It felt strange talking to someone I knew as a snot nosed kid and crazy teen but he has done so well since he grew up. He has family that he's devoted to and works in the burn trauma unit which has got to be hard.

I'll post results of tests.

 

[karol723]

Hi Jackieray, hope whatever tests the do for you don't show anything too serious. I know for me sometimes I just need to be reassured that all the wierd things going on are part of recovering. I did enjoy going out for dinner with family the other day. However I didn't elevate my leg & ended up sitting with my leg down for 3 hrs. Boy, did I pay for that overnight & the next day. Next time, I'll elevate & not care about how that looks ! Lesson learned. I saw my pt yesterday and told him how tight my whole leg has been feeling, especially the back of my lower leg. He used this circular vibrating massage machine along the back of my whole leg. It felt sooo good and my leg seems straighter & stronger today. Will make sure he uses that machine on my leg again. He said that now it's important for me to let him know what area is bothering me so he can focus on that part. Says I have very tight hamstrings, need to work on that. Doing stretches at home, hopefully will loosen things up. Glad you found a way to reduce your anxiety, I know its so easy to make ourselves crazy with the "what ifs" !! Hope today is a good one for you.

 

[Jackieray]

@Josephine
@Celle
Went to see my internist on Tuesday and we all had a big powwow with doctors and nurses. The official diagnoses is IT band tendinitis. There will be no MUA at least right now. They started this "window of opportunity" business and I told them I understood that it's probably better to do it early if you're sure it's needed. But to do it to just gain more ROM and not for adhesions (which they said that's why they wanted to do it because I don't have adhesions), thanks, but I would rather work on getting the swelling down. His PA asked me did I feel movement under the swelling and I told them , yes. I've felt that all along. So I told them I was not going back to their pt because I don't believe in aggressive pt for me and I didn't appreciate being bullied and embarrassed under the idea he was "motivating" me. I told them about the article. They all looked surprised except for my regular doctor and he was aware of the controversy. So I have an appt at a place called Results Physiology for a consultation only to see IF they can help me reduce the swelling without causing more. I'm also getting the cpm machine back not to get anymore rom but because it helped with the stiffness. The swelling has already gone some. It's changing I know. It feels tighter when it moves across the top of my knee. Any info on
IT band problems is appreciated!

 

[referee54]

I am happy that you found the answers and responded in the manner in which you did. You are being proactive and standing up for yourself---YOU are taking charge of your recovery!

I am glad that you were candid and honest with them---the IT Band issue is something that many of us have had to deal with---pesky, but it is manageable.

I had IT Band issues in stereo after my BTKR, I did stretches and I did ice massage on the affected area.

For ice massage, take Dixie cups and fill them with water, then freeze them. Put the ice directly on the sore area, and, as the water melts, peal the paper away. They look like this:

If you feel that you can do the stretches, for the IT Band, here they are.

I know with your ROM where it is and where you are in recovery that these would probably be "down the road" for you, but they did help me out greatly when I had issues, too.

Did they talk to you about anti-inflammatory meds?

 

[Josephine]

IF they can help me reduce the swelling without causing more

I think that sounds rather like an oxymoron!

 

[Jackieray]

@referee54 the PA did suggest the Dixie cups. And she told me to stay on the meloxicam. I had switched to Advil but she said that could sometimes cause bleeding. If u can feel better about a problem, I think I would rather deal with the it band than a torn lcl from things I've read.

@Josephine I thought about that right after I wrote it. Lol!

I have my sweet little 12 month old granddaughter here for a two hour trial. She's the best medicine in the world. Not walking yet so no chasing around after her and loves toys so that keeps her happy. I'm a happy camper right now!