swelling again....saw PT, can I vent please

[lilrosie06]

Joanne...Do you use the recumbant bike (the one that sits back further and has a back on the seat) or just the regular bike? Just curious. I find the recumbant bike is much easier. But 7 min. is very good. I had the weird feelings in my kneecap and behind following my LR too. How long has it been now??

What sort of weight machine did you use?? Do you  use the leg press??

My knee has been very hot to touch and so so tender. I dont like that. Many say its inflammation. Im so afraid of infection. But more answers tomorrow, I guess, as I see my OS at 11:15....yikes. Im so scared.

Let me know about the bike and stuff....and hang in there....

DONNA

[tanyap]

Joanne, that could be tendons that are causing that feeling, its actually similiar to the feeling I get behind my knee, a kind of a tightening (or soreness), that then gets suddenly released, in my case it released with a 'crack' but I get similiar feeling inside my knee that dont crack, they just release.

My understanding is that its tendons - the muscles are not strong, the tendons end up taking some strain that they normally wouldnt and that 'release' is either a tendon moving over bone and back into a normal position or it snapping back into its normal position (crack when it moves over bone). When the muscles get strong it is supposed to stop happening cos then the tendons are not getting the strain of weak muscles.

Alternatively it can be shortened tendons (from dis-use), stretching and snapping round the place.

Thats what my last PT said it was. I get a lot of that 'pressure builds up, then release' feelings - if you hear of an alternative explanation from you PT do share, cos Ive never really been sold on the shortened tendons one

oh and btw - 14 mins is pretty good in the gym at this stage.
Do RICE after every exercise session. I had to do it for a couple of months 2 years ago, I swelled up every time.

[Sore knee]

Thanks guys

I use the bike with the seat.

I was pleased but the ache today is not good, kind of depresses me a bit but you have to fight through to hopefully get somewhere. I amn't sure, Tanya I will ask PT and see what they say, its such a strange feeling, it doesn't crack its like the pain increases, and increases and increases and its as if the knee cap moves or something happens and it releases in the way that its as if something does slide or slip over or something like that, I know I amn't describing it very well but this is a new development for me as I have not done the bike thing before. After last session he told me just to go off and try these things, start at the deep end and work back etc so maybe its a good thing. It may the tendons I amn't sure but sounds plausible but I don;t have the crack.

The only time I have cracking is when I lock the leg straight and go to release it, thats when I get the cracking noise.

Aaahh the joys of knees. How are you doing today ?

Donna

I think it is the leg press, glad to know I had the same as you, does this mean its normal ?
How are you feeling today. At least your apt is tomorrow and hopefully no infection. YOu have coped admirably with all this and are an inspiration  Stay strong !!!!!

[Sore knee]

Had a bad day yesterday, the pain was just gnawing away all day and its still swollen. The heat is down just swelling remains. So out of desparation I phoned the PT as I thought what am I paying for, in pain and on top of that feeling rotten about even seeing the PT.

I said I had just reached the end of my tether with this knee. i said I knew my case was trivial compared to many more serious ones he saw but I had to live with this on a daily basis and it was becoming ever more frustrating. I also said I knew from our last session that he was frustrated with the progress and said he had to know I am trying my very best and also that I work with pain every day.

I also told him that I had went to speak to my Mum and asked her my knee history. I have had knee pain from a very early age reguklarly waking up during the night crying and some of my youngest years are memrories of my Dad cuping my knee with his hands as I lay sobbing. So from around the age of 5 years onwards I remember having a troublesome knee. I spent years being passed round from one physio to another aparently. Mum told me in my early teens they wanted to break part of one of the bones and re-set it but as it wasn't guaranteed success at that time my parents said no. I had my leg regulalry taped from shin up to my thigh to try and support muscles and make them work - or something like that. She said I was always complaining of pain but x-rays etc never showed any real defects. They said roughening of the back of the knee cap for a while and I had to stop all sports for several years. Eventually she said I just got on with it, during my late teens etc I just took painkillers and wanted to lead a normal life but always complained of the knee and as it was never fully resolved.

So I gave the PT a quick run down of the breaking bone thing - can't quite see how that would work and said I would tell him the rest when I saw him and he reassured me he wasn't frustrated with me, he knew I was trying my best and maybe I just needed to rest more. I said I could not do less than what I was doing, compared to how active I used to be now was about as quiet as it gets. I said if he wanted me to do less it would be lay horizontal all day, he said maybe it was the kids then that I wasn;t getting enough chance to take it easy. I said compared to how my life was really this is nothing now. I said I wished I had never had the LR as I am in more pain now nearly all the time compared to before the LR. I said I have opened a Pandoras box and now am afraid this is how I will have to live. He said he felt if we could regain the muscle strength it would help considerably but right now he didn't know how to do that, this bio feedback would maybe give us something to work with. He didn't think he had ever seen a knee like mine before and how it was a challenge. SO he said not to worry, don;t give up and we would continue battling on.

I think pain must have spurred me on to be brave enough to call him and say we either needed a new direction or I had had enough, but at least I feel as if we have cleared the air. I just can't quite get my head round your knee should be fine now if we can get muscles stronger and the pain thing. I guess if something was obviously wrong then there could be a fix as such but its never that easy.

So anyway thats my news and I hope progress from here and get the pain down !

[*Margaret]

joane,


hang in there, things will get better

here is a BIG HUG

[tanyap]

Hi Joanne,
Things WILL get better, you hang in there and do the exercises you can and just keep trying with the ones that are causing most difficulty.
The important thing to remember is that it CAN take a lot of time and hard work. Ive been 3.5 months with my new physio and Ive only started being able to do one of the exercises in the past week.
Sometimes you try to make your body do an exercise but if the brain isnt firing the muscle all you get is frustration, BUT, if you just keep at it and keep at it, eventually the brain will kick in and start using the muscle again, its like keep 'manually' making the muscle do the exercise, and then one day itll happen automatically.
I like to use the analogy of learning to play a musical instrument, when you start you have to 'think' about each finger press on the piano key for example, then one day your brain takes over and your fingers just do it.

It sure sounds like you have muscles not firing. Talk to your PT about an e-stim machine.

The bone break thing is possibly a TTT - they move where the patella tendon attaches to the top of your tibia for a better alignment - I had it done. Its not fun, it didnt solve my problems either - but I think its a successful surgery in a lot of cases. They done mine with an LR and VMO advancement at the same time. So it wasnt just a TTT on its own I had to recover from - perhaps the TTT was successful but the other stuff wasnt? who knows!!

Im glad you cleared the air with your physio.

Keep your spirits up Joanne - you WILL get better.
xxx
Tanya

[Sore knee]

The musical inbstrument is a very good analogy, boy I hope the biofeedback works or does something.

I think my knee may just be odd, I have now come to the conclusion there is a long history with no resolve and perhaps my first OS was too ready to jump in without considering the whys or hows etc. He only did 2 xrays and that was all. However I am here now so will battle on and hope for some resolve and lower pain levels

How are you doing today, have you had a good weekend and has the knee behaved itself ?

[trainwreck]

Hey you,

How are you doing?  I hope you are having a pain free day and have played hard this weekend.  Let us know how you are.

Allison

[kc1124]

Hi Joanne,

I have been reading your thread and I am so sorry you are having such a difficult time.  Please know that you are in my thoughts and prayers and I am pulling for you.  I have been more of a lurker than a poster lately, but please know, I am here for you.

Kat

[Sore knee]

Awwww  thanks so much for your support. I feel a bit of a cheat when I read some of the other new posts and the serious dilemmas going on with folk's knees.

Mine is just frustrating really. Its the ache, grrrrrrr you know if I could find the exact spot in my knee where it is I would dig it out with a spoon !

Anyway you cheered me so much. I am hoping thursday brings some direction again and I hope that will give us somethign to work with. I have decided in my head I am going to work really hard until January and if its no better by then - well perhaps its time to get more advice at that point. That will be 8 months from the LR and 5 months after the chondroplasty. SO I figure that should give me enough time to work really hard at PT and hope to see swelling diminish a bit, function increase and strength increase. If its still the same merry go round at that point then I reckon its time to figure it out.

So head down and just try and get on with it and deal with the frustration ! You are the best.

Allison, I have PMed you , you are a shining STAR !!!!!

Kat I worry about you, PMed you too and hope you are hanging in there ok ((((hugs)))

[*Margaret]

JOANNE,

i PMed you a little bit ago. hope to talk to you soon