breaking tissue and ROM

[brianajade]

Sarah,
 Thanks for the words of encouragement.  I underwent a MUA this morning and can bring my foot up to within 2 inches of my bootie!  Of course I'm still under the pain protection of a neural knee block and we'll see how sore I really am after 24 hours.  I do have pain meds ready.
 I spoke with several sports PTs, and they seemed to agree that the pain and slow progress of regaining complete ROM is unnecessary.  My doctor agreed.
I'm in a time crunch as my new training and competition season are coming up in June and July.  I'm psyched about it today and hope it was the right decision for me.
And your story?
BrianaJade

[MarkInLA]

I've been reading about "scar tissue protocol" in PT.  Can anyone elaborate on just what that is?  Thx!  FYI -- I'm in my usual lay down position of CPM while I post.  I'm sure lots of you can relate...

[favouritesearcher]

This link has information on the scar tissue protocol:

http://www.kneeguru.co.uk/KNEEtalk/index.php?topic=13317.0

John

[kellybirnbrich]

It is so good to read so many of the posts of people experiencing the same things.

I, like many, am stuck at 85 degrees.   Gravity doesn't pull it any further either.   My doc said no more PROM, and for me to work through the pain on my own, without meds.   I am seeking another opinion for MUA; it seems like my only option at this point.   My goal is for 120 degrees, but even 100 would be acceptable at this point.

I never thought I'd regress this much.    My original post is under soft tissue.   I'm the lat. tib. plat. fracture.

Thanks again for all of your insights!

Kelly

[stgiles16]

IF your knee is full of scar tissue, why not go for an LOA instead of an MUA, an MUA can be SO TRAUMATIC that you can damage other parts inside your leg. I have read horror stories about MUAs. I had an LOA and did great afterwards.
missy

[hottubpam]

FYI:  I had an MUA with a "partial" LOA and it was a complete failure.  Scar tissue grew back and ROM got worse then before the MUA and I was bruised from my hip/butt to my ankle for weeks.  I "fired" that OS and found one that has a lot of experience with scar tissue (arthrofibrosis).   My current OS says never never never do an MUA on a patient with recurrent scar tissue problems.

Pam

[Heather M.]

Ditto to Missy and Pam--you have a fracture in your knee, which should automatically make you ineligible for an MUA.  It has a risk of causing patellar or femur fractures, or rupturing ligaments/tendons.

Instead of finding a doctor and asking him/her to do what you want, I really would see a surgeon who specialize in scar tissue.  Don't muck around with someone who doesn't know what they are doing with scar tissue, because it is extremely tricky to deal with.  If you get it properly dealt with by someone who knows what they are doing, six months from now you could be getting back to your old non-impact activities.  Maybe even impact ones, depending on your fracture.  Where if you go with someone who treats your scarred knee like a normal one (i.e. does an MUA and sends you out to PT on your own with no special guidelines) you run the risk of the scar tissue coming back.  You don't want this....trist me. 

If you want to post the general area where you live, someone can likely recommend a doctor with lots of experience to help you.  I have to travel to see mine, but it's worth it!

Heather