unable to move quad after patella femoral arthroplasty :(

[2Wendy2]

Hello - I had patella femoral arthroplasty (basically "partial knee replacement" knee cap replacement and tochlear groove) on Jan 17th. I have been unable to get my quadricep to activate since surgery & the pain in my quad has been worse than the pain in my knee thus far in my recovery. I consider myself to be strong - do pilates & yoga and cycle on a weekly basis, so I went into the surgery very strong. I have heard that the tourniquet used during surgery can damage the quad and wondered if anyone else has had this problem. My leg feels terribly heavy and I am working daily on exercises from my PT to activate the quad . . . with no luck. Surgeon ordered a Kneehab machine and I hope to receive it on Monday. Could this be permanent? I'm a little worried

[2Wendy2]

If anyone has information or experience with quad weakness - please let me know. I'm now 4 weeks out from patellafemoral replacement and PT's finally admitted they are concerned about my lack of quad activity . . . I read about femoral nerve damage?

[Jo L]

How are things going for you Wendy? I am ten weeks post PKR and am really struggling to walk because of weak quads. Before the op I had numerous dislocations and my quad had totally wasted to the point of not being able to do a straight leg lift at all! I have been doing my PT exercises everyday since the replacement and can now do leg lifts but the quad weakness is really effecting my walking (still using sticks). I also seem to have a delay in my leg reaction, I really have to think about moving my leg when I take a step.