hi.. I had lateral release done on my
left knee almost 3 yrs ago, and now and
since the surgery the pain will not go
away, I was at church a few wks back, went
down stairs and my leg went out on me, and
I then had to climb back up the stairs to
go home. Since then I have had pain in
and around the knee as well as the upper
& lower parts of the leg, so much, I
can't go to sleep, and the pain just
shoots in there like someone has stabed me
with a hot pick. It cracks as well , and
goes out on me to much. I had the surgery
because I fell on the sidewalk when I was
holding my then 1yr old son, to keep him
from hitting the sidewalk I placed all my
weight on to my left side and fell stright
down onto the left side of my kneecap. I
have taken 800mg of motrin, dosen't touch
the pain. Dosen't even come close to
helping. I wonder if I have done
something to the knee again to keep from
falling down the stairs, or is it due to
having the surgery. Either way, I am in
pain, and need some help. I was just
wondering if anyone else has had this
surgery and has never been the same since
having it done. My range of motion is
really bad!!!!!!!!! Went to look for a
bike yesterday, and could not make the
knee go even one round it hurt to much.
Any idea"s or advice will help allot.
Thanks.....
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laura_2003
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 29 Dec 2003 Posts: 17
Posted: 08-07-04 07:02am
Several months ago I had a knee surgery
and a release was also done as one part of
the surgery. I myself don't have any
problems. I am a martial artist and have
started training again.
You say that you have been having that
pain for several weeks now. What are you
waiting for? See a doctor. The longer
you wait, the worse the situation will
get.
I don't know what you did after your
surgery. But the 1st step is finding a
good doctor. Get a 2nd opinion, a 3rd if
necesarry and then decide who you'll
trust. I myself saw 4 doctors before
chosing the one who'll do my surgery. The
2nd step is finding a good therapist. Did
you do therapy? Hard enough? Long
enough? If you don't do therapy and
rehabilitation after the surgery, you will
not and cannot recover. Plain and simple.
The more time after the surgery passes
without proper and regular therapy, the
more problems you will have and the
possibility of full recovery is less and
less.
It has been a while now after your
surgery. I don't know what the condition
of your knee is right now. Maybe an mri
wouldn't be a bad idea. See a good doctor
and let him examine your knee thoroughly.
Hope it all goes well for you.
I just had a lateral release one and a
half months ago. I had a lot of bruising
on my knee after the operation. But it
has subsided. The thing is, my knee is
still swelling. It isn't as big as it
was before but it hasn't subsided very
much either. They say, the older you
are, the longer it takes to heal but i'm
only 35 yrs.
I really don't know what to do, at this
stage. I go for pt and do my exercises
regularly and i'm back to work after 5
weeks but because of the limited space at
my cubicle, my leg gets quite painful.
Any advice?
Btw, i'm sure that I will still feel pain
in the knee after this coz my cartilage is
worn off and the lateral release was done
to just correct the knee alignment.
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laura_2003
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 29 Dec 2003 Posts: 17
Posted: 08-25-04 08:08am
Hello nc,
i am sorry to hear that you are still in
pain. I honestly don't know whether or
not it's normal to feel that much pain and
have that much swelling. Have you seen
your doctor recently? Do you have
check-ups? What did the doctor say?
After the surgery I did therapy 4 weeks
long and then I started doing
rehabilitation at the gym. My cartilage
was also badly damaged but after all the
therapy and exercising, now 6 months after
the surgery my doctor examined my knee and
was very pleased to see that my knee is
stronger and that my cartilage has
improved.
You have to be patient. Sometimes things
don't heal from today to tomorrow. My
doctor told me in the very beginning that
my recovery would last 6 months and that's
how it was.
Are you sure that you found a good
therapist who knows his/her work? Maybe
you should talk to your doctor and let him
recommend someone good.
Hope everything works out for you.
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NC
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 20 Aug 2004 Posts: 2
Lateral Release And Chronic Pain Posted: 08-25-04 08:44am
Hi laura,
thanks for your message.
I saw my doctor 3 weeks ago. All he said
was that I was slow in healing. He said
that the swelling should have reduced 3
weeks after the operation. It's been
almost 2 months and it's still swollen.
I'm giving it till end of the week to see
if the swelling subsides even if it's just
by a little bit. If not, i'm going to
see him again.
The therapist has been great and she's
been helping me a lot. 2 weeks after the
operation, I went to see her. At that
time, I couldn't even lift my left of the
ground because of the muscle. Now I can.
I'm cycling, doing leg press, and I do
my own exercises with the weights. But
all this hasn't helped the knee reduce in
swelling.
I guess the pain is due to the swelling.
Once that goes down, I shouldn't have much
pain.
I'll take your advice and be more patient.
I'll keep icing the leg. I even bought
and cold pack and have been icing my leg
in the office while working.
I'll let you know when everything goes
back to normal.
Thanks again!
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laura_2003
New User, Becoming EHEALTHy
Joined: 29 Dec 2003 Posts: 17
Posted: 08-26-04 04:25am
I am glad to hear that your therapist is
skilled. That is of utmost importance.
But i'm still worried about the constant
swelling you are having. Does your
therapist ice your knee before every
therapy? My therapist did it that way and
I have never ever had swelling. Maybe
here and there some minor swelling, but
generally taken nothing.
Your doctor does not seem to be concerned.
Maybe he is right. After all he is the
doctor. Would you be interested in seeing
another doctor and getting a 2nd opinion?
You don't have to tell your doctor about
it, but it would be good to hear what
somebody else has to say. That's what I
would recommend. Maybe I am exaggerating.
But that's better than having problems.
Make sure to rest your knee and leg. When
you lie down, put a pillow or something
under your leg and rest your knee that way
for a while.
Are your exercises too difficult for you?
Under all the pressure of exercising, it
is possible that water (or some fluid, I
don't know the right medical term) gathers
in the knee. Talk to your therapist.
Maybe changing the exercises will do the
trick. We are all different after all.
When there is a knee injury, a certain
cyst appears in the knee. It's called
baker's cyst. And it causes the
swelling/the fluid to accumulate. There
are doctors who would remove it but I
think that my doctor is right when he says
that that cyst is not the cause of a knee
injury, it's actually the consequence. So
when the knee problem is solved, the cyst
disappears. And that's how it was with my
knee. So think about it a little bit.
Was your doctor satisfied with how he
performed the surgery?
