knee pain post surgery

[Jay66n]

I am t my wits end. My husband has knee replacement surgery in Dec 2021. All was fine to start off with and he had a good range of movement. For the last 6-8 months he has been struggling with pain and movement. He can’t walk far and for long without pain relief. He has been back to see his consultant who just advises that the surgery went well and there are no problems. He has been to see numerous GPs who have prescribed ibuprofen and paracetamol which was useless especially as he should never have been prescribed ibuprofen as he take a blood thinner. Now he has been given codamol and this is not working either. He has requested an arthroscopy as he feels there may be some debris and he had similar pain before the op with debris from a damaged cartilage. I don’t know what to do as clearly there is something wrong but all the GPS and his consultant are just saying he needs to live with the pain. Surely there must be something? Has anyone had this problem and can offer any advise

[happytulip]

Has he had any post op imaging or post op physio?

[Jay66n in reply to happytulip]

Yes he went through 12 months of physio and has had post op images all of which were deemed good. After the initial physio he was fine with just a small amount of pain

[usr2022 in reply to Jay66n]

MRI scan? Even those are not fully conclusive.Not to mention there are 2 types used 1.5T and 3T and the quality of image varies.

An arthroscopy could reveal a hidden cause, but it is invasive (and expensive) and not without risks.

There is a therapy called MBST that could help heal. But if there is some hidden cause that needs surgical fixing, that should be done first and MBST as part of recovery afterwards.

Is it possible to get second opinion from another orthopedic surgeon? One that is experienced in knee surgery.

[Scotsman53]

I was in exactly the same situation a few years ago. Eventually it became clear my pain was neuroplastic. Just google that word, there's loads of info out there. One site I found particularly helpful is tmswiki.org/forum. This summer I've been hillwalking.

[cyberbarn]

It sounds like your husband should now be referred to the pain management clinic. It is natural to think that if there is pain there must be something in the knee causing it, but there are also other things that can go wrong with the pain circuitry in other parts of the body that will have an effect on how pain is felt on the knee.

[katieoxo60]

Hi Jay66n, I appreciate your concern I had post op pain similar to the pain before op and was given all sorts for it . It is still there and I am told it is not actually the knee joint but Bursitis which is some sort of inflammation. Last consultation offered two more injections or put up with it as I have had most treatments that are available. So best wishes to resolve your husbands pain and stay optimistic. I now take a slow release opiod as some drugs are taboo due to other illness like your husband.