Sports Medicine

Total knee replacement

06/25/2009

Question:

Hi I`m a 23 year old hemophiliac that had a total knee replacement. Its been 5 months since the surgery, and went through 4 months of PT. Towards the last month of PT i had minimal pain. Since PT has ended 3weeks ago i haven`t really exercised except for my walking around and standing 8hrs a day at work. With that being said i have been having pain in my knee all over again. It feels like i took a step back in the healing process. The muscles around my knee have been severely worn due to the effects of the hemophilia, and i was wondering if that could be the reason for my pain coming back 3 weeks after my PT ended. Also my knee seems to be popping more. Could it have loosened?

Answer:

Restarting the exercises that you had during PT could help and should be safe to resume even after three weeks. The popping is usually due to muscle weakness or scar tissue and not from loosening of the joint, but if you are really concerned, follow up with your surgeon.

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Response by:

Tammy S. Wadsworth, PT MS OCS
Sports Medicine Team Member
OSU Outpatient Rehabilitation Center at Hilliard
Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
College of Medicine
The Ohio State University