Tight horizontal incision.........Stuck knee when sleeping

[Guest guest]

-Thank You to everyone who responded to my posting.

I am so fortunate to have all of you who can relate.

I will let you know what happens with pain management.

I am totally afraid to come off of my pain meds

because they barely take the edge off of my pain. The

ortho said no more vicodin, I have been on it for 5

years and still it does not kill the pain enough to

drive a car or do much, even play music because I

cannot stand the pain of tapping my foot. I am still

in disbelief of the diagnosis and will seek a MRI I

have not had one for several years and was just

waiting patiently for joint replacement. ( I am only

40)

I have a few things I am wondering

=== Pain when sleeping

I sleep with pillows all around my knees to keep them

from bending too much. Does any one have this, If I

go into a deep sleep and relax too much my knees get

stuck and I cannot straighten them with out someones

help. It is the most intensive pain is asthough the

bones slip out of place.

The pain makes me weep it is so bad my boyfriend cries

too as he helps me straighten the legs.

====Pain and tightness from incesion

The worst of my two knees has an incision across the

top of it horizontal it is very tight and hurts and

the knee cap pops with the fabric of pants touching

it. I have been wondering if a skin grph would loosen

it up. Maybe this tightness is causing my knee cap to

be pushed down too hard.

I had the surgery 30 years ago and that insision has

always

been so tight?

Thanks again for your thoughts.

--Pattie..

[Guest guest]

I didn't see your original post. What is that incision from? There could be a

lot of scar tissue mixed in with your quads where they're trying to become the

patellar tendon & I could imagine that would cause all kinds of problems.

Someone here said that if a surgeon goes in to remove scar tissue, more and

worse scar tissue forms, but (a) I'll bet that doesn't happen 100% of the time

(here's an article that talks about removing scar tissue & reducing the

formation of post surgical scar tissue:

http://my.webmd.com/hw/arthritis/hw209368.asp ) (here's another site that talks

about preventing scar tissue after surgery:

http://www.hsrnj.com/Post-OpInstructions/CarpalTunnel.asp ), ( I'll bet a

plastic reconstructive surgeon could do it (insurance may cover plastic

reconstructive surgery), and © once, about a year ago, someone posted here a

link to a site for a product that can be put inside an incision to keep scar

tissue from forming during healing (however, I didn't save the link and in my

search I was only able to find references to transforming growth factor beta 3,

which is found in abundance in embryos, where it prevents scar formation; adults

don't have nearly as much of it and consequently form scars:

http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99994218 and

http://www.ingenta.com/isis/searching/ExpandTOC/ingenta?issue=pubinfobike://rsl/\

rtb/2004/00000359/00001445 & index=12) As far as the FDA is concerned, this may

still be experimental -- I don't know. Didn't find much on it.

For an uncomfortably technical abstract, see

http://www.nature.com/cgi-taf/DynaPage.taf?file=/nbt/journal/v22/n8/abs/nbt995.h\

tml & dynoptions=doi1093980639. Otherwise, I searched on " prevent scar tissue

surgery " and came up with several sites.

(One of the sites recommended IV fluoroquinolone after surgery -- I don't

recommend this. Despite the soothing remarks about mild side effects, I've

known people who ended up with autoimmune diseases after using this drug.)

You can also try using The Stick (here I go again with the stick -- I can't

believe how much this has helped my neck! Thanks to whoever mentioned it,

although that might have been the ITBS group). It would probably take a long

time, but 2-3 massage sessions daily on that heavily scarred area might

eventually soften the scar tissue (The Stick goes way deeper than you can with

your thumbs, and pushes -- stretches -- the tissues), and, according to my

massage therapist, although I'm not sure where she gets her info, massaging

softens and realigns the randomly distributed scar fibers so that they're

compatible with the muscles fibers. The problem with this approach is that it

takes a long time, but (if your problem is scar tissue), if you had a plastic

surgeon remove the existing scar tissue (and if you do, be sure to ask if

there's a substance that can be put into the wound to reduce subsequent scar

formation), then used The Stick on it as it healed, you might find quite a bit

of relief. If you did the stretching/softening/realignment without having the

original scar tissue removed, it seems to me it wouldn't be as successful

because of the fact that scars don't like to stretch, and your quads need to be

able to stretch as they go into the knee.

Here's a non-medical abstract that talks about the interference of scar tissue

with normal tissue function: http://www.massagemag.com/2001/issue91/scar.htm .

Here's one that recommends circular and cross-motion massage:

http://www.newcastle-hospitals.org.uk/v2/PDF/patientleaflets/Rehabilitation/Larg\

e/Scar%20Management.pdf . I think they're addressing surficial scars. Here's

another rehab site that recommends transverse massage (deep tissue):

http://www.thewolfeclinic.com/deeptissue.html . OK, maybe I'm wrong. It just

makes sense to me that if deep tissue massage can realign the random directions

of the scar fibers, you'd want them going in the direction of the muscle it's

interfering with. In any case, in searching on " scar massage " I found many

sites that say that the scar fibers can be realigned. However, these are not

medical sites.

OTOH, if your incision actually cut through the quads or tendons, then maybe you

could get those put back together, since it's crippling you.

All this is just my guess at what may be wrong. I'm not a doctor, and I've been

known to be completely off.

Ann

Tight horizontal incision.........Stuck

knee when sleeping

-Thank You to everyone who responded to my posting.

I am so fortunate to have all of you who can relate.

I will let you know what happens with pain management.

I am totally afraid to come off of my pain meds

because they barely take the edge off of my pain. The

ortho said no more vicodin, I have been on it for 5

years and still it does not kill the pain enough to

drive a car or do much, even play music because I

cannot stand the pain of tapping my foot. I am still

in disbelief of the diagnosis and will seek a MRI I

have not had one for several years and was just

waiting patiently for joint replacement. ( I am only

40)

I have a few things I am wondering

=== Pain when sleeping

I sleep with pillows all around my knees to keep them

from bending too much. Does any one have this, If I

go into a deep sleep and relax too much my knees get

stuck and I cannot straighten them with out someones

help. It is the most intensive pain is asthough the

bones slip out of place.

The pain makes me weep it is so bad my boyfriend cries

too as he helps me straighten the legs.

====Pain and tightness from incesion

The worst of my two knees has an incision across the

top of it horizontal it is very tight and hurts and

the knee cap pops with the fabric of pants touching

it. I have been wondering if a skin grph would loosen

it up. Maybe this tightness is causing my knee cap to

be pushed down too hard.

I had the surgery 30 years ago and that insision has

always

been so tight?

Thanks again for your thoughts.

--Pattie..

[Guest guest]

Hi Pattie,

About the sleeping part. I try my best to sleep with

my legs as straight as possible. When I sleep on my side

I tend to want to curl the knees up. I notice when I do

this that my legs are tight the next day, especially my

itband (I have issues with that too), & hip flexors.

I sleep with lots of pillows too. My husband has like

1 pillow, and I have like 6-8.

Good luck in your search for some relief, that pulling

the legs back straight really sounds painful.

Connie

>

> I have a few things I am wondering

> === Pain when sleeping

> I sleep with pillows all around my knees to keep them

> from bending too much. Does any one have this, If I

> go into a deep sleep and relax too much my knees get

> stuck and I cannot straighten them with out someones

> help. It is the most intensive pain is asthough the

> bones slip out of place.

> --Pattie..

[Guest guest]

I only have CP in one knee. I usually sleep on that side with that leg

stretched out straight & a little behind me, and I'm turned toward the bed a

little (a natural position if the other knee is bent) & find that the mattress

will actually push my patella medially so I don't usually wake up with CP pain.

If course if you have it in both knees ....

Ann

Re: Tight horizontal

incision.........Stuck knee when sleeping

Hi Pattie,

About the sleeping part. I try my best to sleep with

my legs as straight as possible. When I sleep on my side

I tend to want to curl the knees up. I notice when I do

this that my legs are tight the next day, especially my

itband (I have issues with that too), & hip flexors.

I sleep with lots of pillows too. My husband has like

1 pillow, and I have like 6-8.

Good luck in your search for some relief, that pulling

the legs back straight really sounds painful.

Connie

>

> I have a few things I am wondering

> === Pain when sleeping

> I sleep with pillows all around my knees to keep them

> from bending too much. Does any one have this, If I

> go into a deep sleep and relax too much my knees get

> stuck and I cannot straighten them with out someones

> help. It is the most intensive pain is asthough the

> bones slip out of place.

> --Pattie..

[Guest guest]

ruby2zdy@... wrote:I only have CP in one knee. I usually sleep on that

side with that leg stretched out straight & a little behind me, and I'm turned

toward the bed a little (a natural position if the other knee is bent) & find

that the mattress will actually push my patella medially so I don't usually wake

up with CP pain. If course if you have it in both knees ....

Ann

Re: Tight horizontal

incision.........Stuck knee when sleeping

Hi Pattie,

About the sleeping part. I try my best to sleep with

my legs as straight as possible. When I sleep on my side

I tend to want to curl the knees up. I notice when I do

this that my legs are tight the next day, especially my

itband (I have issues with that too), & hip flexors.

I sleep with lots of pillows too. My husband has like

1 pillow, and I have like 6-8.

Good luck in your search for some relief, that pulling

the legs back straight really sounds painful.

Connie

>

> I have a few things I am wondering

> === Pain when sleeping

> I sleep with pillows all around my knees to keep them

> from bending too much. Does any one have this, If I

> go into a deep sleep and relax too much my knees get

> stuck and I cannot straighten them with out someones

> help. It is the most intensive pain is asthough the

> bones slip out of place.

> --Pattie..