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Suggest Treatment For Pain In Leg After Knee Joint Replacement
Question: On July 7th last I had a total knee joint replacement , I am 60 years of age. During the operation while I was asleep I was given a nerve blocking injection into my groin. I was kept in an observation ward overnight after my surgery.connected to what I believe to be a morphine pump and told to press a button on a hand held device if the pain got very bad. On second day when I arrived back to my ward the nerve blocker started to wear off and feeling coming back into my leg. As this was happening the pain I was experiencing was and still is unbearable. I was told I would have pain but something said to me this pain is simply not right. There was no great pain or discomfort on the surgical area. My area of pain is in the Lateral collateral ligament ....got that name from a pictorial view of a knee joint. The pain in that area is there 24 / 7 and is excruciating ...I have never experienced pain to this level in my life. After discharge from hospital I went back to surgeon to ask why pain is so severe and his diagnosis was ....PCMS..this abbreviation may be wrong ...he says the nerves on the inside of my leg have had a reaction to the nerve blocker injection and in time this pain should ease. He prescribed Lyrica 100mg and Palexia...none of which are helping with the pain. I am an electronics engineer , far removed from any medical qualification ...but I totally disagree with the surgeons diagnosis because the pain is localised and does not move . I must also say that while in hospital I was constantly asking the nursing staff why the pain was so bad but all they did was give me more pain relief. I would be most grateful for your professional opinion. Thank you XXXX
Brief Answer:
Ok... there's logic in engineering....
Detailed Answer:
that of course will extend to the nerves. Pain is rather simpler than engineering. There is the location and then the triggers of it. The location has 3 dimensions of space and then time and then what induces and what relieves it.
Pain from a nerve would travel in the direction/pathway of the nerve... nearly always the ENTIRE pathway of the nerve. The exception is when a nerve is sick then the ends of it have the symptoms. A pain in one spot in the middle of the pathway of nerves would not be from nerves. that would be like a chain of lights strung in series with some being out in the middle but not those on either side; it cannot be the electrical current pathway.
Then, if the pain is deep, and in a joint then it is the joint. If it is quite shallow then it is a local area of irritation--a small area of problem. The small localized area would generally be sore to the touch but not movement away from it. Joint pain would be sore from moving the joint. Muscle pain from flexing the muscle even if there is no movement at all.
" My area of pain is in the Lateral collateral ligament ...."
This would imply that there is pain inside the knee joint. It would be sore with moving the ligament either by moving the knee or by physically yanking the ligament while the leg/knee/etc is not moving. It would be inside of the joint mostly. It would change with moving the ligament. Usually the knee would feel like it is not solid and slipping apart. Generally when this ligament is damaged the knee is loose, and swollen. If an internal part of the knee is painful then injections with nerve blocking agents (lidocaine) and/or steroids can be quite helpful. Pessimistic is 2-4 weeks of benefit; optimistic is until the knee is injured again and that can be months/years.
Ok... there's logic in engineering....
Detailed Answer:
that of course will extend to the nerves. Pain is rather simpler than engineering. There is the location and then the triggers of it. The location has 3 dimensions of space and then time and then what induces and what relieves it.
Pain from a nerve would travel in the direction/pathway of the nerve... nearly always the ENTIRE pathway of the nerve. The exception is when a nerve is sick then the ends of it have the symptoms. A pain in one spot in the middle of the pathway of nerves would not be from nerves. that would be like a chain of lights strung in series with some being out in the middle but not those on either side; it cannot be the electrical current pathway.
Then, if the pain is deep, and in a joint then it is the joint. If it is quite shallow then it is a local area of irritation--a small area of problem. The small localized area would generally be sore to the touch but not movement away from it. Joint pain would be sore from moving the joint. Muscle pain from flexing the muscle even if there is no movement at all.
" My area of pain is in the Lateral collateral ligament ...."
This would imply that there is pain inside the knee joint. It would be sore with moving the ligament either by moving the knee or by physically yanking the ligament while the leg/knee/etc is not moving. It would be inside of the joint mostly. It would change with moving the ligament. Usually the knee would feel like it is not solid and slipping apart. Generally when this ligament is damaged the knee is loose, and swollen. If an internal part of the knee is painful then injections with nerve blocking agents (lidocaine) and/or steroids can be quite helpful. Pessimistic is 2-4 weeks of benefit; optimistic is until the knee is injured again and that can be months/years.
Note: For more detailed guidance, please consult an Internal Medicine Specialist, with your latest reports. Click here..
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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