What Causes Severe Pain And Instability In Knee Joint After A Surgery?

Posted on Thu, 22 Sep 2016

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Thu, 22 Sep 2016 Answered on

Sat, 8 Oct 2016 Last reviewed on

Question : In Aug 2015 I had a complete tear of my right ACL in a mountain biking accident. I lived with it like that for about 6 months waiting for surgery. I was not in much pain at all except when it would pop. But I decided to have surgery so I could resume sports. It has now been 6 months since my surgery and I am in far worse pain than I ever was before surgery. I have seen the surgeon several times but have been given no answers. He told me he "cleaned" up some cartilage damage as well. Said a significant amount but yet I was never in pain before the surgery. My knee cap now moves around, the knee cap shifts slowly as though it is behind the movement. I bend my knee and then the knee cap catches and then will move. my knee constantly pops and cracks. Walking is painful. Going upstairs is extremely painful. I am in constant discomfort and I know something is wrong in my knee now but no one is giving me answers.

I assume you may need more information but I am unsure of what else to provide. Basically I am in a lot of pain and I worry I will not only never be able to return to sports but I may be in pain and discomfort the rest of my life because of whatever this surgeon did to me. At the same time my inner thigh muscles are not returning.

Note; I had a very expensive injection cqlled durolane. It did nothing. In fact I think it's worse.

What are my options? What could be causing the sticking of the kneecap? And the pain?

Answered by Dr. Dr. Praveen Tayal (28 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Can be due to scarring or instability.

Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Thanks for posting your query.
The pain and instability of the knee joint that you have after the surgery can be due to internal scarring (arthrofibrosis), patellofemoral instability, postoperative stiffness, etc. A direct clinical examination and investigations like MRI and arthroscopy are needed to identify the exact cause. The treatment usually involves pain killers under guidance of a pain therapist, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, etc.
You need to consult your surgeon for proper diagnosis and further management.
Only proper investigations can identify the cause of pain. Inj. Durolane helps to decrease the inflammation. It can aggravate the pain initially that subsides after a few days.
I hope this answers your query.
In case you have additional questions or doubts, you can forward them to me, and I shall be glad to help you out.
Wishing you good health.
Regards.
Dr. Praveen Tayal.
For future query, you can directly approach me through my profile URL http://bit.ly/Dr-Praveen-Tayal

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Priyanka G Raj

Follow up: Dr. Dr. Praveen Tayal (7 hours later)

Thanks. What is causing the patella movement issue. It did not exist before the surgery. I was fine. Now when I bend my knee the patella does not follow. It takes a second or 2 before the patella move to where is should. It sticks. Is causes discomfort. What is causing that?

So what I am hearing is I will likely spend the rest of my life using pain management techniques and will never resume physical activities. The durolane injection was done about a month ago and it yielded no results.

I certainly regret getting this surgery.

Answered by Dr. Dr. Praveen Tayal (2 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Proper physiotherapy can help you.

Detailed Answer:
Hello.
Thanks for writing again.
The patella movement issue can happen due to internal scarring or weak muscles. Proper physiotherapy can help in restoring the proper muscle strength and then the proper movement of patella.
You need not be so hopeless. You can recover well once the main problem is diagnosed after a few investigations.
Hope my answer is helpful.
Do accept my answer in case there are no further queries.
Regards.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Vaishalee Punj