Total Knee Replacement Surgery
According to the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS), approximately 581,000 total knee replacement surgeries are performed each year in the United States. The reasons for having this surgery include severe arthritic damage, trouble walking or climbing stairs, and persistent pain. If all other non-invasive avenues to improve your condition are not successful, knee replacement surgery may be your only option. One side effect of knee surgery is tightening or stiffness. Before you consider further surgery, there may be other ways to alleviate your discomfort.
Pre-Operative Condition
One explanation for persistent knee stiffness following surgery could be the condition your joint was in prior to your procedure. In the article, Stiffness After Total Knee Arthroplasty, published in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, doctors found that patients complaining of stiffness in the knee following surgery had significantly less flexibility and extension in the joint prior to surgery. Age, gender and type of surgical implant played no role in their symptoms. Fortunately, out of 1,000 subjects participating in this study, knee stiffness occurred in only 1.3 percent of subjects.
Motivation
Doctors at New York University Hospital for Joint Diseases found that postoperative factors related to knee stiffness included low motivation. Physical therapy plays an important role in post-surgical healing. For those who do not follow through on their doctor's treatment recommendations, the success of your knee surgery could be compromised.
Scarring
Extensive, internal scar tissue following knee surgery is another explanation for complications. Matthew R. Bong, MD, author of the study, Stiffness After Total Knee Arthroplasty, found that one of the leading causes for stiffness is attributed to arthrofibrosis, or scarring in the knee. Doctors at Rush University Medical Center suggest a physical therapy program to minimize limited movement. The Knee and Shoulder Centers of New Jersey and Pennsylvania indicate that the likelihood of developing arthrofibrosis increases with the extensiveness of the patient's surgical procedure and the amount of time the knee is immobilized afterwards. Genetic factors, they add, can predispose you to developing joint scar tissue in response to surgery.
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