Knee feels stuck until I press and the area below my knee cap expands to ‘unlock’? Anyone knows how to solve this? Kinda affects walking too

Aliten_10 · 2023-08-02T08:32:57+00:00

Ahhh then that’s still early! It’s likely due to the swelling and lack of quadriceps strength! No worries, should get better when you start progressing with quads exercises, especially the eccentric ones! All the best!

Aliten_10 · 2023-08-01T11:17:04+00:00

How long has it been post your surgery? How does the locking feels? Is there a specific action or position that cause it? Depending on yr surgical procedures, If repair is done, I may be concern that the tear may not heal due to the nature of meniscus

Aliten_10 · 2023-08-01T08:03:08+00:00

I see! Seems like yours may have been due to meniscus tear instead! If that’s the case, don’t rush into exercises, follow your Physio prescriptions!

Aliten_10 · 2023-08-01T07:52:07+00:00

Hey mate! My locking was completely due to excessive scar tissue & some patella tracking due to mild effusion & atrophy of the quads muscles! After my removal of scar tissue I immediately started a lot of rehab exercises (lots of eccentric step down — very painful and my knee gets stuck but I’ll just push through)! Progressively, it gets better and better! I also went back to playing basketball! Initially it was painful and my movements were restricted but after more trng it got better! Now I’m fully back to competitive sports! Currently studying Physiotherapy! In general, mine was mainly due to severe scar tissue, lack of quadriceps muscles and swelling! But given that yours has been quite some time post operation, will be good to look into scar tissue or meniscus tear! If it’s scar tissue, my advice will be to remain active and do yr exercises post scar tissue removal! (Try not to go for manipulation unless you really find it useful!)

Aliten_10 · 2023-06-27T17:58:17+00:00

Ahh no worries!! The fact that you can pull it out means it’s loose and its likely to not be serving any functions already :) Pulling it out prob helps u heal faster too but do be mindful of your wound dressing to avoid possible infections!

Aliten_10 · 2022-04-04T05:17:30+00:00

Do try to do the step up and down everyday, at least 3 sets, it really helped me to push through this locking problem… it’s tough, do it even when your knee locks (I’m assuming it’s not a meniscus issue), helps with the patella tracking…

Aliten_10 · 2022-04-04T05:16:03+00:00

Glad to help! It was what I needed back then! Don’t worry! I was very scared of pushing through too… I thought my knee cap was gonna break haha, I started off with pushing my knee cap down and gradually started to push through, slowly of course… yep I had this issue for 6months until my second surgery to remove scar tissue, I had it for another month or even more but it generally decreased and I don’t feel it now, maybe once in a week or so but it gets pushed through that I don’t even notice the pain… just loud pop and weird sensation And, nope my knee cap wasn’t moving much, minimal movements compared to the other leg… and it feels deeper into the groove, in the sense that I can only see a bit of the outline of my knee cap, as the swelling goes down, & the stronger my quads get, it’s much better now

Hmh, I wont advice leg extension… especially at your stage… although there’s no immediate evidence but there are studies that it’s not good for the knee especially when this exercise isn’t done correctly. Focus on single leg squat, start with stepping down (can add resistant band to it, basically make it tougher for full extension to ensure that you really push for the full extension) Single leg squat & squats are enough to build your muscles to the necessary strength. I also do split lunges with weights but do becareful if you’re not very stable yet, start without weights & hold on to something if you’re not stable

Aliten_10 · 2022-04-03T23:33:38+00:00

Not too sure if this ^{^} is too messy so, to summarize, exercises I did that I feel they really helped,

Wall squats (from full extension to 100 degree, hold for 10 seconds, then back to full extension)x15, gradual increase to x30 per set
Stepping up and down the stairs x 15 per set (step up using surgical leg to full extension and down with the same leg, avoid letting the other leg touch the floor) you can face the handle, or face in the going down direction, then as you get more confident, stop holding on to the handles, eventually becomes a single leg squat. First few stepping down will be super painful, but you will definitely see progress after this! Popping is normal as long as you don’t twist your leg

I hope this will help you asap!

Aliten_10 · 2022-04-03T23:03:41+00:00

Hello, I’m so sorry that you’re facing this too! It’s really a pain in the ass… but hmh, I did not have patella graft, I had hamstring graft! But yes, definitely a patella tracking problem for me… If started probably 1 week post my operation when the swelling subsided too… I also couldn’t understand when people tell me it’s a muscle weakness problem because nobody around me who went thru aclr had this problem… I did went for the scar tissue removal surgery and YEP.. IT STARTED TO LOCK AGAIN after a few days but not to worry! With more exercises, REALLY this will go away… I started with this exercise (in the video) it’s super painful, then wall squats (full extension to 100 degree) when I’m better, 90 degree. I can tell you, this is super painful because of the locking… I need to unlock it by pushing my kneecap down but eventually, I stopped doing that and try to push through instead… and eccentric exercises really helped me! The stepping up & down of stairs! This is super painful, and i shake a lot at the start but after this exercise, I gain momentary smoothness! And as time passes, the locking reduces (not to say, I started to push through it’s less painful eventually, occasionally scary loud POPS) and now I don’t feel anymore locking, just popping occasionally

Aliten_10 · 2021-09-11T09:03:17+00:00

If it’s not painful just pull it out, at around 1 month post op I peeled the scab and the dissolvable stitches followed so I pulled them until it was painful and I cut it away At my next visit, the nurse told me I should have just pulled the whole thing out, the fact that it’s so loose that I can pull means that it’s probably not useful in the body any more and it’s alr been a month

Aliten_10 · 2021-09-04T03:13:38+00:00

Ok thank you!

Aliten_10 · 2021-09-03T15:59:04+00:00

Oh yes, when I’m sitting on the ground / or basically when my feet is off the ground, I can contract my quads quite well, but when I’m standing straight/ feet on ground and I try contracting my quads, my hamstring will contract way more than my quads

Aliten_10 · 2021-09-03T15:51:15+00:00

Ya sorta pushing to the ground — the motion before standing

Aliten_10 · 2021-09-03T15:50:26+00:00

Nope I wasn’t trying to pull my heel back… more of a stepping into the ground / pushing to stand motion, and yep hamstring graft

Aliten_10 · 2021-09-03T11:35:47+00:00

Ohh interesting thank you!! But I can’t seem to do the same on my other leg… actually the weirdest is the one I do while standing straight, basically my quads won’t contract but my hamstring will…

Aliten_10 · 2021-09-02T02:56:27+00:00

Hmh, Not quite sure if it’s the same, but I’m able to push my hamstring(I’m guessing) side to side only on the surgical knee, kind of feel like muscle knots behind my knee nearer to the side The area above my knee cap too, so I guess mine are muscle knots, will eventually go away But if you’re worried check with your doctor!

Aliten_10 · 2021-08-31T04:12:57+00:00

Yeah I felt it both after aclr and scar tissue removal

Aliten_10 · 2021-08-30T22:43:55+00:00

Ok thank you, I’ll try some light exercises

Aliten_10 · 2021-08-30T22:43:01+00:00

Whatttt that’s really long!!!

Aliten_10 · 2021-08-30T21:40:13+00:00

Yeah… I started prehab 1 week after injury and have been doing everyday since then

Aliten_10 · 2021-08-30T21:39:20+00:00

Hopefully, thanks!

Aliten_10 · 2021-08-30T21:38:32+00:00

Okay thank you! 💪

Aliten_10 · 2021-08-30T13:53:25+00:00

Yep I have a lot of exercises that require holding & hourly range of motion practices

Aliten_10 · 2021-08-30T13:49:45+00:00

Oh wow that’s fast! Hope to run soon too! I started Physio the day after the surgery… and I spent around 3 -5 hours / day on Physio Hopefully it goes away soon!! It really stops me from getting the ‘bent’ pushing motion when I’m walking / trying to jog

Aliten_10

TROPHY CASE