Yet up to 20% of people are dissatisfied with surgery and continue to experience pain and mobility issues.
It explains how persistent pain around the newly replaced joint is diagnosed and treated.
Without this information, it is very difficult to find an appropriate treatment.
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Can Metal Implants Cause Allergies?
Ask your healthcare provider about patch testing before surgery if you’re concerned about metal sensitivity.
Diagnosis
Your surgeon will take several steps to evaluate your pain.
The first step simply involves talking with you and discussing your pain.
Common Diagnostic Signs
These signs can aid your healthcare provider in a diagnosis.
Symptoms and their causes can include:
Your surgeon will then want to examine the knee.
A physical exam can help identify infection,stiffness, and alignment issues.
Ensuring that the mechanics of the knee replacement are sound is important.
Any difficulty breathing, or fever and signs of infection should be reported.
So should sudden changes at the knee, like instability or pain.
Imaging
X-raysand other studies can assess alignment and loosening.
X-rays performedfluoroscopically(in real-time) and stress radiographs to evaluate ligaments are sometimes performed.
Elevations of these markers of inflammation can indicate an infection or other inflammatory medical conditions.
Treatment
Treatment for pain after knee replacement is based on the cause.
Medications andphysical therapymay be a first step but they don’t always deal with the underlying problem.
If loosening, infection, or alignment issues are suspected, a revision knee replacement may be necessary.
The revision surgery may be minimally invasive or require removing the implanted knee and starting over.
There are situations where the source of pain cannot be identified.
If in doubt, seek a second opinion.
Your surgeon can help to guide you on the most appropriate treatment for the cause of your pain.
Causes of pain linked to knee replacement include infection, alignment problems, metal allergy, and more.
A healthcare provider will diagnose your pain on the basis of your symptoms and test results.
While situations that cause so much pain after knee replacement are unusual, they can be frustrating.
Seek a careful and extensive expert evaluation before making decisions about your knee replacement pain and further treatment options.
Arthritis Foundation.Osteoarthritis patient education & resources.
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Christus Health.Pain after knee replacement?
Learn whats normal and whats not.
