My husband dislocated his patella on 7/5 at work(he is a corrections officer) a week later he had an MRI done which showed a large(size of a quarter) bone chip. He also had a mensicius tear and a sprain of two ligaments. He had a knee scope down on 7/31. The doctor removed the bone chip and didnt have to repair the ligaments or cartliage because he said they seemed to be healing on their own. My husband has been going to physical therapy for four weeks now(twice a week) He has began to use his knee better but does still have a significant limp.His knee feels unstable to him and stiff. He stumbles a lot and still has a lot of swelling. I ice his knee twice a day. It is extremely stiff in the mornig almost to the point of not being able to bend it.He saw his doctor on Wed. and the doctor decided to put a hinged brace on his knee to give it more support and to try and get some of the tenderness out of the knee. He also told my husband that he had a long way to go that his injury was very serious and not to rush trying to get better.He thinks that there may be a chance that my husbands knee may never be normal again. On Thursday my husband went to PT and the therapist got very mad that he had the brace on(he has made several out of line comments before this too) told my husband that the brace only made things worse not better,told him he thought that the limp was all in his head and that he was going to have to ask for more therapy sessions since it was taking so long for him to learn to walk right again. He wouldnt even do a full session with him and sent him homw after only thirty minutes. I called the doctors office and got the therapies transferred to another place.My husband feels terrible and thinks now that all of this is his fault that his knee isnt getting any better I told him to listen to the doctor not the therapist but he continues to worry. Has anyone been in this kind of situation before,or have any advice for us? Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Honestly, I think switching physical therapist' was a very smart idea.. He doesnt need people who treat him like that.. Trust the doctor. The doctor see's injurys to the knee almost every day.. If he has any questions the doctor can answer.. If the doctor thought it was all in his head he would prob of said something or not taken it seriously.. Serious injurys take time.. Heck, All I have is a tracking issue & I limp ALOT.. People may say it is all in my head.. but they dont understand the pain your husband is going through unless they have had the same thing happen to them.. I think he is doing fine.. He will make it through & be able to walk good.. he just needs more therapy.. :O)
Wow this must be the week of rude therapists and kneecap problems. I'm glad you switched therapists, that was the best thing on your part for him. The thought behind the bracing being bad is that the muscles that support the knee, particularly the quads, can often become weak over time and dependant on the brace itself.
Is he using crutches to get around during his healing time? If not I'd question the doctor. Knee problems do take a long time to heal and need to be treated properly as they take the bulk of pressure from the weight of your body.
Glad to hear his ligaments are in good shape, that's pretty important. Keep working with the doctor and therapist and hopefully over time his knee will heal.
As far as swelling, if it's bad, 20 minutes on, 20 minutes off is the general rule. Don't wait until is extremely swollen, it may not help much. He may require icing more often than twice a day.
Good luck to the both of you
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Kissa is pretty much spot on with her post..if I may add one other thing. As for the swelling, I'm having some horrific foot and ankle swelling post op knee surgery right now. My physical therapist has me wrapping my foot/ankle with a semi tight ace bandage to "push" the fluid out of the joint. He might check with his Dr. to see if this is okay, to wrap his knee with an ace bandage....or he could just do it for a day or two and see if it helps. Another thing...don't let him use heat...that can make the swelling worse. Good Luck.
Thank you for all your replies they really do help and makes us feel that we are not alone. My husband is not using crutches at this time, he did for two weeks post op then used a cane up intill a week ago now he is walking without assistance. I will try wrapping with an ace bandage and see if that helps with the swelling. Also I think I will try and ice it three or four times a day. He goes to see his new therapist on Thursday and I will let you guys know how that goes I am very interested in what they will have to say. His old therapist had the nerve to call and ask why we switch and what had happened. I let him talk to the answering machine he asked for us to call him back I dont see that happening he knows whatt happened!! Thank you for all you advice I really appreciate it!!
I agree, heat is bad. There's a time and place for the use of heat but generally not during a healing stage of an injury or surgery. When he sees the therapist ask them about getting approval for a cryocuff, much better than using an icepack.
He may want to ask about going back on the crutches again, even if it's for a week to see if that helps. He may be over using his knee and it's just simply not ready for it.
Be careful when wrapping, too tight will cut off circulation which is bad. When he's able to elevating the entire leg just above the heart while laying on his back can help with swelling. Do not put a pillow just under his knee, this can cut off circulation to major arteries.
Keep us updated!
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No matter how great your illness or pain, there's always someone else who may be worse off.
Re: injuries do to dislocated patella 
