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Our user asked: "In late October, I had part of a fad pad removed from my left knee joint. I had considerable swelling after the surgery, and my knee remains somewhat swollen. There's generally no pain when I'm at rest, but physical activity (particularly going down stairs) causes pain. I have full extension of the knee, but I have not yet regained full flexion. When I flex my right knee maximally, I can touch my glutes with my right heel, but I cannot do this on the left side. Last night (3/14) I was using my hands to force flexion of my left knee, and (as usual) it was painful. The PT I saw for several visits after the surgery advised me to do this, in order to regain full ROM. To my horror, my left knee is now more sore, and (upon extension) it's now making a clearly audible clicking/scraping sound that I had not heard previously. What can I do to finally make the swelling go away, and make the clicking stop?"
Ask a PT Response: "For my patients that are experiencing a condition similiar to yours, I would have them continue to ice their knees and perform exercises to maintain and improve range of motion. Manual therapy including massage can be performed to help with the swelling and to help promote pliability of the tissue. Cracking and popping (crepitus) of the knee can be associated with the swelling at the knee as the patellfemoral joint may be stressed. Otherwise crepitus can also be associated with arthritis as well. Since you continue to experience problems and your condition actually worsened recently, it might not be a bad idea to see a PT again. He or she should be able to help you determine a plan of care specific to your needs. Best of luck to you."
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