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Problems With Surgery Related To Gluten Intolerance?

dws

By dws
in Related Issues & Disorders

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dws Contributor
dws
Posted

Hello everyone, I had minor knee surgery a couple of months ago-arthoscopic to remove plica and a lateral release. My knee swelled up like a canelope and I developed scar tissue which I am currently going through hell trying to fight thru. My surgeon has never seen such scar tissue problem with the minor arthroscopic surgery and my physical therapist says he's seen it twice in 23 years. Has there been any correlation made between gluten intolerance and or celiac and this type of reaction? Scar tissue development is usually a problem with the more major surgeries like acl replacements and knee replacements. Why was I so lucky? Everyone in the medical field I consult says my surgeon is a good one and it really was a routine procedure.

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BabsV Enthusiast
BabsV
Posted

Yikes! I am sorry but I don't have an answer for you. My best friend (non Celiac) had ankle surgery and developed horrible issues with scar tissue. She ended up having some sort of ultrasound treatment (if I remember properly) that broke it down. It was painful but very effective...Could just be your body and the way it heals -- I am prone to developing adhesions after surgery which have caused discomfort on occasion.

dws Contributor
dws
Posted
  • Author

Yikes! I am sorry but I don't have an answer for you. My best friend (non Celiac) had ankle surgery and developed horrible issues with scar tissue. She ended up having some sort of ultrasound treatment (if I remember properly) that broke it down. It was painful but very effective...Could just be your body and the way it heals -- I am prone to developing adhesions after surgery which have caused discomfort on occasion.

Babsv- they have been giving me ultrasound treatments in pt, but it is the standard type of ultrasound they use in pt for a lot of things. I would be interested in hearing more about the treatment your friend had. I think I'll be ok eventually, but there's definitely a lot of work ahead- and more pain too! I really have been pretty freaked out about the whole thing. Going from being athletic to a person with limited mobility has scared me to death. Starting to calm down and cope a little better. Keeping a positive attitude is important and like a lot of people, thats not always my strong suit.

mushroom Proficient
mushroom
Posted

I am one of those people who lays down a LOT of scar tissue (and very strong scar tissue at that!). Now admittedly I did not have a problem with my two arthroscopic surgeries on my knee, but when they did a partial replacement I asked my surgeon to order one of those knee bending machines for me. She said, "Oh, I think you can do it yourself!". Well, six months later, after all the scar tissue finally broke down, and after six months of my PT working on it constantly, my knee finally bent :huh: The scar tissue was so thick and so strong that any exercise I did to try to break it loose threw my sacroiliac out of joint and I would end up at the chiropractor. :o (The swelling was pretty impressive too!). My surgeon was threatening to put me under again and physically force it, but I said , well, just think of all the scar tissue that will create!!! So I do feel for you but I don't think you should freak out too much about it. Some of us are just better at making scar tissue than others perhaps :D And the swelling is protective of the knee. We just overreact. I am sure that eventually the swelling will go down and the scar tissue break up and release its grip. That's my two cents worth.

pondy Contributor
pondy
Posted

dws- I had 2 arthroscopes (torn meniscus in each knee).. I get it - I was really slow to heal & also had tons of s scar tissue & swelling. Don't know if it is related to having celiac disease, but I am slow to heal with everything - even bruises.

It has been a full year since my last scope ( had PT also) & it IS better. Keep working it & do light non-strenouous to the joint excersizes if you can. Mine got better - just took about 6 months longer than the Doc said it would. Hang in there!

dws Contributor
dws
Posted
  • Author

dws- I had 2 arthroscopes (torn meniscus in each knee).. I get it - I was really slow to heal & also had tons of s scar tissue & swelling. Don't know if it is related to having celiac disease, but I am slow to heal with everything - even bruises.

It has been a full year since my last scope ( had PT also) & it IS better. Keep working it & do light non-strenouous to the joint excersizes if you can. Mine got better - just took about 6 months longer than the Doc said it would. Hang in there!

Thanks for the reassurance Pondy. I can live with it taking a long time as long as I eventually do get there. I like being active and this has put a big dent in my lifestyle. Might be a good time to explore some more sedintary hobbies while I work this out. If you have a minute, I would like to hear more about how you progressed through range of motion. In 2 months I have made it from about 30 degrees to 80. I have a lot of pain when working on the scar tissue in pt followed by a good bit of swelling which then reduces ROM. A very frustrating cycle. My entire joint capsule also tightened and shrank around the joint. This has gotten a good bit better but I still have a lot of tightness above my knee and into the quad. Sound familiar?

pondy Contributor
pondy
Posted

Thanks for the reassurance Pondy. I can live with it taking a long time as long as I eventually do get there. I like being active and this has put a big dent in my lifestyle. Might be a good time to explore some more sedintary hobbies while I work this out. If you have a minute, I would like to hear more about how you progressed through range of motion. In 2 months I have made it from about 30 degrees to 80. I have a lot of pain when working on the scar tissue in pt followed by a good bit of swelling which then reduces ROM. A very frustrating cycle. My entire joint capsule also tightened and shrank around the joint. This has gotten a good bit better but I still have a lot of tightness above my knee and into the quad. Sound familiar?

dws -

I was in PT 2 times per week for about 3 months. If memory serves, I ended up at about a 92 degree ROM. I'm sure I'm 100% now though. What seemed to help a lot was manually manipulating the tissue - like giving my knee a really deep massage. It was painful but necessary. I rode the stationary bike as often as I could - went to the gym on crutches, hopped on & pedaled in 'granny gears' - no resistance for a while, then gradual increases. Another thing that helped me was this: lay on the floor with your legs up against the wall - slowly slide your feet down to your butt & then slide them back up. That helped me so much also. I still do this sometimes. In my experience, non-strenuous exercise helps to lube my joints.

I'm sure you have a slew of exercises from your therapist, so I won't go into all of what I did.

I'm not an expert by any means & I'm sorry if this isn't helpful. I can offer you encouragement though!

*you can do it!*you can do it!*you can do it!* :D

I don't know if looking too much into sedentary activities is a good idea or not... I think that it's really important to do what you can - at home - as well as in PT. From experience, I'd recommend being proactive with your recovery. I'm not saying don't rest - you do need to take it easy on your body, just don't ever give up!

Lifestyle change? Oh yeah, I can relate! I am a former runner - 5 to 8 miles a day. I love to run... when I lost that it was traumatic. However, I can run again now (though I don't too much because I have an ankle that always 'pops out of joint'). I've looked into new activities... I'm saving for a kayak! :D

I don't know what you were into pre-surgery, but maybe you could look into something different for a while - something maybe that primarily works the upper body? Just till you get stronger? (and yes, you will get stronger.)

All best to you,

Pondy

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