Should I get closed manipulation, physical therapy every day, or a brace to bend my knee?

5 Comments for Should I get closed manipulation, physical therapy every day, or a brace to bend my knee?

• 1. mistify

  You’ve already done PT for 2 months…at this point, going every day isn’t going to make that much more difference. To really get more ROM is going to take regular stretching several times a day…so going to PT once a day isn’t going to do that much more difference because you should be stretching at home 5-6 times a day. Connective tissue takes noctoriously long to remodel, and sometimes the scar tissue is just too dense to remodel on it’s own.

  I’d normally say start with the brace..because with this, you can supplement your home stretching program with prolonged stretching with a dynamic splint. If it proves to be unsuccessful, you can always opt for the riskier option…surgery.

  However, you’ve got 110 degrees already…nothing to sneeze at. Usually I recommend braces for patients who have much less than 110…I’m sure there’s a point where dynamic splints top out (meaning a point where they become less effective). If you opt for the splint (which is my initial reaction), be sure it has the capability to stretch you beyond 110 degrees.

  The final thing you should consider is: how much therapy do you get in a given year? Most people have a predetermined limit on the visits they get per year. If it’s less than 20 visits…I’d probably toss out the idea of going to PT daily…I’d opt for the brace first…work on it at home instead of wasting your PT dollars. If you wind up opting for surgery, you are still going to need follow up PT afterwards…so best not to use up all your visits.

• 2. gfeckle

  110 isn’t too bad, but I know as a young athlete you probably want full. I think it’s more up to your orthopedic doctor as to what is done and your treatment. Did you have surgery? A long leg cast?

  I would warn againist the maniupulation under anesthia as I have had horror stories and sometimes surgeons get to forceful and break bones, plus, you don’t want to do something that isn’t necessary so try conservative things.

  You probably don’t want to/need to go to pt everyday to work on bending your knee, just learn somethings to help it and do those at home on your days off from pt. Have they tried massage and ultrasound?

  What is really keeping your from bending your knee? It feels locked, stiffed, painful?

  If there is a brace that can help you, give it a try :)

• 3. alianna_hodiya

  110 degrees is not too bad.
  I recommend trying the PT first before jumping into surgery.

• 4. Brant C

  That whole situation sucks, sorry to hear it.
  Honest, none of them are gonna be any fun. Joint contractures aren’t uncommon after a fracture, and getting back to full range of motion is essentially just a matter of breaking up the scar tissue that’s blocking your movement. PT is going to bend the hell out of your knee. Dynamic bracing is going to slowly bend the hell out of your knee over a longer period of time. Manipulation is the quickest way to get it done, but it’s surgery, so there’s inherent risks. There’s pros and cons to each of them, and the best treatment will likely involve a combination. Just do your research and ask a lot of questions and hopefully you can find something you’re comfortable with.
  You got dealt a bad hand bro. Good luck with everything.

• 5. m125

  I would probably go with the brace.

Leave a Comment for Should I get closed manipulation, physical therapy every day, or a brace to bend my knee?

Name Required

Email Required, hidden

Comment

Security Code:

RSS Comments Feed  |  Trackback this post