Physical Therapist, Lisa Alarcon, explains how to manage and minimize swelling and scar tissue after knee replacement in this essential interview.

Looking for tips on managing your scar tissue? Keep reading to learn more about scar tissue treatment options.

Explore the Bardavon blog for insights, updates, and expert advice on injury prevention, recovery, and healthcare innovations.

Learn to manage post-surgical scar complications and minimize scar formation so you can get back to your normal activities.

KneeSled PLUS ANCHOR PAD is the ONLY product that delivers 3 important KNEE rehabilitation features (1) Perform heal slides for range of motion exercises (2) Safely perform Knee Strengthening exercises with therapy resistance bands (3) Breakdown scar tissue to restore joint mobility PROFESSIONAL THERAPY PROTOCOLS: Included with the Knee Sled PLUS Anchor purchase, you will receive a set of therapy Protocols developed by a licensed physical therapist. The Protocols are specific for every type of knee surgery/injury. Every situation calls for a different protocol. KneeSled PLUS ANCHOR PAD is designed to break down scar tissue by “locking” your knee into a fixed-stretching position. As the PT video explains, this “lock, stretch, and repeat” application is called a “Static-Progressive Stretch (SPS)”. SPS is specific for contracture management of scar tissue. SCAR/CONTRACUTURE MANAGEMENT: Knee Sled PLUS Anchor is for those individuals concerned with the potential of scar tissue forming around the knee joint following surgery. If scar tissue forms around the knee joint, it may compromise your ability to regain full range of motion for the knee. KNEE STRENGTHENING: Our system is equipped with two different dynamic strengthening bands that allow you to safely strengthen your knee in bed. Safe and proper strengthening of the knee following knee surgery is critical. This is a very important feature of the Knee Sled system. SKIN BARRIER/EASY SLIDE: HOW TO USE: The Knee Sled allows user to engage in repeated daily therapy with no abrasion to heel. This is especially important for diabetic individuals. FLEXIBILITY & JOINT HEALTH: The Knee Sled stretches key muscles in your legs and gluts to optimize joint health. Also allows for deep knee stretches to improve range of motion. More secure than a stretching strap. HOW TO USE: Please follow the PT Protocols including with unit. Watch all of our instructional videos.

Today (Monday, Dec 20) I go in for a total knee replacement surgery and I’m questioning that decision. What questions should I have asked that I didn’t? Maybe I don’t really need this? Maybe my life would’ve been fine without it? I’ll never know because it’s 5 AM and I’m at the hospital, reporting for ...

Scar tissue pain may occur years after an injury or surgery. Learn about why it happens, the symptoms, and the treatment options here.

When the short-term effects of surgery – such as oozing wounds and incision pain – have long faded, an unseen complication, surgical scar tissue, may be lurking beneath the skin. Excess scar tissue, layers deep, can significantly reduce function and movement months after surgery. And on the skin’s surface, visible, lingering scars might be noticeable enough to really bother patients. Before you undergo surgery, here’s what to know about reducing scarring as you heal.

Knee replacement, also called arthroplasty, is a surgical procedure performed to resurface the knee joint in order to alleviate knee pain and disability. According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, the most common condition that results in the need for knee replacement surgery is osteoarthritis. Other conditions that warrant knee replacement surgery are rheumatoid arthritis, an autoimmune disease, and traumatic arthritis, which is arthritis due to injury. Knee replacement surgery requires the surgeon to make a vertical incision on the top of the knee to expose the damaged area. Then, the surgeon removes the damaged surfaces of the knee joint and resurfaces the knee joint with the prosthesis, which is made up of metal and plastic. The prosthesis mimics the movement of the natural knee. The standard incision size for a knee replacement can be as long as 10 inches, but a minimally invasive procedure can result in incisions as short as 4 inches. Since the incision is very long and deep, scarring will occur after a knee replacement as part of the body’s wound healing process. SCAR FORMATION AFTER KNEE REPLACEMENT Like any surgery, the body begins a complex process to heal the wound after a knee replacement. Wound healing is achieved through four precise and highly programmed phases: hemostasis, proliferation, inflammation, and tissue remodeling. (J Dent Res. 2010) Hemostasis means to stop the flow of blood, which is accomplished when the doctor closes the incision with stitches, metal staples, or a combination of both. Another technique is to use stitches internally followed by surgical glue to close the uppermost layer of skin. The next step in the wound healing process, proliferation, means that the cells around the wound begin multiplying rapidly. The margins around the wound grow and migrate inwards toward the base, uniting at the center in order pull the wound shut. Inflammation is a normal part of the wound healing process, which occurs as the body recruits macrophages (a type of immune cell) to clear away damaged cells and begin the tissue remodeling process. Inflammation will appear as redness and slight swelling in the wound area. The final stage of wound healing is tissue remodeling, a complex process that can last anywhere from several months to years. In this stage, macrophage cells transition to a reparative state that stimulates keratinocytes (skin cells), fibroblasts (connective tissue cells), and angiogenesis (the development of new blood vessels) to begin tissue regeneration. (J Dent Res. 2010) Fibroblasts grow into granulation tissue where they produce collagen, a structural protein, to support the newly formed tissue. While collagen is necessary to seal the wound, if the body produces too much collagen a raised, discolored scar can result. These can either be hypertrophic scars or keloids. Both are raised and red, but the feature that distinguishes keloids from hypertrophic scars is their growth past the original scar boundary. Keloids can turn from red to brown, and often have a lumpy appearance. Left untreated, keloid scars can continue to thicken and grow indefinitely. Scar tissue is different from normal skin; it will be a different texture and it will also lack elasticity. This means that during the healing process, the scar must be elongated enough in the remodeling phase to allow full knee flexion to occur. According to Livestrong, as the scar becomes fully formed, continuation of the stretching program set up by the physical therapist is essential to keep the scar from contracting so much that it limits knee flexibility and mobility. THE BEST TREATMENT FOR KNEE REPLACEMENT SCARS Now that you know how scars form after a knee replacement, you’re probably wondering what to do to minimize scarring after your surgery. There are a plethora of creams and lotions in drugstores that all claim to help with scarring. The problem with these products is that they have not been tested for efficacy or safety. This means you’d be buying a product that may or may not work, and actually may cause more harm than good. So what is the best treatment for knee replacement scars? Clinical studies have shown that silicone gel and sheeting are considered the first-line therapy to manage and minimize scarring, including scars after knee replacement. In fact, silicone gel products are the only topical treatments recommended by the scar experts who create scar treatment guidelines for other doctors. NewGel+ offers the widest variety of silicone scar treatment products available. For example, the 2” x 8” silicone strips fit perfectly over knee replacement incisions. In addition to therapeutic stretching, early treatment with silicone gel is crucial after knee replacement to prevent contracture and to maintain flexibility and mobility over joints. Take the first step toward enjoying life with your new knee by browsing the NewGel+ product collection now. Knee replacement, also called arthroplasty, is a surgical procedure performed to resurface the knee joint in order to alleviate knee pain and disability. According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, the most common condition that results in the need for knee replacement surgery is osteoarthritis. Other conditions that warrant knee replacement surgery are rheumatoid arthritis, an autoimmune disease, and traumatic arthritis, which is arthritis due to injury. Knee replacement surgery requires the surgeon to make a vertical incision on the top of the knee to expose the damaged area. Then, the surgeon removes the damaged surfaces of the knee joint and resurfaces the knee joint with the prosthesis, which is made up of metal and plastic. The prosthesis mimics the movement of the natural knee. The standard incision size for a knee replacement can be as long as 10 inches, but a minimally invasive procedure can result in incisions as short as 4 inches. Since the incision is very long and deep, scarring will occur after a knee replacement as part of the body’s wound healing process. SCAR FORMATION AFTER KNEE REPLACEMENT Like any surgery, the body begins a complex process to heal the wound after a knee replacement. Wound healing is achieved through four precise and highly programmed phases: hemostasis, proliferation, inflammation, and tissue remodeling. (J Dent Res. 2010) Hemostasis means to stop the flow of blood, which is accomplished when the doctor closes the incision with stitches, metal staples, or a combination of both. Another technique is to use stitches internally followed by surgical glue to close the uppermost layer of skin. The next step in the wound healing process, proliferation, means that the cells around the wound begin multiplying rapidly. The margins around the wound grow and migrate inwards toward the base, uniting at the center in order pull the wound shut. Inflammation is a normal part of the wound healing process, which occurs as the body recruits macrophages (a type of immune cell) to clear away damaged cells and begin the tissue remodeling process. Inflammation will appear as redness and slight swelling in the wound area. The final stage of wound healing is tissue remodeling, a complex process that can last anywhere from several months to years. In this stage, macrophage cells transition to a reparative state that stimulates keratinocytes (skin cells), fibroblasts (connective tissue cells), and angiogenesis (the development of new blood vessels) to begin tissue regeneration. (J Dent Res. 2010) Fibroblasts grow into granulation tissue where they produce collagen, a structural protein, to support the newly formed tissue. While collagen is necessary to seal the wound, if the body produces too much collagen a raised, discolored scar can result. These can either be hypertrophic scars or keloids. Both are raised and red, but the feature that distinguishes keloids from hypertrophic scars is their growth past the original scar boundary. Keloids can turn from red to brown, and often have a lumpy appearance. Left untreated, keloid scars can continue to thicken and grow indefinitely. Scar tissue is different from normal skin; it will be a different texture and it will also lack elasticity. This means that during the healing process, the scar must be elongated enough in the remodeling phase to allow full knee flexion to occur. According to Livestrong, as the scar becomes fully formed, continuation of the stretching program set up by the physical therapist is essential to keep the scar from contracting so much that it limits knee flexibility and mobility. THE BEST TREATMENT FOR KNEE REPLACEMENT SCARS Now that you know how scars form after a knee replacement, you’re probably wondering what to do to minimize scarring after your surgery. There are a plethora of creams and lotions in drugstores that all claim to help with scarring. The problem with these products is that they have not been tested for efficacy or safety. This means you’d be buying a product that may or may not work, and actually may cause more harm than good. So what is the best treatment for knee replacement scars? Clinical studies have shown that silicone gel and sheeting are considered the first-line therapy to manage and minimize scarring, including scars after knee replacement. In fact, silicone gel products are the only topical treatments recommended by the scar experts who create scar treatment guidelines for other doctors. NewGel+ offers the widest variety of silicone scar treatment products available. For example, the 2” x 8” silicone strips fit perfectly over knee replacement incisions. In addition to therapeutic stretching, early treatment with silicone gel is crucial after knee replacement to prevent contracture and to maintain flexibility and mobility over joints. Take the first step toward enjoying life with your new knee by browsing the NewGel+ product collection now. Related Articles: How Much Plastic Surgery is Too Much? Can Silicone Gel Help Treat Acne Scars?