Reply To: Knee Contractures – 12 y/o boy

I am very familiar with leg pain problems of this type. When my CIDP was active, i had considerable pain and was medicated for it. I was able to stop pain meds when I began to recover, but still had significant pain when my legs were moved in a way that strained my muscles. I, too, could not put my leg flat in a fully extended position, but this eventually was worked out with physical therapy. I was fortunate to have had an excellent physical therapist at that time (and several others earlier). I spent eight weeks in therapy hospitals before coming home, and probably reached full leg extension at about six weeks.

I can’t diagnose your son’s case, and don’t know what type of PT regimen he is following, but my feeling generally is not to give up on PT too readily. It was extremely important in helping me make the best recovery I was able to.

The key to restoring leg extension is not to force it straight to a point which cannot be tolerated without pain meds, but to bring it slowly and smoothly to the point where there is tolerable pain, and to hold it there. This needs to be done every day. Eventually, it should stretch out with proper technique. A surgical solution seems extreme to me and I would seek additional opinions before taking this route.