Knee replacements

Ronstar

Ronstar

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Northern Illinois
I'd like to hear some knee replacement stories.

Why you got one.
How old you were when you got one.
Recovery time.
Full recovery or limitations.
Anything else.


DW (69yo) has had knee swelling/ pain/ difficulty walking for the past week. She went to an orthopedic dr today. Diagnosis is severe arthritis, bone spurs, bone on bone. Compensating for knee problems is causing problems in lower leg bones. She had meniscus surgery on the same knee several years ago.

Doc said that a knee replacement will be needed at some point. And possibly the other knee after that.

They gave her a cortisone shot and scheduled another appt in a few weeks. I'm not sure what they expect to find (improvement?) in a few weeks.


At my last physical, I discussed my running related knee pain with my doc. He hinted at possible knee replacements down the road if I kept running. I quit running and the pain is gone.

Seems like a lot of folks are getting knee replacements these days. Just wondering why.
 
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DW (75) had both knees replaced last year, the first in April the second in August.

She had arthritis, spurs, bone-on-bone, pain, swelling, and difficulty in walking which led to the replacements.

Recovery time was roughly 3-4 months to get to 80%, and at 9 months her first knee is essentially 100%. Recovery from her second replacement is progressing slower than her first, but continues to improve. Her doc says this is typical - no two are the same.

As far as limitations, she appears to have lost a half second in her 100 meter sprint time but says the trade off for pain-free full mobility is well worth it. :)

Her only regret is not doing it sooner.

EDIT: Note that DW says post surgery physical therapy and continued knee exercises at home are a must. We know a lady who didn't follow through on PT and it had a big negative impact to her recovery.
 
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If you have the time here is my story. I had a total knee replacement five years ago. Was it worth it? Absolutely yes. I estimate my knee was down to its last 20% of function. I could barely walk a mile without ending up with terrible pain. I think I got about 80% of the function back. I can walk several miles up and down hills and the knee doesn’t bother me. Running and twisting the knee is not good if I want it to last the rest of my life so there are limits. But far less than with an arthritic knee.

My biggest mistake was not realizing how much strength I would lose in my legs and core during my recovery. It’s hard to get that back in the senior years. But, I recovered a good bit of it.

My recovery story is below.

https://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f38/chuckanuts-total-knee-replacement-story-98581.html
 
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I recommend checking out bonesmart.org. It has forums you can read from people who are about to have joint replacement as well as those who have already had it. I found it very helpful when I had my hip replacement.
 
DH had first knee replacement 3 years ago, bone one bone, having trouble walking etc. It went great, back dancing and playing golf in 3-4 months. Now the other knee is hurting, can't play golf etc. The other knee replacement is scheduled March 5 (there is a 6 months wait for appointments with his surgeon). The only issue that I see is that he had his first knee done at Duke and is having his second knee done at UNC (Duke surgeon retired) so during basketball season his knees will be fighting each other.
 
Just got back from a physical therapy session. Both knees arthritic, hoping to go skiing this week at Whistler. The left knee had meniscus tear surgery 10 yrs ago. Right has issues, but bearable. The PT found I had a muscular issue, pulling the tendon over the knee cap creating a pain due to the muscle knot in the left. The right knee issue turns out to be rotation issues with the hip joint, who figured. I will see how this helps, but I had extreme swelling in my right knee for years on and off and it is not swollen as I type. I am not so certain surgery is always indicated when this swelling occurs. I read this thread with interest, perhaps waiting a bit more for new options on knee repair such as implants is better.
 
I had my L knee replaced in 2016 at 58 and the R knee in 2018 at 60. Both knees had advanced arthritis, were moderately painful, swelled after walking, and were very stiff. The loss of flexibility and swelling (which I had plenty of PT for) was the main motivator for replacement. I am very happy that I had them replaced. Since then I have played vigorous tennis 2-3 times a week, hiked the John Muir Trail, and rarely if ever think about them any more. My only limitations are that I'm not supposed to jog/run, use a shovel much, or spend any significant time with my knees on the ground. Recovery time for the first knee was 5 months until I started playing tennis, and 9 months until I no longer paid any attention to it. The second was a little faster, probably because I wasn't afraid to push a little harder on the PT.

Best of luck with your and DW's knees.
 
badatmath said:
Article: Up to 1/3 of knee replacements pack pain and regret

https://kffhealthnews.org/news/up-to-a-third-of-knee-replacements-pack-pain-and-regret/

I know nothing specific of his issues but my neighbor did not seem to get much benefit from his and always has his knee wrapped in normal life - just to like walk around the house. I can't say if he followed any directions etc .

No one in my family has needed one as yet.
Click to expand...

I can see where this article is not wrong, but not sure it's fully right either. Everybody's issues are different. Degenerative pain is different than that caused by a physical altercation, car accident, etc.

The article does acknowledge how common the procedure is. They are costly and profitable. I can see where it could be over prescribed.
 
Ronstar said:
I'd like to hear some knee replacement stories.

Why you got one.
How old you were when you got one.
Recovery time.
Full recovery or limitations.
Anything else.


DW (69yo) has had knee swelling/ pain/ difficulty walking for the past week. She went to an orthopedic dr today. Diagnosis is severe arthritis, bone spurs, bone on bone. Compensating for knee problems is causing problems in lower leg bones. She had meniscus surgery on the same knee several years ago.

Doc said that a knee replacement will be needed at some point. And possibly the other knee after that.

They gave her a cortisone shot and scheduled another appt in a few weeks. I'm not sure what they expect to find (improvement?) in a few weeks.


At my last physical, I discussed my running related knee pain with my doc. He hinted at possible knee replacements down the road if I kept running. I quit running and the pain is gone.

Seems like a lot of folks are getting knee replacements these days. Just wondering why.
Click to expand...

Why? Cuz folks don't find relief from a lifestyle change or don't want to become sedentary to avoid knee pain. I hope your DW's situation improves with cortisone.

If not, check out the Mako knee procedure and results.
 
OP here. Thanks everyone for your stories. And I'll check out links to your other stories. You've been very helpful. I'll relay all of this info to DW.

Most of stories here and from her friends with knee replacements are success stories. Yet I get the idea that DW is reluctant to go through it. I think she is paying too much attention to her friend who had her new knee installed last month and is going through grueling pt now.
 
I have no personal experience, but responses from many people.
I had a business where my customers sat a bit higher than I stood. I sometimes saw a zipper on their knee, I often ask if they had a knee replacement and then if they were happy with the replacement, almost 100% were. We had one that was only 6 weeks out and he said he would not have the other one done, but, I didn't get to ask him at 6 months out. The other is a 75 yr old, over weight fellow that is still having pain, I have a suspicion he did not work at his physical therapy, however he did say they are going to go in and fix something. So, maybe there is a physical problem.
 
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My wife had both done November 2022 at age 55. She was bone on bone on both with swelling and fluid. Her (our - we go to the same guy) orthopedist didn't want to cut because he felt she was too young and would outlive the replacement. while in the office for a cortisone shot, she was treated this time by the surgeon's PA (only person available) and he asked why she wasn't getting these replaced. He took a massive amount of fluid from the one knee.

We met with the surgeon in August, ran through the process, and scheduled the surgery for November. Her only regret is waiting.

One thing that didn't improve was her range of motion. Apparently, once that's gone, it's gone, and there limitations. example, she likes to get on the floor to stretch, and it's very hard to do when you can't kneel on your knees. So child's pose is out. Gardening while on her knees is out. She's compensating, but living without pain makes it worth it.
 
my spouse had a double knee replacement in her mid 50's. The recovery time was over a year, but now seems fine (at 63) She doesn't kneel or play sports that require side loads like tennis just to be careful. She went with cementless because of her young age.
 
Kings over Queens said:
My wife had both done November 2022 at age 55. She was bone on bone on both with swelling and fluid. Her (our - we go to the same guy) orthopedist didn't want to cut because he felt she was too young and would outlive the replacement. while in the office for a cortisone shot, she was treated this time by the surgeon's PA (only person available) and he asked why she wasn't getting these replaced. He took a massive amount of fluid from the one knee.

We met with the surgeon in August, ran through the process, and scheduled the surgery for November. Her only regret is waiting.

One thing that didn't improve was her range of motion. Apparently, once that's gone, it's gone, and there limitations. example, she likes to get on the floor to stretch, and it's very hard to do when you can't kneel on your knees. So child's pose is out. Gardening while on her knees is out. She's compensating, but living without pain makes it worth it.
Click to expand...

DH's range of motion improved substantially after his knee replacement. He had also gotten very bowlegged and the knee replacement straightened that out also. DH can kneel and do child's pose for a few minutes, his surgeon says for him to not spend too long on his knees but a few minutes is fine.
 
My sister is looking at possible replacement, doing the PT for muscle strengthening now.

From my nursing experience, following up with PT at home, consistently, is so important and probably the #1 thing you can do to rehabilitate your knee towards its fullest function.
 
Kings over Queens said:
One thing that didn't improve was her range of motion. Apparently, once that's gone, it's gone, and there limitations. example, she likes to get on the floor to stretch, and it's very hard to do when you can't kneel on your knees. So child's pose is out.
Click to expand...


I would want to make sure that is true and that PT wouldn't get some range back.





Gardening while on her knees is out. She's compensating, but living without pain makes it worth it.[/QUOTE]
Build her some raised beds.
Nice example here, go to 7 minutes, or enjoy the whole video.
 
DW had both done at 53 - at the same time. She's 76 now. She figured she'd be in pain anyway, so get it over with. That way, too, there'd be no backing out of a second operation later on. Also, it made it easier to INSIST on rehab IN the hospital - not recover at home with endless trips to rehab. Realistically, I would have had to take off w*rk to run her back and forth to rehab all day long (2 or 3 times/day.) She finally talked them into the hospital stay and she was a CHAMP at rehab. She fought through the pain and got great results.

She still has arthritis and she still has pain in her knees from time to time (including swelling) but she had the implants evaluated a few years back. They said that they are still good after 20 years.

Best of luck!
 
Time2 said:
I would want to make sure that is true and that PT wouldn't get some range back.
Click to expand...
she did 2 full rounds of PT plus a separate procedure called an MUA (manipulation under anesthesia) where they knock her out and bend her legs back as far as humanly possible so as to break up scar tissue. It's gone, but not as the result of the knee replacements.
 
I had a right total knee replacement 10 months ago at 62 years old. I had surgery for a torn ligament (ACL) playing soccer at 18 years old and it started really hurting about 5 years ago and was very arthritic. I walked with a pronounced limp and the daily walks with my dog got shorter and shorter.

Now I’m pain free and don’t limp, so very happy I had it replaced. My only issue is that my knee gets very tight if I sit very long, and when I wake up in the morning. I ride my stationary bike often and after 20 minutes the knee loosens up.

It wasn’t fun right after the surgery because of the pain. But the worst problem for me was my leg hurt the most when I tried to sleep. It was about a month for me before I could sleep through the night.

My advice to anyone who has a knee replacement is to do physical therapy afterwards as intensely as you can tolerate. The therapist will help you with flexing your leg and straightening it. My sister-in-law (55) had her knee replacement the week after mine, coincidentally. She apparently has a low pain threshold and kept having the therapist stop flexing and straightening her leg and she had to have it done under anesthesia about a month later. She still can’t straighten her leg all the way. I was told if I didn’t get my range of motion back by about 6 weeks, it was likely to always be limited.

And as mentioned, get strong before surgery as much as possible. My right leg lost muscle compared to before (& compared to my left leg) that I am still trying to build back up.
 
DW has been in contact with her friend who had a replacement last month. Her friend says to walk backwards to get back in shape.

 
Ronstar said:
DW has been in contact with her friend who had a replacement last month. Her friend says to walk backwards to get back in shape.

Click to expand...
I stumbled upon this guys videos a couple of weeks ago. Since then I’ve been doing backward walking on a treadmill. It’s a bit early to tell but I think it is helping. You can definitely feel it is the quads and muscles surrounding the knee.
 
The truth has come out. DW is more concerned about incision length than anything else. Her friend's incision is about a foot long or more. DW doesnt want that - she's researching doctors who claim shorter incision lengths.

My thoughts are that she's 69 years old, maybe wears a dress once a year, and hardly anyone would ever see the scar. She doesn't seem to agree with my reasoning.
 
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