OT: Who was it had Knee replacement recently? How are you doing?

[CajunHusky]

More and more I have difficulty just going out to my mailbox and back. I spend one or two days recovering after walking the yard picking up debris. The pain in the knees are just unbelievable.

I understand KR will help with the pain but you aren't anymore mobile. That is you aren't going to go out jogging after recovery.

 

[UcMiami]

More and more I have difficulty just going out to my mailbox and back. I spend one or two days recovering after walking the yard picking up debris. The pain in the knees are just unbelievable.

I understand KR will help with the pain but you aren't anymore mobile. That is you aren't going to go out jogging after recovery.

My sister and my cousin have both had knee replacements in the last three years - my cousin just this past summer. They both were in serious pain from just normal daily activity - both are avid gardners for example and they could no longer get to their knees and stand again. Recovery wasn't a fun process and there was some serious pain, but ... the results are fantastic. much more mobile, able to do their gardening, take long walks, etc. Neither has been jogging, but then my sister gave up running about ten years ago and my cousin never ran.

My cousin specifically has know both knees were in need of replacement, but put it off as long as she could figuring every year the technology and procedures and recovery process were getting better (she's married to an MD.) Last winter out rambling she fell off a low stone wall and really messed up one knee and knew immediately the time had come.

I think that the personal questions to ask are: How much pain do I experience? How much activity have I lost that I miss? How much effort am I willing to put into the recovery?

 

[Twolf]

More and more I have difficulty just going out to my mailbox and back. I spend one or two days recovering after walking the yard picking up debris. The pain in the knees are just unbelievable.

I understand KR will help with the pain but you aren't anymore mobile. That is you aren't going to go out jogging after recovery.

I had 1 knee replaced in 2016- college basketball injuries led to a ton of osteoarthritis. You will know when the time is right, when you have no quality of life due to pain. My surgeon told me he wasn’t a salesman, and to let him know when the time was right. I felt fortunate to have a great surgeon & a great PT who happened to be an ex player who I coached. They told me they were going to pay me back for the pain they felt during boot camp conditioning drills. Kidding aside your PT and your commitment to getting flexibility back is the key to success.
Knee replacement is one of those things that will make you swear like a mule skinner for 6 weeks at physical therapy, and after 3 or 4 months you’ll ask yourself why you didn’t do it sooner. Running won’t be much of an option unless there’s a fire, and you don’t want want an impact straight legged like jumping down from a pickup bed, but getting rid of the pain & being able to perform day to day activities without thinking how hard it will be to go to sleep that night due to extreme discomfort is worth it. Still coaching at retirement age w/o pain, unless I slip and think I’m 30 again demonstrating something during practice. For me it was well worth the temporary pain, because the pre surgery pain was never going away, and I don’t even think about having an artificial knee until I see the X-ray @ yearly checkups. Hope this helps

 

[uconnfan68]

My wife had 1 full knee replacement done 2/16/21. She is doing well, but still experiencing nerve pain. Both physical therapists (home right after op, and outpatient now) have told her she’s weeks ahead of schedule. She says it’s now easier to go up stairs with the new knee leg first. She still needs the other done, and maybe more back surgery, so it’s not like she’s going to doing ironman’s.
Surgeon was Dr Robert Kennon, who did my hip replacement 2 years ago. His practice (with Dr Keggi) only does hips and knees. They are based in Middlebury, with offices in Farmington and New Milford. Surguries done at Connecticut Joint Replacement Institute at St Francis in Hartford. We highly recommend him.

 

[VA Blue Dog]

I destroyed my knee playing basketball in 1970. After reconstructive surgery (three ligaments and two cartilages) I became extremely active doing long distance running, basketball again and skiing (especially moguls). Finally that knee deteriorated so badly I could barely walk,. 100 feet was max. People would ask if I had polio as a child. The osteoarthritis was so bad. I had my right knee replaced seven years ago and it changed my life. I went in one day and was home the next and never took one pain pill, except what they gave me in the hospital. I did my PT for hours beyond what was required. Now I don't even think about it. I try to walk 8 to 10 miles a day on hills at a 10 to 12 min/mile pace. I have all my miles logged in my Forerunner 225. I do this religiously and have gone months without missing a day. Sometimes I will run a mile for a change of pace in this routine. My knee was done by Dr. Anderson Engh, Anderson Orthopaedics, Director of Joint Replacement Surgery, Mont Vernon VA.
The best decision I ever made.

 

[SVCBeercats]

More and more I have difficulty just going out to my mailbox and back. I spend one or two days recovering after walking the yard picking up debris. The pain in the knees are just unbelievable.
I understand KR will help with the pain but you aren't anymore mobile. That is you aren't going to go out jogging after recovery.

Mrs. SVC has knee issues. Her doctor says when she is ready then she should get knee replacements. However, she has other issues which make operations risky. She opted for Platelet-Rich Plasma therapy. It has helped her emensely. She does her beloved gardening and we walk 2 miles most days. If you have not researched PRP, then do so. It might work for you to some extent.

The downside is the shots themselves. Mrs. SVC is as tough as they come. The first time she had PRP therapy she took 16 shots in her knee. When they wheeled her out the docter told me he has provided PRP therapy to several professional athletes who screamed bloody murder throughout the procedure. To his amazement Mrs, SVC did not utter a sound. UCONN has a one tough Croat. I have one tough Pole.

 

[Discograd]

My wife had knee replacements about six months apart. All I can suggest in the most strongest terms is you must plow through the physical therapy as long as it takes. No short cuts. No taking a day off. Hang in there it is all worth it in the end. Six months after replacements at age 70 did a walking tour of Italy.

 

[uconnfan68]

I destroyed my knee playing basketball in 1970. After reconstructive surgery (three ligaments and two cartilages) I became extremely active doing long distance running, basketball again and skiing (especially moguls). Finally that knee deteriorated so badly I could barely walk,. 100 feet was max. People would ask if I had polio as a child. The osteoarthritis was so bad. I had my right knee replaced seven years ago and it changed my life. I went in one day and was home the next and never took one pain pill, except what they gave me in the hospital. I did my PT for hours beyond what was required. Now I don't even think about it. I try to walk 8 to 10 miles a day on hills at a 10 to 12 min/mile pace. I have all my miles logged in my Forerunner 225. I do this religiously and have gone months without missing a day. Sometimes I will run a mile for a change of pace in this routine. My knee was done by Dr. Anderson Engh, Anderson Orthopaedics, Director of Joint Replacement Surgery, Mont Vernon VA.
The best decision I ever made.

I’ve been trying to convince my wife that she could do more than she is now. I wouldn’t dare show her your post though.

 

[pspr11]

I have had them both replaced in 09, and 10. Also both hips. My advice, take your pain pill before PT and push through it! Don’t fake it. It will hurt but you will wonder why you took so long to get it done.