I'm at the stage now of talking to the surgeons to fix up a replacement on my right knee - they are as bad as each other on imaging, practically bone on bone, so there is nothing to do except replace them
I'm told that replacement knees can feel mechanical rather than natural and feel "not really mine". I'd be very interested to hear how folks on here have found it.
I'm also interested in kneeling after replacement. I don't enjoy housework anyway but gardening is a pleasure so kneeling to weed and plant is something I like to do. Does it ever feel really OK or will it go on being painful?
And how soon is climbing walls and dodgy stiles a safe possibility?
Apart from that there are a few hints I have found useful, which might help others starting on this road.
- starting with encouragement, the physios remind me that it is 9 years since I first consulted them over the knees and only now are the knees forcing me to surgery.............I say that proves physios are brilliant.
........ they say it proves I have done my bit with the exercises and gym work......
you choose!
- everyone, manage your weight, the more you keep it down the longer your natural knees will stay asymptomatic and the longer they will last.
- I have to lose 5 kg before surgery - make sure your GP records your weight when you first consult her/him and enters that weight in the referral letter to surgeon, otherwise surgeon may record the weight he sees and then make you lose 5 kg off that when you’ve already lost 4kg
- Don't lug huge loads around unless it is essential - less load on knee = less pain and less deterioration
- Use poles in both hands, especially downhill, but uphill as well will help - spreading your bodyweight across two poles and two knees halves the load on each knee and reduces the damage (and pain) each step causes.
- Ice the knee thoroughly after all exercise - essential to keep the swelling down every time............ see demo and Ice it Away device at clairepatella dot com for help
- See a physio or similar and get exercises t
ailored to your specific problem- Once you have an exercise programme do it religiously every day...... we only get out what we put in
- I find a couple of trips to the gym weekly helps – recumbent bike and rower are ideal cos it exercises the muscles above and below knee without putting weight through them. I keep off the cross-trainer and treadmill
- Keep range of motion of the knee to the max before surgery, there are specific exercises to help...
- Surgical techniques are improving all the time but the best surgeon's work can be ruined if we do not comply fully with the rehab program. Strict compliance reduces rehab time and gets a much better result.
- look after your tendons and ligaments: good strength in them will also get you a better result quicker after replacement. My physios begged me to forswear hills this summer just in case of a slip and a torn tendon/ligament complicating matters further. It has been very hard indeed with the beautiful weather but I've complied because I want the better outcome quicker!
- finally orthopaedic surgery is getting ever more specialised, with surgeons often specialising in only one joint. You need a specialist in knees, so politely insist that's who you see. If your local hospital doesn't have one, NHS does give you the right to a second opinion etc so insist. The National Joint Registry (England & Wales) will tell you how many of which joint each NHS surgeon does per year - good guide to experience. Scottish Arthroplasty Project should provide this when it is up and running.
Final encouragement: I recently met a gent who had had total knee replacement three weeks previously. He walked in using only one crutch and admitted that he did not need it all the time at home……he must have re-habbed really hard but he was getting out what he had put in….."