Hi there. Quick backstory:
37 year old dad of two. Had my ACL/MCL (R knee) obliterated in 04' playing football. Had a complete reconstruction of the ACL/MCL for that injury; a couple "clean ups" over the last 7 years to remove scar tissue, leaving me with a 70 year old arthritic knee. With the advanced stages of my arthritic knee, my ortho and I have bypassed cortisone, and moved right into gel injections. Earlier this morning I wrapped up a meeting with my ortho; it basically came down to, a third injection OR TKR.
I'm still active (teach dance, play disc golf), but have taken out all other physical activities. Pain is always around, but spikes dramatically after teaching or walking a round of disc golf. Honestly, if it was just pain...I would probably just gut it out, but it is the ROM (lack thereof) that is really devastating. Can't go fully straight, I have a 2-3" gap under my knee if I sat with my legs out; but the worst is flexion, I can't go past 90 degrees...and even less after a long day. Getting in/out of low cars is comical, so is going down the stairs, or getting out of my office chair after 45 min of sitting...
I guess I am just in a place where I am over it. I've been reading much more lately about TKR, along with the pros/cons of having the procedure done at a "young" age. I've only lurked this forum for a few days, but have seen several posts of late 30's/early 40's getting a TKR. Most of those posts are pretty positive/inspiring.
Hoping maybe a few of you might chime in and let me know about your experience? Or just any other words of encouragement from those that have been where I'm currently at. Thanks in advance
-J-
37 year old dad of two. Had my ACL/MCL (R knee) obliterated in 04' playing football. Had a complete reconstruction of the ACL/MCL for that injury; a couple "clean ups" over the last 7 years to remove scar tissue, leaving me with a 70 year old arthritic knee. With the advanced stages of my arthritic knee, my ortho and I have bypassed cortisone, and moved right into gel injections. Earlier this morning I wrapped up a meeting with my ortho; it basically came down to, a third injection OR TKR.
I'm still active (teach dance, play disc golf), but have taken out all other physical activities. Pain is always around, but spikes dramatically after teaching or walking a round of disc golf. Honestly, if it was just pain...I would probably just gut it out, but it is the ROM (lack thereof) that is really devastating. Can't go fully straight, I have a 2-3" gap under my knee if I sat with my legs out; but the worst is flexion, I can't go past 90 degrees...and even less after a long day. Getting in/out of low cars is comical, so is going down the stairs, or getting out of my office chair after 45 min of sitting...
I guess I am just in a place where I am over it. I've been reading much more lately about TKR, along with the pros/cons of having the procedure done at a "young" age. I've only lurked this forum for a few days, but have seen several posts of late 30's/early 40's getting a TKR. Most of those posts are pretty positive/inspiring.
Hoping maybe a few of you might chime in and let me know about your experience? Or just any other words of encouragement from those that have been where I'm currently at. Thanks in advance
-J-