How much benefit

[Trician]

I am 61. I am advised that unless I am in a lot of pain, i should wait for a 'new' knee. I am in some discomfort and cannot run although walking is NO problem. I want to climb mountains and run - will I be able to ?

 

[JenniferG]

Hi Trician and welcome. You have stumbled on the great debate. No one can say "when" but you and your surgeon obviously. Have you tried any other remedies like shots cortisone or synvisc, physical therapy, etc? NSAIDS. From what I see and personally experienced, when the knee pain interferes with your life and usual activities. When you stop doing things you would normally do because of pain, it's time to talk to the doc. Don't know about mountian climbing. If you mean hiking i would say yes. Running I think is on our list of "NOs" though.

 

[ship4]

Welcome! I have to agree with Jennifer. I could no longer hike, or even take a walk for a loop around the block anymore. I used to ski, hike, go for daily walks, and all that stopped due to the knee pain. I am now 59. In June of this year I had double (bilateral) total knee replacement (BTKR). I am now 4 months post op and am in the process of strengthening my quads. I would like to downhill ski in late February or early March of 2009. I will be hiking next summer too!
My knees now look normal other than the 5.5 inch scar that is on the front of each knee. The scar tends to travel medially. I asked the OS why? He said if he cut 1/8th of an inch medially at the bottom of the incision it would save over an inch in length of the scar! Glad he did it that way........
Good luck to you in your decision as to when it is right for you. Do some research! Find an experienced Orthopedic Surgeon who specializes in total knee replacement.......
Best,
Crystal

 

[Josephine]

Hi there, Tricia. Another Brit! We are not many on here.

As Jennifer says, the ultimate point at which you say 'enough is enough', only you can define but there are some pointers to help you. These have been defined as Activities of Daily Living (Roper-Logan-Tierney model of nursing)

The very basic ones are

• Light housework
• Preparing meals
• Taking medications
• Shopping for groceries or clothes
• Using the telephone
• Managing money

But there is a further list of ADLs which are a normal part of our daily living which, whilst they do not affect our ability to care for ourselves, most of us would consider basic

• Care of pets
• Child rearing
• Using the phone
• Using private or public transport
• Doing housework and/or gardening
• Meal preparation and cleanup
• Safety procedures and emergency responses
• Shopping

Pain is also graded on a 1 to 10 basis being 0=no pain and 10=unbearable pain.

So using all this and your own criteria of what makes life acceptable to you, you might keep a mental note of how/when your knee affects any or all of these points and your painscore is moving into a state where it occupies your mind frequently throughout the day and maybe even starts disturbing your sleep.

Another factor is are you having to take painkillers frequently or even regularly and are they managing the pain to your satisfaction?

Lot to think about!

Incidentally, who exactly told you this? Was it your GP or an orthopaedic surgeon?