Partial knee replacement - should I do it?

Posted , 12 users are following.

My knee joints are worn out on the medial side (inside) and I get pain and stiffness but I can still ride my bike for hours and walk the dog for half an hour and I don't limp since I started the APOS therapy and had steroid injections. But I want to be able to walk longer distances, jog, ski and be nimble like I was 10 years ago. The surgeon will do a half knee replacement on both legs, but am I taking too much of a risk?

0 likes, 17 replies

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  • Posted

    This is  a difficult one. You still sound to be quite active so it really depends on how much pain you are getting, Personally I think I would hang on as long as possible,

     

  • Posted

    To many of us on this forum you sound incredibly active smile

     I'm not sure how advisable jogging is on replacement knees, especially if you jog on the road or pavement so I would do lots of research and take lots of advice before going ahead it's a huge decision and you need to get all the information you can. 

    Good luck with your decision

  • Posted

    Hmm. .... If it's not affecting your quality of life. ... I wouldn't think so.... but obviously your surgeon thinks it's needed.... also you seem fit and healthy otherwise... so maybe recovery will be quick for you .... I wish I could do all of the activities you are doing at the moment. .... I had a TKR 18 weeks ago... but my muscles were in a bad way so taking a long time to recover.... take your time... weigh up all the pro's and cons. .. good luck whatever you decide...

    Regards. Mary

  • Posted

    Oh... meant to add... there's not a lot I can still do that I did 10 years ago.... :-D
  • Posted

    There was NO WAY I could do the things I used to do 10 years ago, either before my TKR and certainly not after, so if it were me, still riding your bike for hours, walking and not limping, then I would leave well enough alone! Wait until you can't do any of those things before you have partial or TKR. Otherwise I think you will be disappointed and having expected too much.

    Thats my humble opinion 😛

  • Posted

    my opinion. get a whole knee replaqcement. im from the usa and have had 2 of them done. iim doing great with them. just dont play contact sports or cross your legs. theres a lot to know about knee replacements
  • Posted

    Hi,

    I am in a similar  situation to you. I have bad arthritus on the medial side of my knee and every day I am considering knee replacements. It is particularly bad in the morning but seems to improve sligtly during the course of the day. I have had steroid injections but they no longer work so I will not have any more. However, I do not have any pain during the night and I can walk several miles and do most of the things I wish to do.

    My first surgeon said that if I can walk five miles I am not a candidate for a knee replacement.

    However, a chiropractor who I consulted when I did suffer for a couple of weeks with a lot of pain said that it is better ho have the operation whilst I am young (I am 62) and I am in good health at the moment rather than leave it until I am older as I may not recover so well.

    I would be particularly interested in your thoughts about Apos therapy as I have considered that several times but I know that it is expensive and I am not sure how helpful it is. I would be very grateful for any feed back

    Chrissie

  • Posted

    Hi,

    I am in a similar  situation to you. I have bad arthritus on the medial side of my knee and every day I am considering knee replacements. It is particularly bad in the morning but seems to improve sligtly during the course of the day. I have had steroid injections but they no longer work so I will not have any more. However, I do not have any pain during the night and I can walk several miles and do most of the things I wish to do.

    My first surgeon said that if I can walk five miles I am not a candidate for a knee replacement.

    However, a chiropractor who I consulted when I did suffer for a couple of weeks with a lot of pain said that it is better ho have the operation whilst I am young (I am 62) and I am in good health at the moment rather than leave it until I am older as I may not recover so well.

    I would be particularly interested in your thoughts about Apos therapy as I have considered that several times but I know that it is expensive and I am not sure how helpful it is. I would be very grateful for any feed back

    Chrissie

    • Posted

      APOS therapy  is worth it( but I didn't pay as I am lucky enough to have medical insurance). It was extremely effective for me - wear the boots and feel the benefit, it's like floating on air the first time you wear them, I started about 3 years ago but evenually plateaued in improvement. May be I should just stick to them instead of surgery!
  • Posted

    I was a bit like you. Arthroscopies 7 years ago......hill walker etc. Gradual decrease in distance I could walk.....3years ago 3 miles and paid for it the next day...for the last 2 years my world shrank as walking became a pain not a pleasure and I became more reliant on car and bus and could not manage any walking for pleasure.

    Now 5 weeks after partial knee replacement and just beginning to see some benefit and think that maybe in 6 months time I will be able to do more except that then I will need the other knee doing.

    it's definitely a difficult decision but all the info says that if you are still relatively active despite the serious arthritis you will do better than if you wait until all your muscles have wasted and you have a marked deformity

  • Posted

    Hi sixtapod, your story sounds like mine. I was cycling long-distance last June but couldn't walk more than 20 minutes especially on hard surfaces.

    I had a partial medial knee replacement and are well on with the recovery cycling again up to 50 km. Knee is getting better day by day not 100 % yet as it takes about a year to fully settle. I am having my other knee done in September this year. The recovery is hard and painful in the early stages but has been worth it for me. I believe my running days are over as impact is no good for the joint. As long as I can keep on cycling I am happy.

  • Posted

    thanks everyone for your comments - it's so useful to hear how others are coping. cheesygrin
  • Posted

    My surgeon said ' As long as you can do what you want to do keep on doing it. When you can't do daily activities like stairs, walking down hill, bending etc then come back and see me'

    At that point I had no cartilage at all, lots of boney spurs and knee that did a clunk and grind for Britain. But I was still able to take part in triathlon.

    Three years later I couldn't walk without pain or go downstairs. Knee was stopping me doing my job properly. In November I had a TKR. It's a long process. 

    You will be able to cycle ans swim after a few weeks of your op. 

    Skiing may put your knee in angles that would do harm to your new joint and falling over is not advised. 

  • Posted

    Difficult to advise you but I am now 7 weeks post partial knee replacement and it has been much tougher than I thought. I am still in quite a bit of pain and have limited bend of my knee but am improving, but it takes time and you have to learn to be very patient. Before the op I was still quite active and could walk fairly long distances but my reasoning was the the knee was not going to improve and it was better to have the op sooner rather than later.

    • Posted

      I am 5 weeks post partial knee replacement. I am doing physio but cannot yet do a full rotation on the stationary bike. I was wondering if this is normal?
    • Posted

      I'm 7 weeks and can't do a complete rotation. After left PKR it took me a good 5 months before I could cycle. Good luck with your recovery.

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