Knee replacement on Monday

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Fit4LifeAR
Fit4LifeAR Posts: 233 Member
in Motivation and Support
I am having a total knee replacement on Monday, as a result of some injuries to my knee that never healed, leading to secondary osteoarthritis. I am only 36 years old and although I am young, I know it's time. I joined an online group on an app called bone smart, and wow...it just seems like one horror story after another. It just seems like the recovery is the most painful thing a person can ever go through. I hear stories that people can't sleep, can hardly move and that PT is torture. I've been mentally preparing myself for the pain, but wow...that site would freak anyone out. I was hoping I could get some experiences from more active people. I tend to believe that the more active you are, before and after surgery, the better the recovery is. I must say that when I posed a similar question on that site, it was not well recieved! Yikes...what am I getting myself in to?!?

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  • Kanyon17
    Kanyon17 Posts: 156 Member
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    Hi,
    I never had to have surgery (Lucky me!) but i know a few athletes of different levels that had to and yes, active people recover faster. Also, depending on your training, you might be more... tolerent? to the pain as you are 'used' to it? does that make sense?
  • Fuzzipeg
    Fuzzipeg Posts: 2,298 Member
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    Some people just like to scaremonger. Your attitude is exactly right, when muscles are used to working they find it easier to carry on. I am sure you will be provided with effective pain relief following your procedure and while you require it. Your care team will be experienced in helping people become comfortable. I used to work on elderly orthopaedic wards and we used pillows under legs sometimes to help people achieve comfort when appropriate.

    Some people expect to be back to normal as soon as they come out of hospital, they do not consider they need recovery time and over do things which is far from helpful. Please be guided by how your knee feels.

    All the very best for an active, pain free, healthy future.
  • mom23mangos
    mom23mangos Posts: 3,070 Member
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    I don't mean to scare you and my experience was with an inactive 70yr old, but I took care of my MIL after hers and I have to say it was brutal. I do think you will do better being younger and more active, but it's bad. Her hip replacement was a walk in the park compared to the knee. Best advice I can give is to get an elevated toilet seat and check your bathroom doors to make sure a walker can get through. Do your PT religiously. Have your therapist show your caregiver how to loosen muscle cramps. That was the worst part. She had continual Charley horses. If you dig you fingers into the muscle, like a pressure point, it will unlock it.
  • amyn73
    amyn73 Posts: 241 Member
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    My mother in law had 2 knees replaced. She commented that it was painful but not excruciatingly so. Good luck!
  • suzan06
    suzan06 Posts: 218 Member
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    My mom had surgery last fall. She in her 50's and isn't out running marathons, but she is active, does yoga and walks and such.

    Her recovery was smooth. Yes it hurt, but her pain was managed fine. She can now do pretty much everything, is back to walking a lot, lifting, yoga.

    The younger the better! Compare that to my grandma who did it in her 60's, totally didn't want it and had a negative attitude about the whole thing, and had never been physically active. Huge difference!
  • STEVE142142
    STEVE142142 Posts: 867 Member
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    No knee replacement here but I had a double hip replacement last year, anterior method. I was 55 years old when I had the surgery.

    Like anything else you going to experience positive people and negative people. One of the most important things is your mental attitude when you go in for the surgery and also when you do your physical therapy.

    The fact that you're young and active is going to be a real positive. One of the main tricks in my opinion to recovering from the surgery is physical therapy. Yes it may hurt a lot but the most important thing is to do the physical therapy as prescribed by the therapist. Don't know if you're going to go into a rehab facility or if it's going to be at home but like I said do the physical therapy it helps dramatically.

    The other thing I want to say is and I don't know your opinion on this is the pain killers. Before I had my surgery I read and researched the issue saw a lot also saw a lot of YouTube interviews some professionally made some just personal videos. One of the factors I noticed is that the ones who took the pain killers the way they were meant to be taken, had a good recovery as far as the physical therapy. The way my physical therapist explained it to me is that the painkillers take the edge off the pain and it helps you improve your range of mobility in the physical therapy sessions.
  • Fit4LifeAR
    Fit4LifeAR Posts: 233 Member
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    Thank you all for writing! I too believe that attitude is everything. I am expecting pain and that's ok. It's odd to say, but I am almost excited for a different kind of pain. I've been limping for so long, and the pain and tingling has gotten really old. In my head I know the pain will be healing, not deterioration, and that reminds me that I am heading in the right direction. I have also been diligent in working my quads as much as possible. I have lifted for years, so I think that will definitely help the recovery too. My last knee surgery was unexpectedly brutal, but I also had a numbing pain ball that I was supposed to keep in for three days. I took it out right when I got home from the hospital, not smart lol! The pain was horrible but PT and moving made it feel 110% better. I worked through it, and healed faster than expected. I know a knee replacement is a different ballgame, but I know the importance of PT. I think that, and using the pain meds to get through it, is the key!

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