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Articles (Total : 20)

Date   Title

• Top 20 Most Inspirational Comments from Hip Replacement Patients 28 Jul 2009 • What are Risks of Delaying My Hip Replacement Surgery? 16 Jul 2009 • How can I manage pain after my total hip replacement surgery? 26 Jun 2009 • What are the advantages of Minimally Invasive Surgery for knee replacement? 7 May 2009 • Why is it important to get a second opinion for a total knee replacement? 13 Jul 2009 • The Benefits of Online Communities for Pre-Operative Hip Replacement Patients 3 Jun 2009 • The Benefits of Online Communities for Post-Operative Knee Replacement Patients 3 Jun 2009 • How Long Does it Take to Recover from Total Knee Replacement Surgery? 11 Jun 2009 • Top 20 Most Inspirational Comments from Knee Replacement Patients 28 Jul 2009 • How do I know if I need hip replacement surgery? 1 Jul 2009 • How can I manage pain after my total knee replacement surgery? 26 Jun 2009 • What is the difference between hip resurfacing and total hip replacement? 14 May 2009 • The Benefits of Online Communities for Post-Operative Hip Replacement Patients 3 Jun 2009 • How do I know if I need knee replacement surgery? 1 Jul 2009 • What Are the Risks of Delaying My Knee Replacement Surgery? 16 Jul 2009 • What are the advantages of Minimally Invasive Surgery for hip replacement? 1 May 2009 • Why is it important to get a second opinion for a total hip replacement? 13 Jul 2009 • How does partial knee replacement surgery differ from total knee replacement? 20 May 2009 • The Benefits of Online Communities for Pre-Operative Knee Replacement Patients 3 Jun 2009 • How Long Does it Take to Recover from Total Hip Replacement Surgery? 11 Jun 2009

Most knee replacement patients are between the ages of 60 and 80 years old.  In some cases, younger patients with traumatic knee injuries may also require a total knee replacement.  However the most common diagnosis is osteoarthritis.  If you are prevented from carrying out your everyday activities due to pain or discomfort in the knee, then you may have arthritis of some kind.  Similarly, difficulty in bending, squatting, kneeling, and walking may be indications that a knee replacement is in your future.

Pain tends to come in a succession of stages for people suffering knee arthritis.  At first, you may feel a low grade aching that develops gradually over some years.  When you put your weight on an arthritic knee, the pain will become much more obvious.  Then you will find it progressively more difficult getting up out of a chair, off the toilet, or going up and down the stairs.  The pain will begin to disturb your sleep at night and you may need to start taking painkillers to get enough rest.

In the second stage, you begin to cut back on you daily activities to cope with the knee pain.  For example, you walk less; you decide that gardening is too difficult now; or that you can’t keep up with the housework.  Maybe you feel you can’t carry the groceries into the house anymore.  Perhaps you’re avoiding stairs now, or choosing not to take part in certain recreational activities.  In other words, when you are having difficulty performing normal activities of daily living, you may need a knee replacement.

By the third stage, a person begins taking pain medication to ease the recurring, physical discomfort in the knee joint.  We suggest that if you have come to any of these stages, you seek advice from a doctor.  A doctor will take x-rays of your knee joint to see how much damage has occurred.  Depending on the extent of your knee problems, your doctor may suggest conservative treatments before deciding to operate on the knee.  Conservative treatments include medication, injections, braces, and physical therapy.  If none of these treatments allow you to recover some of your knee function, than a knee replacement may be the treatment of choice. There is also the choice of a Uni-compartment knee or a total knee replacement.

Author: Jeremy Reither

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Web: http://www.bonesmart.org/

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