CHAS

How do you know when it is time for a knee replacement?

Had a torn meniscus scoped in May 2009. Rode a mountain pass in the Rockies in August, no problem. Rode a metric and then an easy 25 miles the next day.
Knee swelled. Had is drained. It swelled again, but not as much.
Now it pops loudly when I stand and bothers me all the time. Ibuprofen gives temporary relief.

?

Wanderer

My Orthopod says when I can't stand the pain any longer ------ and mine has been "clicking" for years...... He also says that an artificial knee will never be as good as one that is still working. I also have about 80 degrees of range of motion.

Road Fan

When you've already upgraded everything else?

Sorry, I do understand it's a serious question ...

Metric Man

All the people I know with new knees say that when you can't stand up hardly is the time to do it...because after you get it it's not like being a kid again, it's a different, more tolerable discomfort.

molarface

The technology changes with time (just like everything else). The longer you can put it off, the better knee you are going to get. And remember that every so often something goes wrong with any surgery. Why chance it when you've barely scratched the surface? There are other antiinflamatories out there.
There's heat/ice. There's rest. Don't let them near you until you're crawling.

Well, that's my 2 cents.

Monoborracho

I've had seven knee surgerys...open, orthroscope, and rebuild. Don't ask. The reconstruction was when I was age 50. One leg becomes a little more crooked each day. Doc says he can't do much except replace knees from this point on, other than cortisone shots.

I've had two friends die of blood clots after knee replacements, one of which was six weeks post surgery.

I'll get mine replaced when it hurts so bad I really can't stand it.

Don't let you grandkids play football. Really. It's not worth it.

alicestrong

Do physical therapy to make your quads stronger. That will take some pressure off your knees.

Bionicycle

I kind of got the idea that my left knee needs replaced about 5 seconds after my orthopedic surgeon looked at the X-ray, shook his head, and said “ I can’t do anything with that”… I haven’t got it replaced yet, but I figure it’s in my not too distant future.

Daspydyr 

I got my hips replaced when I couldn't walk a hundred yards. No bike was comfortable and I couldn't sleep.

Now that I ave new hips, I have so much more of my life back. I put down laminate flooring upstairs and rode 40 miles in the same weekend. Playing the suffer the pain hero is over rated. If you need a knee, the sooner the better. You loose your life to pain and pain killers, not worth it.

DnvrFox

Got to disagree.

My wife had her knee replaced long before it was "too painful." However, the x-rays clearly showed the bones were rubbing against each other.

Her reasoning was - why live my life in pain, and limit my physical activity, and get my muscles in bad shape?? So we had a replacement, and her quality of life has amazingly improved.

The new knee works wonderfully, the rehab was relatively easy (partly because she had it replaced before her muscles atrophied from lack of use).

She heard the - "you got to wait until you can't stand it anymore" from several folks, and disregarded that. It worked for her.

Metric Man

The only people I know that have had knee replacements were not exactly physically fit. Perhaps the level of fitness has a great deal to do with how well the new knee works. Putting 300 lbs on a new knee probably won't be any better than the old knee. I suppose that only makes sense.

Wanderer

Age also has to enter into the equation.

I was told that the new knee would be good for about 15 years, and that it can be replaced ONCE.

Made me stop and think!

DnvrFox

In 15 years, the technology will be so advanced, that you will likely only need one more.

Wanderer

I'm "almost" old enough to bet on the come! But not quite!

rhawkins

As the title states, I had both knees replaced at once. I my right knee scoped in 2001, but it did not help because the arthritis was so prevalent. Shortly thereafter, my left knee started bothering me in the same way, so I knew it was arthritis. I limped along as best as I could, took celebrex and did exercises to strengthen my quads. I have a friend who is an orthopedic surgeon and and he told me to wait as long as possible as it is (his words) "a horrible operation". Fast forward to 2008. While on vacation, I could walk less than a block without extreme pain (at age 55). I called a different Dr. (friend retired) and went in to see him. X-rays were done, and he watched me attempt to walk across a room and told me that the arthritis had caused my legs to bow.
He said that total replacements would give me a better quality of life and that is all it took for me. It took nearly a year for me to be back to 100%. I have good range of motion (about 115-120 degrees of bend) and can completely straighten both legs. I can go up and down steps, stand a long time, walk long distances, ride my bike, all without pain. The rehab is brutal and painful at times, but I am very happy that I did it and that I did them both ato once.

CrankyFranky

Everybody has their own unique issues with damaged knees. After 6 weeks off my feet recouping after a foot operation, my right knee (which has given me pain sporadically for 20+ years) started locking, clicking to beat the band, and being very painful. Doc said "Yep, there's bone on bone" etc. and diagnosed osteoarthritis. But I started riding again, keeping religiously to low gears, and slowly built up my quads. The pain, locking, and clicking slowly abaited... and three months later, I've not had a peep in a very long time. We tend to overlook the role our muscles play.
So, as I said, everyone is different, but I also know that alicestrong is on to something... I won't be running up stairs any more (60 this coming month) but I'm keeping the surgeon on an extended fishing trip for a while longer. And I'll be doing strengthening exercises with a bit more purpose now.

Barry in GA

No knee problems, but I have been through having both hips replaced (10 years apart). Joint replacement has become pretty routine, but it is not minor surgery and rehab can be a pain (bad pun semi-intended).

My advice is to go as long as you can with physical therapy, anti-inflamatory meds, cortisone injections, laproscopic repairs, etc. When the pain and lack of mobility begin to have a significant impact on your life and the people around you, it is time to have the joint replacement.

Just my experience and opinion, YMMV.

late

How old are you?

How many other knee injuries have you had? I damaged my knees so badly in the 70's the Doc said I'd never run again. A few years later I was jogging, and eventually got into backpacking. I have come back from several knee injuries.

Ice it down, give it time. Go for a LOT of long walks.

PT is a way of life, remember that.

pharasz

I had my left knee scoped about 4 years ago. Fortunately, most of my meniscus is still intact. I asked the doc if I should quit running. He said "goodness no! That would be like telling you to take up smoking. I can't get my patients to exercise at all. "

Well two years later I was training to run a 15K and that knee started to hurt again. I ran the 15K in pain, turned 50, then bought a new road bike and put away my running shoes. It took about two months, but after not running for two months the knee stopped hurting. But I DO have arthritis (bone on bone) in my left hip and it aches every single day. I don't take any medication for it, I just do my best to ignore it. It's been aching since I injured it 26 years ago, so I guess I'm used to it. I know I will need a hip replacement eventually, but I'm in the camp of "wait until you can't take it".

But what constitutes "can't take it" is different for everyone. Some of you feel you waited too long, others have regrets for doing it too soon. I guess the trick is recognizing when you've reached that point - sort of like Brett Favre trying to figure out when he should retire (and BTW: he has the same hip injury I do - he got hurt in college and has been playing on it that way ever since).

It's not an easy decision. I am encouraged by the people I've met with total hip replacements and how well they are doing. I guess when I get to the point where I want to eat ibuprofen every day, that would be my "can't take it" point. Ibuprofen tears up my stomach, so taking that every day is no comfort to me.

sesmith

When an orthopedic surgeon, who you trust, recommends that you should consider it. Give physical therapy a try first. There are many things that can cause knee issues and many can be corrected, or at least made bearable with physical therapy. Also, have you tried glucosamine. I swear by the stuff though it isn't a cure-all.