Knee Replacement Surgery Overview
Living with Arthritis is everything but a simple thing to be done. The patients with Arthritis have to actually go through a lot in their lifetime and we cannot even begin to understand them completely.
Luckily there are a lot of effective treatment plans such as physical therapy, occupational therapy, medications, herbal and natural remedies that these patients can use to relieve their symptoms.
But one thing that all of these treatment plans are not is cure. And that is how we are getting to knee replacement surgery.
Knee replacement surgery has been used for a while now to treat several conditions, however, in the last few years, more and more patients with Arthritis are asking their doctors to perform this procedure in order to relieve their Arthritis symptoms. Are you interested to find out more about this popular procedure?
Living With An Artificial Knee: What Are Recipients Saying Years Later
Today, more than 4.5 million Americans live with a total knee replacement , according to the U.S. National Institutes of Healths National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases. In fact, the number of surgeries has doubled over the last decade, with the largest increase occurring in younger patients. Its safe to say that the procedureonce within the realm of science fictionhas now moved completely into the mainstream.
A TKR, from consideration to recovery, is a complex and serious matter. Its easy to get overwhelmed. Its important to conduct the necessary research and understand the facts about the procedure. However, its also wise to hear the stories of otherspeople who have lived with knee problems and undergone a TKRto fully comprehend whats involved and what real world issues enter the picture. Discussion boards and blogs focusing on knee replacement are excellent resources for real world stories. You can learn how others take care of their artificial knee, how they manage the recovery process, and what advice they offer.
Another woman, a teacher, who had previously walked with a limp because she couldnt bend one leg properly, now walks in a more natural motion and is able to interact with students and move about more freely. I feel like I am whole again after surgery I wanted to have a normal life and now I feel as though I do. Im thrilled!
Last medically reviewed on April 30, 2012
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Radiofrequency Ablation For Knee Pain
If all of these methods fail to control your knee pain from osteoarthritis, there are still options. Radiofrequency ablation controls pain in the knees by destroying the sensory nerves that carry the pain signal from the knee to the brain.
RFA is likely a temporary fix, as nerves will grow back in six months to two years, and the pain may return.
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What Is The Best Vitamin For Arthritis
Top 4 Supplements to Treat Arthritis PainCurcumin Evidence suggests the turmeric root has anti-inflammatory properties. Vitamin D. If you have arthritis pain or are at high risk for arthritis, your doctor may recommend a vitamin D supplement. Omega-3 fatty acids. Glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate.
Increased Risk Of Heart Attack Stroke And Bleeding Stomach Ulcers
Knee replacement patients aged 60 and up are 31 times more likely to experience a heart attack in the two weeks following surgery. When you amputate a joint from a patient, there is severe trauma to the blood vessels and bone marrow space. This leads to extreme stress on the body and a higher risk of blood clots that could potentially cause an embolism in the heart, lungs, or brain. Clots are fairly common. According to one study, blood clots in the legs that produced symptoms were found in 34% of patients.
Men are at an even greater risk of having a heart attack after knee replacement surgery. One research study discovered that the risk of heart attack in men who have had a knee replacement increases by 79% in the years that follow the procedure. Additionally, the stress of undergoing the joint removal alone may be enough to trigger a stroke or a heart attack. Bleeding stomach ulcers can also occur following knee replacement. Study results show a three-times increase in stomach bleeding for up to six weeks post-surgery.
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Adding Or Removing Some Bone Around A Joint
If you have osteoarthritis in your knees but youâre not suitable for knee replacement surgery, you may be able to have an operation called an osteotomy. This involves your surgeon adding or removing a small section of bone either above or below your knee joint.
This helps realign your knee so your weight is no longer focused on the damaged part of your knee. An osteotomy can relieve symptoms of osteoarthritis, although you may still need knee replacement surgery eventually.
Can Rehabilitation Be Done At Home
All patients are given a set of home exercises to do between supervised physical therapy sessions and the home exercises make up an important part of the recovery process. However, supervised therapy–which is best done in an outpatient physical therapy studio–is extremely helpful and those patients who are able to attend outpatient therapy are encouraged to do so.
For patients who are unable to attend outpatient physical therapy, home physical therapy is arranged.
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How Your New Knee Is Different
Improvement of knee motion is a goal of total knee replacement, but restoration of full motion is uncommon. The motion of your knee replacement after surgery can be predicted by the range of motion you have in your knee before surgery. Most patients can expect to be able to almost fully straighten the replaced knee and to bend the knee sufficiently to climb stairs and get in and out of a car. Kneeling is sometimes uncomfortable, but it is not harmful.
Most people feel some numbness in the skin around your incision. You also may feel some stiffness, particularly with excessive bending activities.
Most people also feel or hear some clicking of the metal and plastic with knee bending or walking. This is normal. These differences often diminish with time and most patients find them to be tolerable when compared with the pain and limited function they experienced prior to surgery.
Your new knee may activate metal detectors required for security in airports and some buildings. Tell the security agent about your knee replacement if the alarm is activated.
It Could Lead To Complications During And After Surgery
Because dealing with chronic pain and reduced mobility can take a toll on your physical and emotional health, delaying your surgery could lead to additional complications during and after your knee replacement. If you experience weight gain, low endurance, or get diagnosed with a cardiac condition or similar ailment, you may require a more complex procedure and longer estimated recovery time.
Remember: as the joint deteriorates, the overall replacement process will become more complex as the surgeon must navigate increased joint deformity while operating on someone with suboptimal health. This means that your surgery may take longer and leads to a higher risk of postoperative concerns like blood clots, infections, or obstacles to recovery.
Additionally, most patients experiencing late- to end-stage osteoarthritis are older individuals. Old age is associated with an increased risk of surgical complications and slower recovery times.
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What Is The Treatment For Knee Pain
Treatments for knee pain are as varied as the conditions that can cause the pain.
Medications
Medications might be prescribed to treat an underlying medical condition or for pain relief.
If you are taking over-the-counter anti-inflammatory pain medications regularly for your knee pain, you should see your doctor to be evaluated.
Physical therapy
Sometimes physical therapy sessions to strengthen the muscles around the knee will make it more stable and help guarantee the best mechanical movements. Working with a physical therapist can help avoid injuries or further worsening of an injury.
Injections
Injecting medications directly into your knee might help in certain situations. The two most common injections are corticosteroids and lubricants. Corticosteroid injections can help arthritis and other inflammations of the knee. They usually need to be repeated every few months. Lubricants that are similar to the fluid already in your knee joint can help with movement and pain.
Helping Patients To Make Informed Decisions
We’re funding research to improve patient experience before, during and after knee replacement surgery. This includes a project based at the University of Sheffield which aims to help patients make informed decisions about their surgery. The research team will use the UK National Joint Registry dataset to develop and validate a personalised, web-based decision aid to help patients considering knee joint replacement to make informed choices about their treatment.
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How Will It Affect Me
If you have osteoarthritis of the knee, you will probably feel your knee is painful and stiff at times. It may only affect one knee, especially if youve injured it in the past, or you could have it in both. The pain may feel worse at the end of the day, or when you move your knee, and it may improve when you rest. You might have some stiffness in the morning, but this wont usually last more than half an hour.
The pain can be felt all around your knee, or just in a certain place such as the front and sides. It might feel worse after moving your knee in a particular way, such as going up or down stairs.
Sometimes, people have pain that wakes them up in the night. Youll probably find that the pain varies and that you have good and bad days.
You might find you cant move your knee as easily or as far as normal, or it might creak or crunch as you move it.
Sometimes your knee might look swollen. This can be caused by two things:
- Hard swelling: when the bone at the edge of the joint grows outwards, forming bony spurs, called osteophytes .
- Soft swelling: when your joint becomes inflamed and produces extra fluid, sometimes called an effusion or water on the knee.
Sometimes osteoarthritis of the knee can cause the muscles in the thighs to weaken, so your leg may look thinner. This weakness can make the joint feel unstable and could cause the knee to give way when you put weight on it.
Can Hip Or Knee Arthritis Be Cured Permanently
Science has been looking for a cure for arthritis for a long time. At this point, we have very good treatments that alleviate pain and inflammation. Nonoperative treatment for arthritis helps people stay active with their normal knees for a longer time, sometimes avoiding surgery altogether. There are excellent surgical treatments available to help with arthritis.
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Will My Ra Impact My Surgery
You may have to stop some of your RA medications right before surgery, since they make it harder for your body to fight a post-surgery infection. But stopping your medication carries its own risks, including a flare-up of arthritis during your recovery. If this happens, you may not be able to do the physical therapy youâll need to get better from surgery. Also, if you stop taking medication, even for a short period of time, it may not work as well when you start it back up.
Sometimes, people with RA need several surgeries, since the disease affects multiple joints. You might need hip, wrist, or elbow surgery. In these cases, your surgeon may operate on the most painful area first. Or, they might choose the joint that affects your daily life the most. Usually, that means the ankle and foot first, then the hip, then the knee.
People with RA are more likely than others to have complications from surgery. This can be because arthritis medications weaken your immune system. Or it could be because you have poorer bone and joint quality that can affect your ability to function and rehab after surgery. Your medical team will watch you closely for the first few weeks or months after surgery.
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Effect Of Total Knee Replacement On Quality Of Life And Use Of Non
Figures A-G in appendix 3 show time trends of SF-12 PCS, SF-12 MCS, SF-6D, WOMAC, KOOS quality of life, use of osteoarthritis pain medication, and non-pharmacological treatments, specified for those who did and did not undergo total knee replacement. After adjustment for baseline and time varying confounders, the main effects of total knee replacement comprised an absolute improvement of 1.70 points on SF-12 PCS, and changes in SF-12 MCS of 0.22 and SF-6D of 0.008 point. For each unit decrease in baseline SF-12 PCS, the effect on SF-6D increased and could be calculated as 0.0980.002Ã, suggesting that total knee replacement would become more effective if it was restricted to patients with SF-12 PCS scores < 50. For osteoarthritis specific measures of quality of life, the procedures main effects included improvement of the WOMAC score by 10.69 and KOOS quality of life of 9.16 points. Total knee replacement reduced the odds of use of medication for osteoarthritis pain, but this effect was uncertain, with an odds ratio of 0.81 . Use of non-pharmacological treatment did not significantly seem to change with total knee replacement . These effects were generally consistent with those obtained from multivariable adjusted analyses of MOST data, although in MOST the effect on SF-12 MCS was positive in contrast with the effect in OAI .
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Increased Risk Of Hip Fracture
A surprising addition to knee replacement surgery risks is the rise of hip fractures following surgery. A Swedish study observed the medical records of the entire Swedish population born between 1902 and 1952. The risk for hip fracture for those who received knee replacements before surgery was relatively low. In total, 3,221 patients suffered a hip fracture within 10 years following knee replacement surgery. This accounted for a 4% increase in the risk of hip fracture after knee replacement. In addition, we are also seeing bone density loss in hips. There could be a correlation between the two.
Extending The Life Of Your Knee Implant
Currently, more than 90% of modern total knee replacements are still functioning well 15 years after the surgery. Following your orthopaedic surgeon’s instructions after surgery and taking care to protect your knee replacement and your general health are important ways you can contribute to the final success of your surgery.
To assist doctors in the surgical management of osteoarthritis of the knee, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons has conducted research to provide some useful guidelines. These are recommendations only and may not apply to every case. For more information: Surgical Management of Osteoarthritis of the Knee – Clinical Practice Guideline | American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons
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Frequently Asked Questions About Arthritis Of The Knee
Q: What is arthritis and what causes it?
A: Arthritis is an umbrella term for a number of disease entities in which the joints become inflamed and the cartilage that lines the bones deteriorates. Eventually, bone on bone wear occurs. As the disease progresses, patients often experience pain, stiffness, and disability. The vast majority of people diagnosed have osteoarthritis and in most cases the cause of their condition cannot be identified. One or more joints may be affected. is a disease that affects the entire system and multiple joints. This type of arthritis is an autoimmune disorder in which the body perceives the cartilage to be a foreign substance and attacks it.
Q: If I have arthritis in one knee, will I get it in the other?
A: If you have been diagnosed with osteoarthritis, having an affected knee does not mean that you will develop arthritis in the opposite knee. About 40 percent of patients who have osteoarthritis in one knee will have the same condition in the other knee. In contrast, patients with rheumatoid arthritis often develop problems in both knees.
Q: Why is my knee becoming more bowlegged or knock-kneed?
A: The increasing deformity of becoming more bowlegged or knock-kneed represents the greater wearing out of cartilage and bone from one side of the knee as compared to the other.
Q: What is that cracking sound I hear in my knee?
Q: What kinds of things besides surgery can I do to help?
Q: Are there any exercises that will help my knee arthritis?
What Causes Knee Pain In Young Adults
Knee pain in your 20s is often associated with overuse injuries. When the muscles, ligaments or tendons are overworked, pain, stiffness and other symptoms can develop pretty quickly. Tendonitis and bursitis are a couple of overuse injuries that are most commonly associated with strenuous activity. But they can also occur in relatively inactive people who ramp up their activity too quickly. Still, while these types of injuries are fairly common in young adults, theyre not the only causes of knee pain.
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Dealing With Knee Arthritis At Home