Total Knee Replacement - Why You Shouldn't Wait

Undergoing surgery is not something that anyone looks forward to. Sometimes people will learn to live with pain rather than going under the knife to repair any damage but when it comes to your mobility it's never a good idea to wait. Total knee replacement becomes necessary when the patient's mobility is hampered and typically more damaged is caused when arthritic conditions are ignored. This is especially true for female patients. It is thought that women can bear more pain than men so they wait longer to consider surgery.

What is a total knee replacement?

A total knee replacement is a surgical procedure that replaces the ends of the damaged femur (thigh bone) and the tibia (shin bone) and creates a smooth knee joint. The prosthetic components are made from metal or plastic and are secured to the bone with cement. Depending on the extent of the damage, a partial knee replacement or uni-compartmental replacement can be done in which only a portion of the joint is replaced. (The knee is comprised of three compartments).

What causes degeneration in the knee joint?

When bones become degenerative it is most commonly associated to osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis, also referred to as "wear and tear" arthritis is common in older patients and is caused by aging joints, obesity and prior injuries. Symptoms associated with osteoarthritis are joint pain and stiffness and decreased mobility. Weight loss can improve osteoarthritis and has been shown to decrease symptoms.

What to expect after Surgery

After undergoing a total knee replacement, patients are instructed by their physician to under go physical therapy to strengthen the surrounding muscles and ligaments. Depending on the amount of trauma, rehabilitation time will vary in patients. Rehabilitation is extensive but is necessary in the process. It is very important to manage weight gain because one of the contributing factors to osteoarthritis is obesity. Throughout the recovery process it is vital to maintain constant communication with your doctor.

Exercise: Muscle Strengthening Aids New Knees

A new study suggests that a carefully focused program of muscle strengthening can make an important difference in how well patients recover after knee replacement.

Patients who underwent six weeks of progressive muscle strengthening aimed at the quadriceps did much better than patients given conventional treatment. The study appears in the February issue of Arthritis Care & Research.

Almost 500,000 knee replacements are done in the United States each year, and patients often report that they still have problems doing things like walking and climbing.

For the study, more than 200 patients were divided into groups and given different treatments about four weeks after surgery.

One received conventional treatment. Another was also given quadriceps strengthening, while a third was given the strengthening and electrical stimulation to make the muscles contract.

While the electrical stimulation did not appear to make a difference, the muscle strengthening appeared to bring the patients back to a level of functioning almost normal for their age.

One of the authors, Lynn Snyder-Mackler of the University of Delaware, said in an e-mail message that knee replacement patients and their doctors should not underestimate the ability “to really improve their function.”