<p>DH was completely immobilized last week when knee went out on him. Went to Dr and he is bone on bone in both knees. Cortisone took care of the immediate mobility issue but it is not a long term solution. He is looking at knee replacement on both knees but is worried about being able to run and ride his bike afterwards. He is a soccer coach, referee, and college PE instructor and is turning 65. </p>
<p>Does anyone have experience with knee replacement and mobility afterwards?</p>
<p>My husband had both knees replaced at 60. He had a football injury, developed early arthritis, and then played catcher on a fast-pitch softball team for years. Being pain-free and fully mobile after surgery was truly a wonderful thing. He sticks to low-impact exercise–swimming and biking. He is cautious about running or anything that pounds or twists his knees. (He had to have a second replacement in one knee after jumping off a low wall.) He likes to walk for exercise on soft surfaces, but not sidewalks. Tell your H to have a conversation with his surgeon about what he will and will not be able to do. The pros outweigh the cons, for sure. Check this link for recommended activities (scroll way down): <a href=“http://www.kneesociety.org/web/patienteducation_totalknee.html[/url]”>http://www.kneesociety.org/web/patienteducation_totalknee.html</a></p>
<p>Lots of people who compete in dog agility have one or both knees replaced. Following recommended PT completely seems to result in complete return to running–but without pain–based on my observations. I know multiple cyclists with one or both knees replaced as well.</p>
<p>My neighbor is mid 60s, he had both knees done about 18 months ago, I see him riding his bike all over, including going on all day rides. He also still cross country skiis, seems to have worked for him</p>
<p>My Dad had both his knees replaced (in separate procedures) years ago and the difference in his mobility was amazing.</p>
<p>The key is making sure that the physical therapy regimen is followed without fail. It is perhaps one of the hardest roads of recovery one will have. I watched my Dad wince in more pain than he ever showed in his life and struggle mightily with the exercises. But he knew that the effort would pay off, and it did.</p>
<p>Excellent point about PT and continuing exercise. My H worked hard at PT and keeps his various leg muscles like steel through regular strength exercises using leg weights. He did a strength training regimen pre-surgery, too. The surgery and recovery are not fun, but the results are well worth it. The OP’s H sounds like he’s in great shape–and he’s young at 65!</p>
<p>“It is perhaps one of the hardest roads of recovery one will have.”#5</p>
<p>Pay attention to that. I was in PT for a few months for another injury, with a bunch of TKR
They were in a lot of pain. I felt they were overworked by the PT (especially the more elderly and overweight).</p>
<p>Plan your post-operative pain treatment well with your doctor. There is a newer technique for post-operative pain done by the anesthesiologist, that has a medication dripping directly into knee after surgery while you recover. Cuts down on the nausea from narcotics.</p>
<p>Plan 6months-1yr of discomfort and hard work in rehab. I think it is unusual for both knees to be done at the same time, so I’d double that if both knees need replacing.</p>
<p>It took my H much less than six months to be fully mobile and pain free. He says six weeks, but I’d say it was a bit longer than that. I think a lot depends on your age, overall physical condition, extent of the surgery, and mental attitude, as well as the amount of PT your insurance will pay for. For example, along with in-home PT, he had a knee flexing machine in the hospital and then at home for quite a while. He met someone who did not have the machine at home and was not progressing nearly as fast as he was.</p>
<p>How’s recovery time on knees vs hip replacement? My husband is having his hip done next month - he’s 60 and has always been athletic until this started slowing him down a few years back. I’m sure he’ll work as hard as he can to come back - I think his doctor said at least 4 months until he can fully resume normal stuff like biking and walking.</p>
<p>At the hospital where I volunteer at, knee replacement patients usually start walking and working with the therapists the next morning. And yes, I did say walking!</p>
<p>After six months (give or take depending on the patient) they should be able to gain good mobility and can resume normal activities such as walking and swimming.</p>
<p>Marilyn…remember my post about my Dad having both his knees replaced? He had a hip done as well. We call him Bionic Dad!</p>
<p>The recovery period for the hip seems a bit longer but I think that’s more due to the healing process than anything else. There really was no physical therapy for his hip…it was a situation where he simply had to be very conscious of his hip position every time he sat down or stood up to ensure that the structure of the replacement stayed in position while the bone healed. He was encouraged to just walk as he wanted.</p>
<p>He got a very comfortable leather desk chair to sit in all the time (was a fixture in the living room) because of its adjustable height. It kept his hip in the proper position while sitting and made sitting down/getting up easier.</p>
<p>Its an easier recovery when compared to the knee, just may take a bit longer.</p>
<p>[Hip, not knee]
Marilyn, my sister had a HIP replaced a couple of years ago. When people talked about the long recovery, I visualized my sister lying in bed and being in pain for months. The reality was different. She was in some pain, yes, but not like I feared. The main issue was the extreme restrictions on specific kinds of movement. You absolutely could not turn your affected leg certain ways, you could not bend, you absolutely cannot cross your legs, etc. Your sleeping positions are rigidly controlled. So, a lot of the recovery is actually frustration, because of your movement restrictions. The reason is that the replaced hip joint can “pop out” of the socket when it is healing if you suddenly move a certain way. </p>
<p>Also, my sister DID have exercise therapies to do. A therapist came to her house for several weeks and did a succession of increasingly active exercises, designed to get her back to full functioning. She had a little set of rotary pedals that she pedaled, like a bicycle. Because of the hip pain she had been in for so long prior to surgery, the muscles on that side were weaker because she had favored that leg.</p>
<p>FYI, we are so glad she had the surgery. Her former pain is gone, and everything works great.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone. He is contemplating which is worse, giving up some of his activities or risking it seizing up again. We are waiting to see how long the shots last I guess. While they are working he has no interest in surgery, when they aren’t it can’t come soon enough. He is fit and not overweight so he has high hopes of that benefiting a recovery. We’ll see. I may be back in a few months looking for nursing tips :)</p>
<p>If your husband’s knees are bone on bone, I don’t see how he can do his activities now! I have some cartilage left, and I’m still in pain if I do too much walking.</p>
<p>My sister had her knee replaced (age 69). Now she says it was worth it, but she suffered a lot because she was allergic to all the good pain killers. If she took the ones that work, she became very nauseous. She was pretty much limited to Extra-Strength Tylenol. So she was in a lot of pain for many weeks and PT was very difficult.</p>
<p>I have another friend who has had both knees replaced while in her 70s. She raves about it, although now she has serious mobility issues related to her weight and back problems (which were probably made worse by her knee issues). However, she has and still travels all over the world, albeit slowly and with a cane.</p>
<p>Singersmom: is he a candidate for the synthetic joint lubricant like synvisc-one? Sometimes you can push off the knee replacement for a little while by trying that.</p>