When is the right time for knee replacement surgery?
Knee replacement surgeries (both partial and total knee) are becoming more popular. One of the most common elective surgical procedures is joint replacement. The increase in joint replacement surgeries can be attributed to several factors:
- The aging of the baby boomer population
- High rates of diagnosis and treatment of arthritis
- Demands for improved mobility and high quality of life
- Younger individuals undergoing these procedures
- Improvements in life expectancy
Despite the growing popularity of the procedure, you might still find yourself questioning if it's the right time for a knee replacement. You might be eager to have the surgery because you're in extreme pain and want to get back to living your best life or you might be thinking it's too early for a knee replacement and you want to put it off as long as possible.
If you've endured knee pain for a while, even after your doctor recommended knee replacement surgery, you've probably hoped something else might work or the pain would eventually subside and go away on its own. You've likely tried a variety of relief options such as oral medications, cortisone injections, use of walking aids, and physical therapy. But if you're reading this now, you likely haven't experienced the success you originally hoped for with alternative methods.
A knee replacement is a major surgery. The procedure might be needed if you're in pain that cannot be relieved with conservative treatments and if the pain is interfering with daily living activities. Advancements in technology, such as robotic-assisted surgery, have reduced the risks and improved the accuracy of joint replacement surgeries. Along with reduced surgical complications, this type of robotic technology allows for less pain, less blood loss, faster recovery, and smaller, less noticeable scarring.
A common statement from knee replacement post-op patients is they "wished they would have had the procedure earlier."
Doctors often tell patients they'll know when the time is right for their knee replacement. Some hints it might be time are:
- Your knee pain limits daily living activities or activities you enjoy.
- Your knee pain keeps you up at night.
- You've tried more conservative treatments over a reasonable period of time and still have persistent knee pain.
Talk to the team at the Reid Health Comprehensive Bone & Joint Center if the above describes your situation and you feel you're ready to return to activities you enjoy through knee replacement surgery. Just call (765) 962-4444 or go to reidhealth.org/spine.
Modern technology makes robotic surgery safer than ever.