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Tag: knee replacement

  • Knee Replacement Recovery Devices

    Knee Replacement Recovery Devices

    As a lifelong athlete and person who enjoys leading an active lifestyle, the fact that I have two torn meniscuses, one in my right knee and the other in my left knee, is not only debilitating but also discouraging because it has severely limited what I can and cannot do on a daily basis.

    In fact, since I am also in the throes of menopause and am suffering from sleep apnea as a side effect of my extreme hormonal changes, I keep gaining weight because I am unable to do any impactful cardio workouts, and my body is in a storing mode with the lack of quality sleep.

    Even though I make sure to go to the gym three times a week using a knee exercise machine and low-impact weightlifting routines, my efforts seem futile. I know that is not necessarily true, as I am strength training and moving, not sedentary, but I do feel disappointed, nonetheless.

    Fortunately, I do not need a total knee replacement. For the moment, I am getting by with cortisone injections and am on a wait list for gel injections. Eventually, I will have to have surgery to repair the tears, but replacement probably won’t happen for another twenty years or so.

    If I were to get a knee replacement, below are the potential recovery devices I would need, depending on the severity, to include, but not limited to the following:

    • Walker
    • Crutches
    • Cane
    • Grab bars
    • Proper railings on staircases
    • Raised toilet seat
    • Shower chair
    • Tub bench
    • Non-Slip bathmat
    • Reacher/grabber
    • Sock aid
    • Long-handled shoehorn
    • Elastic shoe laces or slip-on tennis shoes
    • Dressing stick
    • Long-handled sponge or brush
    • Cold therapy machine
    • Compression stockings
    • Knee slider (helps with knee bending or straightening in bed under the covers)
    • Yoga strap (helps with recovery exercises)
    • Foam roller
    • Bed tray (to eat or work on)
    • Post-op clothing specific to recovering knees
    • Dressing supplies for wound care

    According to the experts of knee recovery devices at X10 Therapy, “Why is X10 so Special for Knee Surgery Recovery?

    It allows you to avoid PT-induced therapeutic pain.

    The program is patient-centric. On X10 the patient is in control in contrast to manual physical therapy where the therapist is in control. So the X10 causes no pain while manual physical therapy can be extremely painful.

    X10 patients get more physical therapy than with any other method (they use it more because it doesn’t hurt).

    The X10 machine restores range of motion so quickly that patients rarely require follow-up procedures for scar tissue (Manipulation Under Anesthesia, MUA, or surgery to remove scar tissue).

    X10 patients who use the machine for strengthening before and after surgery eliminate the typical strength deficit of 30% in approximately three weeks; at the end of one month they have more strength than they did before surgery.

    The X10 restores patient independence in days or a few weeks as opposed to months to years.

    Wirelessly the X10 communicates your progress to your surgeon, therapist and coach daily.

    The X10 is particularly beneficial for patients who have other health problems as these patients are often prone to complications,”.

    *Note: All content within this article is meant for informational purposes only and is in no way a replacement for professional medical or psychological advice or support. Seek immediate and appropriate care from a healthcare professional should you or a trusted loved one deem it necessary.

    What causes a meniscus tear

    As mentioned earlier, I have led an active lifestyle and am an athlete in many sports. Some of the sports and positions I have played since I was eight years old until I was in my late forties, as well as activities I participate in, include:

    • Softball – shortstop, third baseman, left field, and center fielder (forty years)
    • Track and Field – Two-mile relay anchor, fifty-yard and one-hundred-yard hurdles
    • Volleyball
    • Swimming
    • Backyard football (no pads-tackle with the boys when I was a young girl!)
    • Martial Arts
    • BMX bike riding
    • ATV trail riding
    • Hiking
    • Primitive camping
    • Sledding
    • Ice skating
    • Roller Skating
    • Boating and tubing
    • Snow skiing

    Out of all of these sports and activities, playing shortstop in fastpitch softball is probably where I have done the most damage to my knees. Potentially hundreds of times each game, a shortstop must pivot often, go from standing still to a full-on sprint, perform sudden stops and turns, and slam down on their knees frequently to keep the ball in the infield. When I was on the high school varsity team as a starting shortstop, I used to have water on my knees regularly and would ice and get cortisone shots often.

    Sure, running the hurdles wasn’t the best on my knees either, but I did not participate in track and field for as long as I played softball. The hurdles did cause my ankles to get weak, though! Of course, my knees also took a hit with volleyball dives, BMX bike jumps, and ATV trail riding over the whoop-de-doos.

    Let’s see what the professionals have to report on what causes a meniscus tear.

    The Mayo Clinic suggests the below causes and risk factors, “Causes: A torn meniscus can result from any activity that causes you to forcefully twist or rotate your knee, such as aggressive pivoting or sudden stops and turns. Even kneeling, deep squatting or lifting something heavy can sometimes lead to a torn meniscus.

    In older adults, degenerative changes of the knee can contribute to a torn meniscus with little or no trauma.

    Risk factors: Performing activities that involve aggressive twisting and pivoting of the knee puts you at risk of a torn meniscus. The risk is particularly high for athletes — especially those who participate in contact sports, such as football, or activities that involve pivoting, such as tennis or basketball.

    Wear and tear on your knees as you age increases the risk of a torn meniscus. So does obesity,”.

    Yep, I am middle-aged and a bit overweight because I cannot do the cardio necessary to lose the weight as a direct result of my knee injuries. Double-edged sword syndrome – ugg!

    What is the best treatment for a torn meniscus?

    Obviously, avoiding the activities that created the problem in the first place would be my first line of defense in treating a torn meniscus. I also went through a few rounds of physical therapy, received acupuncture treatments, cortisone shots, and have iced as well as rested. Sports rubs and lotions have also been helpful.

    An all-over-body therapy that I do nightly is to sit in my jetted bathtub for fifteen minutes. Then I turn the jets off and dump Epsom salt and essential oils into my bath to soak for another twenty minutes while I do my prayers and meditation to fully relax before bed.

    Knee replacement recovery devices

    In conclusion, understanding recovery tools and treatment options empowers us to stay active, protect our knees, and confidently navigate whatever healing path the future may bring.

  • Difference Between Arthroscopy and Knee Replacement

    Difference Between Arthroscopy and Knee Replacement

    A little over five years ago, I decided to change the trajectory of my life and chose a different path to take this life journey on. It started with learning self-care and not ignoring when I felt pain, whether it was physical or psychological. When it came to the physical part, I learned that it, too, was a process and a journey to recovery.

    Since that time, I have liked to joke and say that I have been “under construction.” I usually get at least a chuckle. I have to laugh, or I would be crying because I have gone through many rounds of physical therapy, acupuncture and have had a Tenex procedure in my right shoulder. I have been dealing with chronic pain all of this time.

    Currently waiting to hear what my orthopedic says I need to do about my knees. Yes, I meant to say plural because both knees have torn meniscus. Plus, I hear a lot of cracking and popping going in my knees that gives me the heebie-jeebies!

    So, I am not sure if I will end up having both knees completely replaced or if I will try to go the arthroscopy route first. I would still need physical therapy and possibly a post-surgery arthroscopy recovery machine, but maybe return to a better normal than it’s been for years. Then, hopefully, I can put off total replacement for at least another five to ten years.

    In response to how arthroscopy helps a torn meniscus, The Mayo Clinic says, “In some cases, your doctor might use an instrument known as an arthroscope to examine the inside of your knee. The arthroscope is inserted through a tiny incision near your knee.

    The device contains a light and a small camera, which transmits an enlarged image of the inside of your knee onto a monitor. If necessary, surgical instruments can be inserted through the arthroscope or through additional small incisions in your knee to trim or repair the tear,”.

    The conclusion to a study by The National Institute of Health says this about the difference between arthroscopy and knee replacement, “Our overview of treatment for meniscal tear shows some promising step forward in the understanding of the important role of the meniscus that have led to a move toward meniscal preservation. Therapies that successfully repair or replace the meniscus are therefore likely to prevent or delay osteoarthritis progression.

    Meniscal repair, whenever possible, must be the preferred option for patients with a meniscal lesion. The biomechanical properties of the native meniscus are not copied entirely by the scaffolds that exist today. Congruence, fixation, biocompatibility and potential infection will always remain as limitations for the users of allografts.

    As research in biological augmentation and tissue engineering continues to develop, we expect that conservative treatments and meniscal replacement will be more widely used in younger patients in the future,”.

    Okay, now I have more to think about.

    Will a knee replacement help a torn meniscus?

    I was told that if I needed knee replacement surgery, it meant that my knee pain was likely to be persistent, that it would disrupt my sleep, interfere with my daily activities, and the pain wouldn’t respond to over-the-counter pain medications. They said that in order to relieve my constant pain, my doctor would probably recommend knee replacement surgery.

    However, I must remember that the outcome of what my professional healthcare team decides is not under my complete control. Even though I will consult with various doctors and close friends who have undergone this type of situation before making my final decision, I do have a great team, and I completely trust their professional opinions.

    To give you an idea of what someone with a torn meniscus feels, The University of Michigan Medicine explains it this way, “When cartilage inside the knee joint starts to break down, a person may begin to experience pain.

    ‘If you were to look inside a healthy knee joint you’d see a thick cushioning of cartilage that covers and protects the ends of your bones, as well as another type of cartilage, called the meniscus, that acts like a shock absorber between the bones,’ says Andrew Urquhart, M.D., a professor of orthopaedic surgery at Michigan Medicine’s Comprehensive Musculoskeletal Center,”.

    That’s exactly it – I have been telling people that it feels like I do not have any shocks! My concern, though, is that recovery time is warranted as I work full time, am a single mom of two teenage dogs, and am a sole homeowner (that’s also been under construction for the last two years).

    How painful is a total knee replacement?

    From what I have heard, it is painful after surgery, but what surgery isn’t? And for that matter, what injury isn’t painful to continue to feel? I’m looking forward to enjoying a somewhat pain-free lifestyle again. But inevitably, the pain will be there, especially in the first few weeks of recovery from the surgery itself, as well as pain as the body begins to heal.

    “Most patients — about 80 to 85% — feel their knee functions better than before they had surgery. These patients can get back to low-impact physical activity, such as walking, hiking, biking, playing golf or tennis and other light recreational activities. We discourage high-impact activities, such as basketball and running, as these can reinjure the knee,”. – University of Michigan Medicine

    Beyond grateful to hear that after knee surgery, I will be able to do low-impact activities again, like taking my dog for a walk, riding my bike on a flat, easy trail, or going on a hike with my sons. That gives me a great sense of hope and makes me look forward to my future. I seriously thought that I was going to be stuck with a glum life, benched indefinity – and for an active person like myself, it is basically a death sentence.

    Okay, so if my orthopedics suggest surgery, I think I am going to go for it because getting back to living a more physically active life is something that I genuinely miss and deeply need in my life.

    Difference between arthroscopy and knee replacement

    Both arthroscopy and knee replacement surgeries offer distinct pathways toward relief from chronic knee pain, but the choice largely depends on the severity of the condition and long-term goals.

    Consulting with a healthcare team is crucial to making an informed decision tailored to individual health needs. Regardless of the path chosen, both surgeries aim to improve the quality of life and restore a degree of normalcy.