There is no such right or wrong age for knee replacement surgery. If you find it challenging to sit, walk, or work without feeling tremendous pain in your knees, you may be considered as a candidate for a knee replacement. The age bracket of 50 to 70 years is the most common age group for knee replacement patients.
But despite this, you're never “too old” to have your hip or knee replaced. “There is no age cutoff for joint replacement,” says Dr. Piuzzi. “Studies have found that people in their 80s and 90s benefit from hip or knee replacement as much as younger people.”
Your mobility and recovery may be affected by putting knee surgery off too long. If you are not active due to knee pain, the muscles in your legs will lose strength, slowing your recovery and making physical therapy even more challenging due to loss of muscle mass and mobility.
Patients who can walk on level ground without much difficulty, or who only have pain when going up and down stairs, are not good candidates for knee replacement surgery.
A recent study found that 20% of people are unhappy with their knee replacements. Here's what can play into that dissatisfaction. Let's get one thing straight right away — knee replacements are often a smart choice. A lot of people have less knee pain and more mobility after their surgery and rehab.
The American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS) advises that kneeling is safe and won't harm the knee. It may, however, still feel painful or uncomfortable to kneel. Your healthcare team likely will provide you with specific instructions, training, or physical therapy about how to safely kneel.
As knee arthritis progresses, the knee becomes much looser and more unstable. In some cases, this is mild. In other cases, it is substantial enough that cause the patient to fall. Patients who have bone-on-bone arthritis and are starting to fall because of it should strongly consider surgery.
Recovery is slow
While it's different for everyone and depends on the type of knee surgery you've had, many people are surprised by how long it takes to recover. The time it takes to start doing simple tasks around the home, get back to work and importantly bending your new and improved knee may catch you by surprise.
If you have had a knee replacement and your knee still feels unnatural, this is perfectly normal. It's normal for you to feel this way as recovery from a total knee replacement takes time. This doesn't mean that you can't reach full function or come to accept your knee as a normal part of your body.
You can expect some pain and swell for a few months after surgery. Improved surgical techniques and new technology, such as robotic arm-assisted technology, makes the knee replacement recovery process quicker and less painful.
Overall, patient satisfaction after primary total knee arthroplasty was 81% in our study.
Pain becomes more common during simple activities like walking or rising from a chair. Eventually, the bone on bone pressure causes the growth of bone spurs. These lumps of bony excess cause further discomfort and stiffness within your joint.
In people who receive a total hip replacement, about 90 to 95 percent receive almost total relief of pain following the surgery. Because of the intricacy of the joint, that number drops slightly for knee replacement to about 80 to 85 percent. Complication rates are similar for hip and knee replacements.
After having a total knee replacement, you may expect your lifestyle to be a lot like it was before surgery — but without the pain. In many ways, you are right, but returning to your everyday activities takes time.
Your second day can begin with more pain than you experienced on post-op, day one. You probably didn't sleep great, getting to the bathroom with your walker is a fiddle, but you take your medications, ice and elevate, and work on walking.
Most people have much less pain after knee replacement surgery and are able to return to many of their activities. But as with any surgery, there are some risks, including: Lack of good range of motion. After surgery, some people can't bend their knee far enough to do their daily activities, even after several weeks.
Answer: Immediately after surgery you will learn to climb stairs safely using crutches. As recovery continues and you work on flexion and extension of the new knee, you will be able to climb without crutches. With the help of physical therapy and building up the quadriceps muscles, stair climbing will be a breeze.
The answer: a resounding yes! In fact, people with knee osteoarthritis who walk for exercise are significantly less likely to go on to develop worse pain, according to a 2022 study published in Arthritis & Rheumatology.
When you put off surgery for too long, you can experience a continued loss of mobility and function in your joint. Plus, your body continues to age and your risk increases for developing other health conditions such as diabetes or high blood pressure.
Effectiveness of total knee replacement
Many studies show that 90-95 percent of total knee replacements are still functioning well 10 years after surgery.
But as with any medical procedure, it's important to understand the possible risks of having knee replacement surgery. The good news is that knee replacement surgery is generally considered a safe procedure. Complications are very rare.
The majority of studies reported more than 80% patient satisfaction, while a small number reported overall satisfaction in the 60-to-80% range. Therefore, although the reported satisfaction is generally high, around one in five patients may be dissatisfied with their elective TKR.