Avid kayaker and hiker says knee replacement “no big deal”
Submitted by ORA Orthopedics
When
Lynn Bohlmann began avoiding stairs, it wasn’t much of a lifestyle
change. After all, she lived in a ranch-style house. But when she began
dreading the pain of getting in and out of her kayak, she knew the time
had come to make a decision. “My knee pain was getting in the way of
what I wanted to do,” the 60-year-old Davenport woman says. “I asked
myself, what do I want to do with the rest of my life? Keep this pain or
do something about it?”
Lynn’s knee pain is common to many people
over 50. Hereditary conditions, weight issues, and old sports injuries
trigger arthritis that gets gradually worse. As with many knee patients,
Lynn had enjoyed temporary relief from cortisone injections, but they
didn’t last more than a few weeks and she had long-term plans. “My
husband and I are retired, so we travel, hike, and kayak a lot,” she
says. “Cortisone was wonderful, but it didn’t last for me.”
Lynn
consulted with board-certified orthopedic surgeon Dr. Joseph Martin of
ORA Orthopedics. Since conservative therapies, including, cortisone
injections and physical therapy, were no longer able to effectively
reduce Lynn’s pain; she opted for total knee replacement.
Currently,
over 400,000 knee replacements are performed annually in the United
States. These numbers are expected to double in the next decade, and by
2030 they are projected to increase to 3 million knee replacements
annually. These numbers may even underestimate the true demand, as
individuals are more active and stay more active later in life.
Knee
replacement surgery has a very high patient satisfaction rate with 90
percent of knee replacement patients glad they had the operation, would
do it again, and would recommend it to a friend or family member. These
numbers are among the highest scores of any surgical procedure. Total
joint replacements have been shown to increase patient quality of life
and their sense of well-being.
“It took maybe 45 minutes of surgery,
two nights in the hospital, and physical therapy,” Lynn says. “I was
done with the walker in a week and the cane in six weeks. For me, it was
no big deal.” While most people have excellent outcomes, Dr. Martin
cautions not everyone will be able to park their cane so quickly.
“Everyone rehabilitates differently, but most people are happy with
their new knee. They can do the things they were not able to do anymore.
They often say they wish they’d had their surgery earlier.”
“My
surgery allowed my husband and me to go camping four weeks after the
operation,” says Lynn. Recently, they hiked 10 miles in Patagonia,
Argentina. They are planning to visit places like Africa, Tahiti, and
Easter Island. Lynn advises, “Once you decide to have your knee
replaced, get into the best shape possible before the surgery. Walk,
swim, or bike, if you can. Afterward, do the high side of whatever your
physical therapist tells you to do. If they tell you to do two to three
repetitions, do three. Make the decision that allows you to live your
life, and then push yourself to live it sooner than later!”
For
more information on how total knee replacement can get you back to the
activities that you enjoy or to learn more about Joseph Martin, MD, and
ORA Orthopedics, visit qcora.com. Like us on facebook.com/oraorthopedics
and follow us on Twitter/oraorthopedics.