Has anyone had a knee replacement and still runs?
I was told by my specialist,that in ten years time I will be suffering so bad with osteoarthritis(due to my knee having been smashed in bike accident),that I will need a knee replacement.
So in the meantime iam making the most of things and running as much as my knee will allow.But iam wondering if it is poss to run,or even run better after replacement?

Hi Alan , the percieved wisdom on this subject is you shouldn't run with a knee replacement for the reason that the new joint will wear out much quicker and is far more likely to become loose. Having said that if you wanted to and your able to then it's really up to you the knee replacement is going to wear out in about 10 years anyway.

People do allsorts of things against medical advice so study the pro's and cons and do whats right for you.

Good luck

Cheriton

there are definitely alternatives for knee replacements though. You could mix in cycling and running to give your knees a break

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CamelBak

Throw in some swimming low/no impact. Avoid breaststroke and don't push off the wall to enthusiastically when turning and you should be OK. Get a pullbouy and do some arms only. If you opt for some cycling keep in a lowish gear. Good luck.

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swim, cycle, run, sit down and have a cuppa

Mu mum has been told she will need a knee replacement and that it will only last for ten years too.

However, I was running in my local 10km last year and spotted another runner whose leg was missing from the knee down and had a prosthetic. He looked to be running comfortably and was going at a good pace too.

Have you looked into taking glucosamin (sulphate or chondritin)
We did a recent review of the evidence for the best treatment of osteoarthritis in the knee and this came out well.
Chondritin seems to have slightly stronger evidence than sulphate.
It is available on prescription now, or you can buy it over the counter

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Hope your mums op goes well and she becomes pain free.
It's the constant pain that gets most people down !
Some health authorities are using the latest model of joint replacements and i think they have a liespan of around twelve years .It may be worth asking if your mum can have one of these new joints Grant .
A guy i did some work for a couple of years ago had both hips done at the same time .To see him now you could swear there was nothing wrong with him .


Steve Backleys hip replacement didn't stop him from competing in that ice dancing programme recently .

You're right about the pain, it takes its toll on my mum.

Do you know what the new type of replacement is called? I'll let my mum know about it. Thanks

I'm sorry but i don't . The thing with this type of surgery is i suspect like a lot of things on the nhs is down to cost The surgeons would want to use the best they can The accountants want to use the cheapest.

Having said that if your getting ten years out of a replacement joint under normal conditions it s not bad and if it's giving you the chance to have a quality of life then great !

The less weight you carry is a big help to knee and hip sufferers aside from anything else it makes the operation much safer i e less risk of infection. These are all things that Mum's consultant will explain to her.

The reason i mention the weight issue is that i know they are reluctant to operate on overweight people because of the above risks . it also reduces the operation success rate from 95% success for avge weight down to 55% for overweight they will generally postpone the op until the patient gets to an acceptable weight ,it can be up to six months This however varies from surgeon to surgeon .

Clearly this advice may not apply to your mum but i included it in this post as it might be useful for anybody who finds themselves in this situation

take it easy

Cheriton