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Factoid: The most frequent reason cited for joint replacement surgery was to relieve the pain and disability caused by severe arthritis.*
Source: National Center for Health Statistics; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 2003 National Hospital Discharge Survey.
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When the pain affects your ability to lead a full active life, knee replacement surgery can allow you to once again move free of the pain and resume many of the activities you enjoy.
Knee replacement: When something has to changeA painful knee can keep you from doing the things you enjoy. As the pain worsens over time and other treatments become less effective, many people feel that the quality of their life is affected to the point where something has to change.
If you are experiencing this kind of knee pain, you and your doctor may decide that knee replacement surgery is an option. The goal of knee replacement surgery, or "total knee anthroplasty," is to get your knee to function like it did before it was too painful to do everyday things like walking and climbing stairs. Knee replacement surgery is designed to remove the degenerated portions of bone in the knee and replace them with a new prosthetic system made of metal and plastic, allowing you to once again move free of pain and resume many of the activities you enjoy.
The SurgeryYour large thigh bone is called the femur, and the smaller bone in your calf is the tibia. Where the femur and tibia meet is your knee. In knee replacement surgery, the end of the femur is reshaped and capped with a metal implant. The upper portion of the tibia is then replaced with a metal surface and a plastic spacer. This spacer acts to replace to cartilage that has been worn away at the knee joint.
Most people find significantly less pain in standing and walking after six weeks, and often continue to improve for up to a year. Surgery can relieve pain that doesn't respond to other treatment options, allowing you to resume your normal daily activities.
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