Don’t Be Too Late For Total Knee Replacement
The problem of painful knees is so common worldwide and in India that it has been called an EPIDEMIC by TIME Magazine. Overweight, old age, osteoporosis, wrong lifestyle and many other factors play havoc with our knee joints and bones. While today’s young people can safeguard their old age by following a proper lifestyle, diet and exercise plan, the problem is acute for those overweight and older than 40 years.
While total knee replacement is the best permanent solution for worn out and painful knee joints, please remember that there is an ideal time to get operated for painful knees.
If you are too late, your knee joint may become mal-aligned, your body weight [which should be transmitted through the central axis of the leg] is transmitted off center, and this may lead to ‘Stress Riser’ type of small fractures in the large bones of the leg. This leads to continuous pain and more disability. The mal-aligned leg may become unstable, it might become difficult and dangerous to walk without support or even with support.
In such cases, Total Knee Replacement [TKR] surgery may become highly risky, the implants required will be longer and will cost higher and the recovery time will be longer. To prevent all that, the solution is simple. Consult your joint replacement surgeon when you get pain in the knees and get operated when he advises it. Do not wait too long, because it will make life painful for you and reduce the chances of full recovery.