Monday, June 24, 2013

How You Should Look at Knee Replacement


The average Joe or Jenny is incredible in the sense that he or she wants absolutely everything. I find it hard to believe the extent he or she believes himself or herself to be entitled to! I don't know if its expectations or ego or a combination of both.

Take for instance our bodies. We don't seriously expect to last forever or do we? But we expect the wear and tear on our bodies to be minimal. Well, here's the thing if you are playing heavy sports or are obese or for a number of other reasons you could need knee replacement.

Many people I have known personally have gone in for knee replacement surgery as if it were the solution to all their problems. I think I will leave the decision up to you. Knee replacement, very simplistically, replaces a part of the knee with an artificial joint after putting the blood vessels and nerves in place. It's not a pill you take which will work overnight and it certainly doesn't work like an injection of magic fluid which will have you prancing about as some people would have you believe!

The process does change lives of those who suffer from chronic pain but it is not reason enough to abuse your body. The post surgery recovery process is also gradual and takes place in phases. Most patients do see an improvement in their mobility about a month after the procedure.

The patient should be able to stand and move the joint the day following surgery. Most patients require rehabilitation and additional care and help with the use of walking devices and the like since full body weight is not put on the joint immediately.

This process may have to be repeated every five to seven years if the artificial joint wears out. So the quality of the joint and how much strain you put on it will determine how soon you'll get the joint replaced.

Personally, I think people have to accept that they will get old. They can't continue to do all the things that they did when they were younger and with the same intensity. There are a good many reasons for this and the most pressing reason would be that you want to avoid crippling injuries.

So I would suggest that a physician or surgeon should always be consulted about all the options available to the patient before going ahead with surgery. Furthermore, you should consider surgery as a final option when alternative and basic treatments have failed.

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