Hello, I am 75 with bone on bone arthritis in my right knee. I had a partial knee replacement in my left knee in 2010. That knee recovered quickly after the surgery and has given me no problems until I had a bike accident in Sept 2023. In the accident I fractured my left tibia and was in a non weight bearing brace for 6 weeks then had Physical therapy for a couple of months to get it back to pain free. However, my right knee took a beating when my left knee was non weight bearing and now the Orthopedist says it needs a replacement too. Because I am 75 and have chronic kidney disease the orthopedic surgeon wanted my PCP to write a letter saying that my health is good enough for the TKR surgery. While working through the required testing I was looking for some way to reduce the pain (I don’t take any pain meds). I found a Sports physiotherapist who recommended using a light ankle weight on my right leg to gently stretch the tibia away from the femur thus allowing an opening between the bones to encourage the synovial fluid to lubricate the space between the bones. I wear it all day ( I do not wear the weight while I sleep) and I especially notice that it helps on my daily bike rides. The combination of circulating activity and light stretching really helps reduce the pain. I started wearing the ankle weight (1.5 lbs) three weeks ago. At that time I had a noticeable limp. The most recent exrays (taken 4/19/24) show that my right leg is 1/2 inch shorter than my left leg. Both legs were the same length after my left knee surgery in 2010. I had my husband take a video of me walking yesterday and after wearing the ankle weight for three weeks the limp is almost gone. I still can’t walk long distances up and down hills - but I took a 1.5 mile walk along the beach last week which I had not been able to do prior to wearing the ankle weight.
I hope you find this information helpful.