Therapy for knee arthritic knee

Perhaps weight loss plus physical therapy might relieve excess stress on knee joint?

Seems to me from what I have heard that you are doing well. It is not unusual to have an awful xray and not need surgery. I would also suggest that you work on your core as well.

I have not. But I do have one comment: what you are doing is a form of prehab which is a good thing to do before replacement surgery.

How old do you say you are? I am 81 and had my right knee replaced eleven months ago. One week after the surgery my surgeon's PA cleared me to return to driving my car. Twenty-seven days after the surgery I returned to playing golf.

Before the surgery I could not pick up my 3 year old granddaughter. Now I can and carry her around and spend hours walking at the zoo with my grandkids.

I am retired but I had a white collar position prior to that. I now have severe carpal tunnel syndrome and on Monday I am having an endoscopic nerve release on one wrist.

I generally find the best doctors and I am not generally afraid of surgery. But, at my age, I am afraid of general anesthesia. Fortunately, a knee replacement and an endoscopic wrist surgery can be done under regional anesthesia.

I'll follow this thread closely. I'm 81. I have idiopathic large-fiber polyneuropathy, o no pain, but an unsteady gait. My right knee is a no-problem, 20-year-old TKR. My left knee, however, is packed with arthritis. Curiously enough, although my knee X-rays show serious damage, my left knee doesn't bother me much during my daily chores. When it does bother me (painful, yes, but hardly a crippling pain) is in the hours after I do PT with my once-a-week therapist. He and I focus almost entirely on building leg strength: weight bags, sit-to-stands, etc. My orthopedist is offering me a second TRK. I'm stuck at thar juncture, wondering: Do I get that second TKR? Or do I trust that long-term PT will eventually provide me with adequare leg strengthto counter my poor gait? Whenever my orthopedist asks that traditional question: "Is this situation (arthritic knee) so bad that it's interferring with the tthings you want to do?" My honest answer (at this moment) is: "I don't know." That's why I began in saying I'll be following this thread closely.. –Best wishes all around! Ray (@ray666)

@sstopalian Thank you so much for your reply , it validates my choice to push on .

@sstopalian Thank you both for your post regarding bad X-rays and TKR, and also for encouraging core work in addition to leg strengthening. Quite some time ago, I set out an array of dumbbells halfway between this laptop and my kitchen Mr. Coffee. Now, every 30 minutes, when the timer goes off, letting me know it's time to get up from writing and do a little walk-around––and get a coffee refill––I can't possibly get that coffee refill without first pausing at my dumbells for a few minutes upper-body strengthening … Speaking of that––the timer just went off. Time for a coffee refill and a little dumbbell lifting! Have a great day, @sstopalian. Cheers! –Ray (@ray666)

@ray666 It looks like Ray and Lou are exactly where I am with my TKR decision. I had right knee done in March and scheduled for left in Sept. but I am also considering whether I can continue PT strengthening to forego another TKR. I am 85 so timing is important. The pain in my left knee is not present all the time, stairs being main problem. X-rays show bone on bone.

@dna41 I perhaps should have guessed, but I'm sitting here amazed at how many of us find ourselves at the same crossroads: TKR, or no TKR; press on with PT and hope for the best, or get that TKR first, and then go back to PT. When I spoke to my orthopedist's nurse only yesterday about the next cortisone shot, I mentioned how aware I am of the calendar and how rapidly time gallops on. I'm an otherwise very heathy 81, but 81 is 81, that's an undeniable fact when consderng another TKR. I can add to my puzzlement: I was hospialized three years ago with a serious septic infection. The re-infection stats for sepsis survivors is another reason for pause. So, what to do? It's a big-time head-scratcher. –Ray (@ray666)

Looks like a lot of us out there wishing we could avoid surgery .

@ray666
Well...I am 81 and had my right TKR at 80. One of the best decisions I have made in my 81 years of life. But the recovery can be difficult and that must be factored into the decision making.

To me, the most important decision, after deciding to go forward, was surgeon selection. Find an extraordinary surgeon and follow her direction.