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Should I cancel my TKR surgery?
Joint Replacements | Last Active: Dec 24, 2023 | Replies (24)Comment receiving replies
My impression is that once you have lost cartilage and are bone on bone, exercise to improve muscle strength will not help with pain because you can't replace the cartilage (barring some newer experimental techniques.)
However, it can help to lose 10-20 or more pounds if you are overweight, because then you have less compression pain on the knee which could be enough relief to go a few extra years without surgery.
Replies to "My impression is that once you have lost cartilage and are bone on bone, exercise to..."
The 6-8 weeks physical therapy increased my quads etc which made for speedier recovery post op
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Good advice. No one wants to deal with weight loss (and not everyone needs to) but it can only help. It is not a permanent solution.
As you note, bone-on-bone does not go away. There are no miracle injections to give you lasting relief and the menisci and articular cartilage will not grow back. A TKR, done by a qualified surgeon with a solid pedigree and happy patients, is likely the best answer.
I'm a 69 y/o male and in my case, the TKRs have been life changing. By all means do exercise to the extent your knees allow before the surgery, and then do everything you're told to do as far as PT. Most of these cases turn out very well. The surgeon has his or her part, but the patient does the most work for a successful outcome.