How should I prepare for my knee replacements?

I am an 82-year old female in relatively good health. I have osteoarthritis in my left knee and have been going to PT once or twice a week for most of the past year with the hope of not having to have surgery. It seems like my knee is now about as good as it is going to get. I have some pain and weakness on walking and cannot walk very far, but no pain at night. Cannot do a lot of activities around the house because of pain on certain moves, etc. I have an irregular heartbeat issue but had a recent catherization and echo after a chest pain episode that showed no blockage. Cardiologist said he would clear me for knee surgery At my age, I am fearful of the surgery and recovery and wonder if I should just continue to live with the pain for however much time I have left. My surgeon says that only surgery can repair the bone-on-bone situation, I had one set of gel injections which helped some but not as much as I had hoped. I would love to hear from anyone in their 80's who has been through TKR and is willing to share their experiences, pro and con. Thank you so much!

You can have up to 3 rounds of gel injections. If you found that helped, I would do that before having surgery.

Thank you for your response. Will have second set of injections in Aug. and see how it goes. Did you do either? I hope it went well for you no matter which direction you took.

Hi, I’m 63, have had both shoulders replaced, right thumb joint replaced as well as a right knee patella replacement. I did try the round of gel shots, but the arthritis in my kneecap just got worse. I do have a friend who had the 3 rounds of gel shots, which worked very well for many years. Ultimately she ended up with a total knee replacement. Sounds like you are in good shape and want to remain active, so it’s a tough call. The rehab can be challenging and take up to a full year to get things where you want them to be, but after a couple of months things do improve quite a bit. Strick adherence to PT is a must, post surgery

You should first find out if the gel injection you received was the new one that is only 1 shot, not a series of 3. It's called Arthrosamid - Good luck!

My neighbor was 83 and had both knees done at the same time and was out mowing his lawn at six weeks after his surgery! That was crazy as I was 30 years younger than him at the time and it took me five months to do things stiffly, and one year to completely heal. People are different. The best thing you can do before surgery is to strengthen your muscles as much as you can so after surgery when they’ve atrophied, you have less of a way to go to Get Healed and moving again. My 90-year-old friend had two total hip replacements and she’s doing well. Most of this depends on your own personal constitution and health condition. You need to work closely with your doctor to discuss your condition pre-surgery and post surgery. Hopefully you aren’t there first 82-year-old patient!

Almost to my 1 year anniversary of my replacement (age 65). Hardest thing I could imagine to come through, and I thought I was well-prepared and healthy.
You didn't mention if you had help/spouse at home. It is imperative that you have someone around when you go home. An ice-machine is necessary for pain control and swelling as well.
It is grueling and a huge decision. As the other supporter wrote, everyone is different, so age is not the only thing to consider.
Best wishes.

You have to decide on your quality of life. My brother-in-law was 83 years old when he had both knees replaced 4 months apart. He loved to travel, so having great knees has been a game changer for him. I had tkr on my tight knee in Dec . 2024. I’m happy I made the choice to do the surgery. It’s not an easy recovery. Hard work and motivation will help in your recovery. Having someone with you for the first couple of weeks is essential. I had my husband ! Do the research on pre and post preparation. I don’t think you get enough info from the medical professionals. The internet was my source of info. Best wishes. Be brave!

Thank you for your reply. My daughter lives with me so fortunately, she would be able to help me. I am just so afraid of getting into a worse situation than I am in now. My pain is not unbearable but is pretty bad at times and I have a lot of muscle pain and tightness after sitting for a while. I guess I will give it a little more time and see how it goes with the injections, etc. The injections I had were 2 Hymovis injections, a week apart. Keeping up my PT exercises.

It’s a huge decision. My body is aching today as the weather is changing. You can still feel it in a new joint. My other knee jolts me bad at certain angles when it does that bone on bone thing. I wake my spouse up with my cussing at the knee in my sleep! But I’m going to wait as long as I can as I will need to build up my courage.
Mind you, I walk every day, over 10,000 steps, I eat well, normal weight, no health issues… it just was a hard surgery and I had great support and great physical therapy.
But I’ve seen +80 year olds do just great through it all.
Best wishes.