Knee joint Replacement surgery
For simplicity, the knee is considered a "hinge" joint because of its ability to bend and straighten like a hinged door. In reality, the knee is much more complex because the bone surfaces actually roll and glide as the knee bends.
If the surfaces of your knee joint have been damaged by arthritis, a fracture, or other injury, common activities such as walking. Your knee may be stiff, and it may be hard to perform the most basic of everyday activities such as climbing stairs. If nonsurgical treatments like medications and using walking supports are no longer helpful, you may want to consider total knee replacement surgery.
Knee replacement surgery was first performed in 1968. Since then, improvements in surgical materials and techniques have greatly increased its effectiveness. Total knee replacements are one of the most successful procedures in all of medicine and are effective in relieving pain, increasing motion, correcting leg deformity, and helping patients to get back to enjoying normal, everyday activities.
Whether you have just begun exploring treatment options or have already decided to have total knee replacement surgery, this article will help you understand more about this valuable procedure.
Realistic activities following total knee replacement include walking, swimming, golf, driving, light hiking, biking, light dancing, and other low-impact sports.
The Knee Joint
Common Causes of Knee Pain
The most common cause of chronic knee pain and disability is arthritis. Osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and traumatic arthritis are the most common forms of this disease.
Osteoarthritis. This is an age-related "wear and tear" type of arthritis. It usually occurs in people 50 years of age and older, but may occur in younger people, too. The cartilage that cushions the bones of the knee softens and wears away. The bones then rub against one another, causing knee pain and stiffness.
Replaced Knee Joint
Rheumatoid arthritis. This is a disease in which the synovial membrane that surrounds the joint becomes inflamed and thickened. This chronic inflammation can damage the cartilage and eventually cause cartilage loss, pain, and stiffness. Rheumatoid arthritis is the most common form of a group of disorders termed "inflammatory arthritis."
Post-traumatic arthritis. This can follow a serious knee injury. Fractures of the bones surrounding the knee or tears of the knee ligaments may damage the articular cartilage over time, causing knee pain and limiting knee function.
