8 Dangers Of Delaying Knee Replacement Surgery

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When the doctor says you need a knee replacement, it’s time to start taking the surgery seriously. Putting it off can end up making things worse.  It can restrict your activity and can cause additional health problems.

You may be able to endure the pain, but you might gain weight and wind up putting unnecessary stress on other parts of your body.  You can also develop bad walking habits that might affect other parts of your body. Constant pain can cause depression and you may become hard to get along with.

If you are not convinced you need surgery after seeing an orthopedic surgeon, get a second opinion. Ask family members to give you an honest appraisal of the way you walk and ask them if you complain a lot or if they notice that you are in constant pain.

In this article I will point out 8 dangers in delaying total knee replacement surgery.

My TKR: Was My Timing Right For Surgery?

As I’ve mentioned in previous articles, my knee problems were a result of an athletic injury I suffered when I was 21 years old. I continued to stay active after spending 8 months in a cast with a spiral fracture of my tibia.

Along the way, I had surgery on my right meniscus twice, two years apart. The meniscus surgeries slowed me down but I continued to play basketball and softball twice a week, jog, hike and ride a bicycle.

The quality of my play decreased over the years and the pain in my knee increased. Eventually, the cartilage in my knee was gone and I had severe bone on bone pain.

I tried braces, cortisone shots, hyaluronic acid shots and over the counter pain medications. They helped somewhat but finally, I had to quit playing basketball and softball (read about my experience with cortisone shots and hyaluronic acid shots).

I started swimming and biking more and continued to hike. When I reached my 60’s my leg began to bow and I developed a noticeable limp. At age 66, I had X-rays and was told by a surgeon that I was several years overdue for TKR.

I made an appointment at a well-known sports clinic with another surgeon who confirmed the first doctor’s diagnosis. At age 66 I finally had knee replacement surgery (read about my 30-hours in the hospital).

I am convinced that my quality of life would have been better if I had opted to have the surgery at least 5 years earlier.

Dangers Of Delaying Knee Replacement Surgery

No. 1 Bad Joints Affect Your Muscles And Ligaments

As you begin to experience more and more pain in your knee you begin to limp and put more stress on the opposite leg. The muscles around your painful knee are not used as much and can atrophy.

Likewise, the tendons and ligaments that help stabilize your knee can become weak. Your good leg may increase in muscle mass but you may be putting more stress on that knee and hip that could cause future medical problems.

In my case, the pain in my right knee caused me to develop a severe limp and I began to experience pain after long walks in my left hip.

No. 2 A Bad Knee Can Change Your Posture (Skeletal System)

As I mentioned above as my pain increased I developed a severe limp. This also affected my posture. I leaned to one side (bad knee side).

Sometimes after long walks, I had some pain in my lower back, nothing severe but certainly noticeable. Over a long period of time, it is possible to overcompensate and develop hip and back issues related to the limping and the bad posture.

Because I was walking incorrectly I also had frequent ankle pain and my left shoe was worn down much different from the right shoe.

No. 3 Puts More Pressure On Your Hip

My left hip (good knee side) frequently caused me pain the last two years before TKR, especially after 5-10 mile hikes that I took with my hiking group once or twice a week.

I was used to the knee pain but the pain on the opposite hip made it harder to favor one leg when walking. Having a painful knee while hiking and a sore hip after the hike got to be too much.

No. 4 Overcompensate With Your Good Knee And Risk Injuring Other Body Parts

I knew that I was favoring my right knee and putting more pressure on my left knee and hip. Thankfully when the surgeon took X-rays, the left knee looked great and I hope it will never need TKR.

After surgery, my therapist gave me exercises to do to strengthen my hips. After a few months, I could take long walks and hikes without any pain in my opposite hip.

My ankle pain slowly decreased too as I learned how to walk correctly again without limping.

No. 5 The Pain Might Cause You To Become Inactive

When you are in constant pain when you walk or play, it is easy to give up and become a couch potato. You can gain weight. This will put more stress on your painful knee and the weight can cause other medical problems as well.

By not getting out and about you lose the opportunity to interact with buddies hiking, golfing, etc. and it may begin to limit invitations to socialize.

The muscles around your painful knee will atrophy and the supporting tendons and ligaments may weaken and your knee may become less stable. Your range of motion may decrease as well.

>> read my swimming exercises for bad knees

If this is the case, expect your rehab from TKR to be much more difficult. If you watch your weight and continue to exercise as much as possible before TKR, the easier your rehab will be.

No. 6 Internalize The Pain (Affects Quality of Life and Mood)

When you live with constant pain in your knee it may affect the quality of your life. You may not be able to enjoy your favorite activities anymore.

That’s why you need to find alternative activities that keep you in shape until you have had TKR and then hopefully you will be able to return to some of your favorite activities pain-free. If you are always hurting, your loved ones and friends may notice mood swings and depression.

You may not be the kind of person that others want to be around. You may not notice the change so it’s important to ask trusted family members if they see a difference in your day-to-day personality.

You also may have trouble sleeping with your knee pain and you may wake up grouchy and irritable in the mornings.

No. 7 Loss of Stability

As the pain increases in your knee and you begin to limp and favor that leg, you will lose strength and stability in the knee. It will be much harder to balance on one knee for such simple tasks as putting on and taking off pants and washing your feet in the shower.

If you continue to stay active, you may take a fall hiking downhill or walking down steps and incur a serious injury.

After my TKR surgery and rehab my knee is more stable than it has been in years.

No. 8 The Older You Are The Longer The Recovery

The longer you wait to have TKR once it is necessary, the older you get. As you age it can make the rehab from TKR much more difficult.

As you age other medical conditions may develop that may make the TKR process more difficult, especially if you are already taking a lot of medicine for other conditions. At an advanced age you may not be able to return to some of the activities that you enjoyed 10 years before when you were told that you needed TKR.

Knee replacement can improve the quality of your life at any age but don’t expect that the procedure will make you young again. The wear and tear on other parts of your body while you have been putting off TKR may present problems after TKR.

Conclusion

Once you and your doctor are convinced that TKR is necessary you need to consider several things before you put the surgery off. Your age is certainly a major factor but there are many other considerations.

  • Are you able to live with the pain?
  • Are you still able to enjoy the activities you love and is your quality of life acceptable?

You don’t want to develop bad habits that may affect your posture, the way you walk, weight gain, other medical issues, the inability to enjoy favorite activities and the negative impact it may have on your social life and personality. The younger you are and if you are in good physical shape your rehab will be much easier.

I hope you take into consideration the 8 things I discussed in this article before you make a decision to put TKR surgery off once it is evident that TKR is necessary.

As always, thanks for reading.

14 thoughts on “8 Dangers Of Delaying Knee Replacement Surgery”

  1. Thank you. A bit late. I have a TKR surgery after 10 years diagnosed. Now lower back pain.
    I thought I was toooo young to have the surgery.

    • Brenda can I ask your age? I am 55 and the only option I have is TKR. Everyone but the doctors are telling me I’m too young but I am feeling more and more immobile! Would love to hear how you came to the decision!

      • Hi I’m Gheric and I had my first TKR surgery when I was 44 years old. I’m currently at this very moment at home in bed icing my second TKR surgery (other knee) at 47. I need the surgeries in my mid 30s but waited because I was young and dumb but also because the doctor said the implants would only last about 20 years so to me the math didn’t added (I didn’t want to try and do this 3 times in my life). I suggest you do it ASAP. The surgery is easy. The pain is unreal. The rehab is probably second to none in difficulty. However, if you push during rehab you will love your decision to have the surgery. It takes about a full year to be rehabilitated and feel rehabilitated but don’t stop exercising as you can get very fit after your rehab. Good luck.

  2. Hi, what if you have all the above like no quality of life for pain when walking. Limp, bad posture and feet pain but Dr. says he’s not ready yet. Have 80 % cartilage loss but it’s taking a toll on the rest of my body. Dr says 1 in 5 people have complications.

  3. I am 7 weeks post TKR surgery. The pain and mobility has slowly improved. The front of my knee is numb and I swell up slightly after too much activity. However, I do my exercises religiously, go to physical therapy and use ice often. I had a great doctor, hospital and staff.

    • At 7 weeks you’ll still notice big improvements from week to week. Continue working hard! It’s always nice to have great support!

  4. I am not even 40 and have severe pain due to osteoarthritis in my right knee. I keep being told I’m too young for a knee replacement yet everything else doesn’t work. I’ve had to stop working due to the pain. The pain stops me from doing day to day activities and my sleep is totally disrupted in that I either don’t sleep or the pain wakes me up. I really hope I don’t have to suffer until they deem me the correct age or that more harm than good happens. My dad who sadly passed away 5 months ago had osteoarthritis in his knee but due to health problems wasn’t able to have a knee replacement and his mobility got very bad. I want to be able to have children and live a life but feel at the moment it’s all on hold due to my knee pain. I also get very emotional due to being in pain all the time and due to my lack of sleep.

  5. I’m 49 and after 40 years of issues (I dislocated my left knee aged 9) and 7 surgeries including 2 patella repairs, 4 arthroscopies, the last one including a chondroplasty to remove damaged cartilage, I have now been told I do definitely need a TKR. Had a steroid injection 2 months ago but had a massive reaction to the injection so really don’t want another one!!! This only really reduced pain in that it wasn’t quite so sharp but it’s really made little difference. Been diagnosed with anxiety and depression due to constant pain, lifestyle changes and not being able to drive and been off work for several months so the sooner I have the TKR the better. I’ve really had to push for this surgery due to my age so if you are advised to have this form of surgery, grab it with both hands!!!
    I really want to get my life back and this is the only thing that can let this happen and I really don’t want the other health and mobility issues that will come from having to endure a long wait.

    Good luck to you all if you are in this position and thank you for the advice and guidance

  6. My problem is that I NEED and WANT to have TKR surgery, but my dr says he wants me to lose 25-30 lbs before he will do anything. How do I lose the weight if I can’t do exercises due to severe pain? Diet plays a large part and I eat pretty healthy but the weight won’t budge.

    • I know it’s difficult. Try to find low impact exercises (maybe swimming, cycling or an adapted version of yoga so you don’t bend your knee too much). Best wishes.

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