Going back to work

Shortstuff

Hiya all my name is Sarah my knee gave a way last month at work been told I’ve got the early stages of arthritis And a meniscus tear in my left knee the doctor said I can go back to work I’m happy but scared at the same time.

Lilymary

Hi Sarah, it’s good that you’re still ok to work, but you may have to adapt how you do things to take the weight off your knee or limit how long you are on your feet, how far you have to walk etc.

When the OA in my hip really kicked off last year, I was determined to carry on working for as long as possible - I’m self employed and my job can be physically demanding. So I started using a stick which took the strain off my affected hip and meant I could go further, faster and for longer than without (although it got to the stage that I couldn’t do much even with the stick). I also tried to park as close to my destination as possible (reducing the walk be even 20 steps in the supermarket car park became something worth seeking out after a while, it got so bad). Finally, try to get on top of pain management with a combination of physio exercises and meds. If I knew I had a demanding day coming up, I’d load up on pain meds and top up as necessary during the day, and try to schedule in rest days (or at least quiet evenings) to allow recovery time - constant pain is both emotionally wearing and physically exhausting, and you need to allow time for the inflammation in your knee to settle down.

I don’t know if you’ve seen this link, but you might find it helpful

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/managing-symptoms/managing-your-pain/