Waiting for a new knee

Gwoo

I've just gone on the waiting list for a new knee. I imagine it will be a long wait so I thought I'd join this community to find out how to better manage the pain and prepare for the operation. I've had one steroid injection but it wasn't very successful and I've been prescribed Naproxin but I want to avoid taking that as far as possible.

noddingtonpete

Hello @Gwoo and welcome to the Community.

I see that you are waiting for a new knee - I hope it won't be too long. You also asked about preparing for the operation. I've put a couple of links in below which hopefully will be of use.

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/treatments/surgery/knee-replacement-surgery/

and the knee section of

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/exercising-with-arthritis/lets-move-for-surgery-toolkit/

Please let us know how you are getting on and keep posting, glad you are here.

Best wishes

Peter

jonr

Hi @Gwoo,

Firstly, how long you'll need to wait will depend on the Country and County you're in.

Secondly, in preparation for surgery I'd recommend some strengthening exercises specifically aimed at building up the muscles and tendons around your knee. I joined my local sports centre as part of the GP Exercise Referral Programme which is a nationwide government-funded initiative aimed at helping people get fit to lose weight or after illness. Arthritis is a qualifying condition. After registration I received a call from Better who run the centre and booked a 1:1 with a consultant, I explained to her what I wanted to do (prepare for surgery before and after) and she showed me several pieces of equipment in the weights room and how to use them plus some other kit. This came with a 40% discount off the annual membership fee as well. That might be worth looking into as well?

I can understand why you don't want to take NSAID's like Naproxen and it's cousin Ibuprofen, there are lots of naturally-sourced alternatives, both for managing inflammation and pain, everything you need is on this website.

Steroid injections work best for people with cartilage, if you've ben referred for surgery then I'm guessing the chances are you've not much left to inject into which might explain why it's not been very effective, that was the same outcome in my case as well. PLEASE NOTE: you will be unable to have surgery until 6 months have passed since any injection due to the risk of infection.

Hope these help,

Jon