Knee Replacement Recovery For Senior Citizens

DePuy Knee Lawsuit News

A lack of physical conditioning and being overweight can hurt a senior's chances of leading a normal life post knee replacement surgery

Monday, July 9, 2018 - Analysts predict that the knee replacement market could expand to over $10 billion per year by the year 2024 due to an aging baby boomer generation. A growing elderly population experiencing osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis is fueling the demand for artificial knees. Pain relief is the number one reason senior citizens choose total knee replacement rather than other treatments. (1) When choosing to have knee replacement surgery to alleviate pain, senior citizens need to fully understand the rigors of recovery and rehabilitation that will be required of them after they have had knee replacement surgery. A high percentage of knee replacement patients over 65 years old may not be capable of performing the rigors of physical therapy that knee replacement requires.

Most physical therapy clinics that specialize in robotic joints such as artificial knees recommend a 12-week program of exercise to rehabilitate a knee replacement patient. The everyday program starts with light leg raises and squatting down slightly and icing and elevating the leg to keep the swelling to a minimum. After around one month the patient can undertake walking outdoors with a balancing device and also start to work lightly on weight machines. When the incision is fully healed around this time the patient can begin pool exercises. In week 8 patients can begin to perform the activities that they were doing prior to the surgery such as light gardening and household chores. The patient should undertake a continual program of physical fitness by joining a gym to use weight machines for overall weight management and physical fitness. (2)

In addition, eating right and maintaining a recommended normal weight is critical for all knee replacement patients. Knee replacement physical therapy can be a dramatic lifestyle change for older people who live a more sedate lifestyle, and out of shape or overweight. This makes a full, pain-free recovery from knee replacement surgery unlikely. Without a diet and lifestyle change in addition to a program to rehabilitate the muscles, tendons, and ligaments that surround the knee joint, the artificial knee will feel unstable and could fail to perform as expected, leaving the patient more immobile and in greater pain than the original arthritic knee condition.

In addition to being unable to perform physical therapy and being unwilling to change their lifestyle, DePuy Knee replacement patients are told their artificial knee will last around 20 years when in fact the knee replacement device often de-bonds at the point where the tibia is inserted. Other times the knee locks up during everyday exertion such as walking or going up or down a flight of stairs. While most knee replacement patients are happy with the pain relief that their new knee device has offered, some patients are subject to knee failure that included catastrophic consequences. According to AARP.com doctors performing knee replacement surgery have told them that around 2% of knee replacement patients experience blood clots and infection and that prospective patients should be aware of the surgical risks so that the patient can make a more informed decision. De-bonding is estimated to affect one in twenty DePuy Knee Replacement Device patients. It's no wonder that there have been thousands of DePuy knee lawsuits filed.

(1) https://www.grandviewresearch.com/press-release/global-knee-implant-market

(2) https://www.stoneclinic.com/total-knee-replacement-rehab-protocol

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