Quiz: Is it time to consider a knee replacement?
Knee replacement surgery is remarkably successful for most patients. Take this quiz to see if it’s right for you.
For most patients who have knee replacement surgery, the procedure is remarkably successful. Overall, about 85% of people who have knee replacement surgery say they’re very satisfied with it. For others, responses can vary—from people who say the results were good but not quite as good as they’d hoped to fewer than 3% of patients who have a complication such as an infection or scar tissue.
“I generally say that 90% of people will be 90% better 90% of the time,” says University of Iowa Health Care orthopedic surgeon Nicolas Noiseux, MD, MS, FRCSC.
One of the big perks of knee replacement surgery is that it doesn’t require patients to spend days in the hospital. At UI Health Care, most patients go home the same day as the surgery, or the following day.
Recovery typically takes six weeks but can vary depending on the person—and their expectations.
“Recovery can last anywhere from one to 365 days,” Noiseux says.
That’s because each person has their own timeline for reaching a point where they can do what they want to do with their knee.
Know your risk
Evaluate the degree of your knee pain with our health risk assessment.
Still, some myths remain about knee replacements. Take this quiz to separate fact from fiction.
1. True or false: I should only consider a knee replacement if I’m over 65 years old.
False. The average age of UI Health Care patients who have knee replacements is 61. Age is usually not the determining factor when deciding whether to get the procedure. Instead, it’s how much the pain affects a patient’s daily life.
“My recommendation for when someone is ready for knee replacement is when the knee affects their quality of life in substantial ways more days than not, and they’ve tried most non-operative treatments like ibuprofen, wearing a knee brace or sleeve, and physical therapy,” Noiseux says.
2. What is the most common condition that leads people to knee replacement surgery:
A. Knee fractures
B. Knee infections
C. Osteonecrosis
D. Arthritis
D. Over 90% of knee replacements performed at UI Health Care are for people with arthritis—most commonly, osteoarthritis, also known as wear-and-tear arthritis.
“It’s like a tire on a car that’s bald and needs to be replaced,” Noiseux explains. The other conditions above are far less common.
3. True or false: If I wait too long, I can’t have a knee replacement.
False. “Waiting usually means people have to deal with the pain longer, but it’s not dangerous to life or limb,” Noiseux says.
He cautions patients not to wait too long, however. That’s because when knee pain has gotten so bad that a patient becomes inactive, they risk losing so much muscle mass and becoming so deconditioned that even an optimal surgery won’t allow them to regain full knee function.
4. True or false: If I get a knee replacement, I’ll just have to get another one in 10 years.
False. Patients commonly enjoy 20 to 40 years with their new knees. “A lot of people think knee replacement is a 10-year surgery, and that’s not true anymore,” Noiseux says.
5. After a knee replacement surgery, which of the following activities should I avoid?
A. Kneeling
B. Running
C. Bicycling
D. Pickleball
Trick question. You can do all the above. While Noiseux recommends waiting six weeks before kneeling to allow the incision to heal, “I let people do all the sports they want,” he says, with two exceptions: Patients should avoid contact sports and combat sports.