You’re Never Too Old for a Knee or Hip Replacement

As you get older, one of the biggest threats to your independence is the loss of mobility. When you can’t get up and about, you risk missing out on favorite activities and even the ability to perform everyday tasks.

There are a variety of factors that can affect your ability to run, walk or even stand. But two of the biggest causes are damage to your joints – knees and hips, in particular – caused by arthritis or injury.

But that doesn’t have to be the case. Regardless of your age, a knee or hip replacement can help you regain lost mobility and independence and get you back to enjoying your life, even in your 80s and 90s.

Then vs. Now

Often, when people hear about a knee or hip replacement, they think back a couple decades to a time when these were major surgeries, with the potential for significant blood loss. It was a serious enough concern that patients would start preparing for their procedure months ahead of time by storing their own blood to be used during the surgery.

The procedures were done under general anesthesia, which created concerns for older patients who were worried about memory loss and confusion. Lengthy recoveries started with a couple weeks in the hospital. Patients weren’t allowed to walk for at least a week. For older patients, these grueling surgeries were often not recommended.

So much has changed, particularly in the past decade, thanks to new surgical techniques and anesthesia protocols.

With bleeding better controlled through medications, transfusions are almost a thing of the past. There’s no need to put patients completely under. The surgeries are performed in a far less invasive way, which equals quicker recovery times and, usually, no hospital stays. Most patients start walking again (with help from a therapist) within a couple hours of the procedure and go home later that day.

Life After Joint Replacement

Hip and knee replacements are often recommended if pain in the joint is severely hampering your quality of life. This can occur when there is damage to the cartilage that acts as a protective covering for the bones that come together at the joint. When that cartilage is gone, the bones can rub together, creating intense pain when you move. This damage is often caused by three types of arthritis:

• Osteoarthritis: This is wear-and-tear arthritis that tends to occur in people over the age of 50. Over time, the cartilage wears away, exposing the bones, allowing them to grate on one another.
• Rheumatoid arthritis: With this disease, the (synovial) membrane that surrounds your joint becomes chronically inflamed, which can eventually lead to loss of cartilage.
• Posttraumatic arthritis: This arthritis is directly linked to a previous injury to your knee or hip.

Once the cartilage damage becomes severe enough to cause disability, a joint replacement is the only option. During the procedure, your surgeon will remove the damaged tissue and bones and replace them with new parts made of metal or plastic.

Once the bone-on-bone issue is resolved, the pain in the joint should go away. And after six weeks of physical therapy (knees generally take longer to rehab), you should be able to get back to your normal life, without any restrictions.

When Joint Replacement Is Not an Option

Even though there have been considerable advances in joint replacement, there are still some people who are not good candidates. But age isn’t the determining factor. Rather it is your overall health, meaning you have to be fit enough for surgery.

A patient in his 80s or 90s and barely walking because of other issues – heart problems, for example – isn’t likely to be recommended for joint replacement. But a similarly aged patient who was out playing golf, running and finding other ways to be active before the joint pain  is likely to be an ideal candidate.