Knee replacement surgery is a very good and successful option for those suffering from debilitating osteoarthritis in their knee.
I’m not here to tell you that it isn’t.
I’m here to tell you to proceed with caution – and do your research first.
Not everyone’s knee pain is caused by debilitating osteoarthritis – even if your X-ray says so…
And if you undergo a major surgery to fix arthritis – when arthritis isn’t the true cause of your knee pain – not only will you have just put your body through the risks of surgery when you didn’t need to…
You’ll have spent a year recovering from major surgery – necessary or not.
This almost happened to one of our clients – we’ll call her “Mary”.
Read Mary's Story Below...
Mary initially sought our help because pain in her left knee was keeping her from some of her favorite activities - namely - cycling, running, playing pickle ball, and skiing with her family.
Doctors told her that she had arthritis, bone spurs, and no cartilage in her knee joint from stressing her body out over the years. And because of that - she was told to get steroid injections in her knee every year to manage her pain...
6 shots over the last 3 years!
At first - these injections seemed to be doing the trick. But when the last shot only gave her a week's worth of relief - she knew she needed to try something else...
Her doctor said that surgery was her next and only option - and that she needed a total knee replacement.
Mary really didn't want to undergo a major surgery like this unless she absolutely had to.
Plus - if she did get surgery - it meant no skiing with her family this winter - not to mention that if recovery didn't go exactly as planned - she risked missing out on even more activities she loved to do.
Mary was motivated to do her research - and explore all possible options - before making this important decision.
Mary wanted to find out if she fell into this category - and even if she did - could she ever really "trust" her knee again if she didn't get this surgery?
Mary’s X-rays and MRI's showed tons of bone spurs and arthritis in her knee - so her doctor wasn't wrong in his recommendation. But he was making this recommendation with limited information...
You see... it's normal for signs of osteoarthritis to appear on your X-ray as you get older. 60% of people have X-rays that look just like Kat's - but they have NO pain at all in their knee.
That's what we needed to find out for Mary....
X-rays and MRI's won't tell you for sure if your knee pain is caused by your back. The only way to figure that out is with specific and specialized movement testing.
Well - turns out for Mary - the majority of her problem was actually coming from her lower back! The movement tests confirmed it. We were able to turn her pain "off" and "on" by moving her back in very specific ways.
Yes - she did have some weakness and stiffness in her knee related to her arthritis - but those symptoms didn't need major surgery to resolve.
Once Mary's knee pain was gone - she was able to work on the higher level balance and stability work that was required to get her back on the slopes. Plus - she now knew how to control her knee pain completely on her own if it ever came back.
Hooray for Mary!
But we can't take all the credit...
Mary was a perfect client.
She was willing to invest in herself - she was an active participant in her care plan - and she trusted us to do our jobs.
There was no way we could guarantee that she didn't need the surgery - but what we knew we could guarantee is Mary would have ALL the information she needed to make her best decision - and in Mary’s case - it was knowing that there was more to the story than just the results from her MRI and X-ray.
Does Mary's Story Sound Familiar?
Know anyone else who is suffering from knee pain that isn't going away but they're not ready to go under the knife yet?
Please forward this blog to them!
PS - Do you need help NOW? Request a Free Discovery Session with a specialist at my clinic. But please don't wait as we are getting really busy and we're about to be operating on a wait list.
CLICK HERE now to get our on schedule before you can't!
Trupti graduated with a Master’s degree in Physical Therapy from UNC- Chapel Hill in 2001. She has furthered her studies with numerous post-graduate courses focusing on the Neck, shoulder, knee, and back, with a strong emphasis in manual therapy. Recently completed courses in Maitland-Australian Physiotherapy Seminars (Levels 1- 5), has afforded her an excellent way to relieve pain and help people get moving, active and healthy quickly and effectively.
With 20+ years of experience in Physical Therapy, Trupti has practiced in various orthopedic and sports focused clinical settings, in both the Raleigh-Durham, NC and DC regions. She has been Director of multiple Physical therapy Clinics in DC and also worked with some renowned specialists at Georgetown University Hospital in DC. During her years of service, Trupti has had the privilege of caring for a wide variety of clients: from school-aged children to retirees; from homemakers to business professionals; from weekend warriors to professional athletes.
Trupti is an avid fan of the outdoors, art, traveling and of course the Tar Heels. She enjoys spending time with her niece and nephew.
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