Have you tried everything to get some relief from your knee pain? If you are no stranger to braces, canes, cortisone injections, and other methods of dealing with knee pain, yet you still have knee pain, you may want to consider total knee replacement. This successful, time-tested method of eliminating knee pain and returning mobility may be exactly what you need.

Knee pain that interferes with the simplest activities – standing, sitting, walking, climbing stairs, and even resting – needs to be addressed decisively.

Knee replacement surgery has been around since’68. It has always been a successful surgery, and it was a huge step forward for orthopedic surgery. With advanced materials and techniques, total knee replacement is the most popular surgery performed today. In fact, there are more than 581,000 knee replacement surgeries annually in the U.S.

Whether you are just beginning to think about knee replacement or have actually already made the arrangements with your orthopedic surgeon, this article should be useful to you in answering some of the most common questions about total knee replacement surgery.

Click here for more on total knee surgery.

How Is The Knee Put Together?

Three bones make up the knee. The thigh bone, the shin bone, and the knee cap. Your orthopedic surgeon may refer to these as the femur, the tibia, and the patella – respectively. As the largest and most used joint in the body, the knee is most likely to be injured.

The bones of the knee are held together and stabilized by ligaments. These are called the medial and lateral collateral ligaments and the anterior and posterior cruciate ligaments.

The muscles of the thigh also play a strong part in the strength and stability of the knee. Strong thigh muscles mean strong knees.

The knee is padded with articular cartilage. It separates the bones, cushions them, and prevents them from grinding against each other. Having this smooth cushioning allows the parts of the knee to operate smoothly. Rings of cartilage called the lateral menisci stabilize the knee. These natural shock absorbers are fibrous and semicircular in shape.

The parts of the knee are coated and lined with synovial membrane. In healthy knees, this thin membrane produces a lubricating fluid that keeps friction to a minimum.

When perfectly balanced, the knee operates smoothly and efficiently. However, it is easy for the knee to suffer injury or become the victim of arthritis. When this happens, the balance is thrown askew. The result is pain and a loss of strength and mobility.

The average age of knee replacement patients is 60-80. But this is not a cut-off number. There have also been very young patients who have found relief from juvenile arthritis, as well as very old patients who have found relieve from degenerative arthritis. When you are evaluated as a candidate, your orthopedic surgeon will look at your level of disability and the amount of pain you are experiencing – not your age.

Dr. Tarlow is a Board Certified Orthopaedic Surgeon with over 20 years specializing in knee surgery. He opened his own clinic, Advanced Knee Care, with a focus on specialty patient care. Click here to learn more about Dr. Tarlow, knee surgeons and complete knee replacement.

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