Knee surgery recovery depends on many things. Obesity can affect your knee rehabilitation as shown in this article.

The solution to people with knee problems can be a mix of medication and proper diet. For more serious cases, knee surgery may become inevitable. This means that the entire knee will have to be replaced with an artificial joint so that they can walk again without pain. Unfortunately, it may be more difficult for people who are considered to be obese to enjoy the long-term effects of surgery. There are even experts that say obesity and knee replacement do not particularly mix well.

Why Knee Replacement Is Important

The joints that make up our knees are cushioned and protected by a material called cartilage. It is the same organic material our ears are made of. Factors such as too much fast food and sports like running or basketball can contribute to the reduction of cartilage in the knee. The problem results to the joints not moving properly and excruciating pain.

Obesity can even play a part in the degradation of the knee. As mentioned above, certain foods that cause obesity in general can also affect the cartilage. Furthermore, the knee of an obese person is under more weight and pressure compared to a healthier individual, increasing the possibilities of osteoarthritis.

How Can Obesity Affect Knee Replacement?

Arthroplasty or knee replacement is considered a major surgery. Hence, there are several tests that patients are required to take to make sure that they fit to be on the operation table. These tests include a blood-clotting test and electrocardiogram or ECG, among others. These tests may reveal other conditions that may affect the success of the operation .

This is where obese patients usually have a problem. Due to their weight condition, it is more likely that they also have high blood pressure and heart ailments. This means doctors will have to take extra precaution during the actual surgery. It is even possible that surgery will not be an option once obese patients have been found to have other medical problems.

Issues after the Knee Surgery

Even if the surgery becomes successful, obesity can still become a major hurdle during the recovery period. The existing conditions of the patient may delay the complete healing of the wounds and how the artificial knee adapts to the leg. Most importantly, physical rehabilitation may be longer for people who are weight challenged.

It will actually take more time for them to get back the strength of the muscles and bones. Because of their weight, they are mostly likely to be given continuous passive motion or CPM treatments, so they and their artificial knees can start physical exercises without so much strain.

Aside from the long recovery, certain studies have shown that 1 out of 10 obese people who had arthroplasty found that the surgery was not successful after five or six years. This is because the additional weight caused more stress on the artificial joint. This caused the joints to develop stiffness or malfunction altogether. This is a stark contrast to the 100 percent success rates of knee surgery on people who are not obese.

A strict doctor ordered rehabilitation always follows knee replacement surgery. Unfortunately, this rehab is only enough to give you some mobility and get back part of your life. They don’t expect people with knee replacements to have the full abilities like they once did, so they don’t even try. With the right exercise and routines, though, you can have that life back, despite what the doctors tell you. Take the time to learn about rehabilitation from knee replacement surgery, and how you can ease your fear of living a sedentary life by taking action.

This video on surgical complications of obesity outlines the issue very well, it’s worth a look.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jerry_Seaman

 

How can obesity impact a persons health?

However, this is one of the very minor problems of obesity. Excessive weight bearing on the knee and ankle joints is a major cause of the wear and tear that occurs in joints.

Weight Loss Forum-Obesity

I developed horrible arthritic pain in my joints, and due to the medication I was taking and my metabolism basically crashing to hell, I gained nearly 100 lbs back.

How will Obesity Affect You and What Can You Do?

Extra weight will take a toll on your joints. Obesity has also been linked to gout, which is when uric acid that cannot be excreted collects in the joints of the toes.

 

Technorati Tags: knee replacement surgery, knee surgery, Knee Surgery Recovery, obesity

Arthroscopic knee surgery was first performed in the US in 1968.  It has since proved to be one of the most important surgical procedures in orthopedics of the 20th century and, with major advances in surgical techniques and materials, has become very highly effective.  In the US there are over three hundred thousand knee operations performed annually generally with impressive results.

Arthroscopic knee surgery is knee joint replacement surgery.  Basically there are two types of arthroscopic knee procedures:

• Total joint arthroplasty where both sides (shinbone and femur) of the knee joint are replaced and

• Hemiarthroplasty or partial knee replacement in which only one side of the knee joint is replaced.

Arthroscopic knee surgery is used to replace a damaged or diseased knee joint with an artificial joint.  This prosthesis is made from surgical grade plastics and metal alloys and is designed to work in the same way as bone and cartilage does and to behave in the same way as a healthy joint.

In this surgery, the orthopedic surgeon will remove the damaged or diseased parts of the bones that make up the knee joint.  In a healthy knee joint the surfaces of these bones rub together using cartilage to act as the buffer between them.  In total knee replacement surgery the surgeon will remove the damaged surfaces of the three bones that rub together (the kneecap or patella, the thighbone or femur and the shinbone or tibia) and replace them the plastic or metal prostheses.  .  The surgery usually takes between 1 and 2 hours.

The components used in knee joint replacement surgery are designed to match the original bones that they replace.  The section of the femur or thighbone that is replaced is made of rounded metal alloy that is designed to closely match the curve of the natural femur.  A very smooth long wearing polyethylene plastic is used to replace the surface of the shinbone and act as knee cartilage.  This same material is used to replace the cartilage on the back of the kneecap.

The ultimate aim of this surgery is to replace the painful surfaces of the knee joint with new surfaces made from artificial materials.  The knee joint is then no longer painful and mobility is increased.  An added benefit is that joint deformities can sometimes also be corrected at the same time.

Knee surgery recovery is relatively quick and knee joint rehabilitation commences almost immediately after the orthopedic knee surgery.  Walking with the aid of crutches or a walker and knee physical therapy usually start within 24 hours of the operation and can take several weeks.  Generally many normal activities like climbing stairs and getting in and out of chairs can be attempted within a few days.  Knee replacement exercises are an important part of rehabilitation.

Orthopedic knee replacement surgery has a success rate of up to 95% with most knee implants functioning well for many years after surgery.  Most knee implants should last for about 15 years with moderate levels of activity.  However, continual strenuous activity can reduce the life of the knee implant.

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Arthroscopic knee surgery is becoming a more and more popular knee treatment method.  Here is information on using arthroscopy to regenerate knee cartilage.

Knee microfracture surgery or knee cartilage regeneration is a method used to repair damaged cartilage.  This method of orthopedic knee surgery can be used in some instances instead of necessitating a full or partial knee replacement surgery.   It can also be used to relieve the pain associated from knee cartilage injuries, knee arthritis in its early stage, lesions on the knee cap and degenerative chondral lesions of the knee.

Simply put, it is cartilage that helps to cushion the bones in the joints.

This type of knee surgery is minimally invasive with only one small incision being made to the affected knee.  this small incision, usually only a quarter of an inch long is made and an arthroscope is inserted into the knee joint.  This apparatus allows the surgeon to see inside the joint using a micro camera and to work directly on the problem.  It is another type of arthroscopic knee surgery. 

Using an awl, a tool a bit like an ice-pick, the orthopedic specialist drills a series of tiny holes or "microfractures" directly into the bone surrounding the problem cartilage.  These tiny fractures causes the body to make new cartilage to replace the defective cartilage by causing bone marrow to seep from the microfractures that creates a blood clot.  This blood clot releases cells that rebuild cartilage.

Once the procedure has been completed knee surgery recovery is relatively fast with most patients being able to participate in sports and other strenuous and intense pastimes in around four months.
 
Physical therapy of the knee commences immediately the surgery is completed, usually in the recovery room, where a continuous passive motion machine is used to gently flex and extend the leg.  This CPM machine is used for periods up to 8 hours per day for a few weeks after surgery.  It is sometimes used while the patient is sleeping.  This sort of knee therapy is thought to sped up the cartilage regeneration process.

 
For the first six to eight weeks the knee joint should not be subject to any load bearing and so crutches are needed to assist with mobility.

Like any surgery there are risks like excessive bleeding and infection.  With proper care these are minimal.
Using microfracture surgery causes new cartilage to develop.  However, this new cartilage is not as durable as the original cartilage and has been known to break down after a few years.   The patient can also be left with increased stiffness in the knee joint.

Combining of arthroscopic knee surgery and microfracture knee surgery is becoming a recognised method of rebuilding cartilage.

Kerry Northey

Panthers look to Allen’s return from microfracture knee surgery.

The 29-year-old played only two games last season before he had to go for microfracture surgery on a knee, which caused him to miss the rest of the 2008-09 campaign. 

Microfracture Knee Surgery

Cartilage damage can lead to chronic knee pain. Athletes with this problem can benefit by microfracture surgery.  

Micro Fracture Surgery Versus Stem Cells

A physician compares the results of micro fracture for a knee cartilage lesion to stem cell injection. … It’s a brilliant advance over arthroscopic debridement (surgeries where cartilage is simply “cleaned up” by cutting it out). I think that in the future we may see stem cells placed in the joint after micro fracture surgery to aid healing and we’ll also see many non-surgical, stem cell based, injection options like the Regenexx procedure. 

Gregg’s Micro Fracture Surgery

It marked Gregg’s first regular-season game back on the field after missing last season when he underwent microfracture knee surgery. "It’s good to be back," Gregg said. "I was down and out. 

Did Cofield Have Microfracture Knee Surgery?

In the wake of New York Giants defensive lineman Fred Robbins’ disclosure that he had microfracture knee surgery before later removing the information from his blog.

Robbins needed microfracture surgery

He had microfracture knee surgery, which is a much more serious procedure than the scope that Cofield had. Robbins revealed the nature of his surgery on his own website. 

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