Latest / The Total Knee Success Podcast: Your Essential Resource for Navigating Total Knee Replacement / Episode 89: Six Knee Replacement Myths You Should Stop Believing (What Most Patients Still Believe After Surgery)

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Episode 89: Six Knee Replacement Myths You Should Stop Believing (What Most Patients Still Believe After Surgery) · The Total Knee Success Podcast: Your Essential Resource for Navigating Total Knee Replacement

• 0:00
  Think about learning a new skill. Buying a new
• 0:02
  set of golf clubs does not make someone a better
• 0:04
  golfer overnight. Are you ready to get back to
• 0:08
  what you love after knee replacement? The Total
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  Knee Success podcast is your trusted guide with
• 0:14
  practical tips, evidence -based strategies and
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  no fluff. It's not personal medical advice, just
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  solid education to help you manage pain, regain
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  mobility and get back to living the life you
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  love. Let's dive in. Welcome back to the Total
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  Knee Success podcast. I'm Michelle. Today, we're
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  starting a new four -part series focused on some
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  of the things that can make knee replacement
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  more confusing than it needs to be. Over the
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  next four episodes, we're going to talk about
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  common beliefs, unexpected challenges, longer
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  -term changes, and the final stages of moving
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  beyond surgery and back into everyday life. We're
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  starting this series with something I think affects
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  almost everyone at some point after knee replacement.
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  the myths and expectations that shape how people
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  judge their own progress. At the end of this
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  episode, you'll have a better understanding of
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  six common knee replacement myths, why they're
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  not always accurate, and how those beliefs can
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  influence the way you view your own experience
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  after surgery. There are many things people hear
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  before and after knee replacement. Some come
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  from friends or family members. Some come from
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  stories shared online. Some come from comparing
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  one person's experience to another. And some
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  are ideas that have been repeated so many times
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  that they start to feel like facts. The challenge
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  is that many of these beliefs begin with a small
• 1:36
  piece of truth, and then they get expanded into
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  something that does not apply to everyone. My
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  goal today is not to tell you exactly how your
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  knee replacement experience will go, because
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  every person's situation is different. Instead,
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  I want to help you look at the process with a
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  little more perspective and recognize when an
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  expectation may not match the reality of what
• 1:57
  many people experience. So let's start with six
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  common knee replacement myths that are worth
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  reconsidering. Myth number one, once the surgery
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  is over, the hard part is finished. This is probably
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  one of the biggest misunderstandings people have
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  before knee replacement. The surgery itself is
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  a major event. You prepare for it, you go through
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  it, and then there is often a feeling of relief
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  that the day you've been waiting for has finally
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  arrived. But the surgery is not the finish line.
• 2:25
  It's the beginning of a process that involves
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  your body adapting to a significant change. A
• 2:30
  knee replacement gives you a new joint surface,
• 2:33
  but it does not instantly restore strength, coordination,
• 2:36
  balance, endurance, or confidence with movement.
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  Those things still have to be rebuilt. Think
• 2:42
  about learning a new skill. Buying a new set
• 2:44
  of golf clubs does not make someone a better
• 2:46
  golfer overnight. Having a new instrument, a
• 2:49
  musical instrument, doesn't mean that someone
• 2:51
  can immediately play a complicated song. The
• 2:55
  equipment can make the activity possible, but
• 2:57
  the person still has to develop the skills needed
• 2:59
  to use their equipment well. A knee replacement
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  is similar. The new joint can provide the opportunity
• 3:06
  for improved function, but your muscles, nervous
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  system, movement patterns and daily habits still
• 3:11
  have to adapt. This is one reason people sometimes
• 3:14
  feel surprised after surgery. They may have expected
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  the biggest challenge to be the operation itself,
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  and it is a challenge, but then they realize
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  there's still work involved afterward. That work
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  will likely include exercises from your healthcare
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  team, gradually increasing activity, rebuilding
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  strength, practicing movements that feel awkward,
• 3:34
  and learning to trust your knee again. And this
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  is where I think it's important to recognize
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  something we talked about in episode 88. Progress
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  is not always dramatic. Early on, improvement
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  may be easy to notice. You may walk a little
• 3:46
  farther, bend your knee a little more, or need
• 3:48
  less assistance moving around. Later, progress
• 3:51
  can become more subtle. You may notice that you
• 3:54
  can stand longer while making dinner, walk through
• 3:56
  a store with fewer breaks, or move throughout
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  your day without thinking about your knee every
• 4:00
  few minutes. And those changes may not feel as
• 4:03
  exciting as the earlier milestones, but they're
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  often the things that help people move toward
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  the activities and routines that are important
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  to them. The myth is that surgery is the end
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  of the process. The reality is that surgery is
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  one of the starting points for the next phase,
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  and understanding that difference can help you
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  have more realistic expectations about what comes
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  next. Myth number two. If I still have pain after
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  knee replacement, something must be wrong. One
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  of the biggest sources of worry after knee replacement
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  is often the belief that pain should disappear
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  once the damaged joint has been replaced. It
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  makes sense why people think this. The purpose
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  of the surgery is to address the arthritis and
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  damage that was causing problems before surgery.
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  So when someone still feels discomfort afterward
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  it can be confusing. They may start wondering
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  why does my knee still hurt if the bad part was
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  removed. The answer is that pain after knee replacement
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  can have many possible explanations and discomfort
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  does not automatically mean something has gone
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  wrong. Your body has been through a significant
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  procedure and the tissues around the knee have
• 5:10
  to adapt. Muscles, tendons, nerves, and the surrounding
• 5:13
  tissues all respond to that change. The way your
• 5:17
  brain interprets sensations from the knee can
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  also change as you begin moving differently and
• 5:21
  returning to more activities. Pain is also not
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  always a simple measurement of what is happening
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  inside the joint. Two people can have similar
• 5:30
  procedures and have very different experiences
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  afterward. One person may notice stiffness more
• 5:36
  than pain. Another may notice swelling after
• 5:38
  activity. Someone else may feel discomfort with
• 5:41
  certain movements while everyday activities continue
• 5:44
  to improve. That's why I think it's important
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  to look at the whole picture. If your knee feels
• 5:49
  stiff first thing in the morning but allows you
• 5:51
  to walk farther than it did a month ago, that's
• 5:53
  showing a different pattern than a knee where
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  symptoms are consistently worsening and function
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  is declining, which is a good reason to see your
• 6:01
  surgeon. This is also where people sometimes
• 6:04
  get trapped by comparing themselves to others.
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  Someone might say, I was pain free two weeks
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  after surgery. And that statement can make someone
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  else feel like they're falling behind. But there
• 6:14
  are so many factors that influence how someone
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  feels after surgery, including their health history,
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  activity level, expectations, support system,
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  and how they describe their own pain. A single
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  person's experience is not a timeline that everyone
• 6:28
  else has to follow. Now, this doesn't mean you
• 6:31
  should ignore symptoms that concern you. New
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  or worsening symptoms, increasing redness, drainage,
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  fever, sudden loss of function, or significant
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  changes that concern you are reasons to contact
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  your surgeon or healthcare team. The myth is
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  that any pain after knee replacement means the
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  surgery failed. The reality is that discomfort
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  can be a part of the process of adapting to a
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  new knee, increasing activity and rebuilding
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  strength and movement. If understanding the reasons
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  behind pain and stiffness after knee replacement
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  has been one of the most challenging parts of
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  the process, my book, Making Sense of Pain After
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  Knee Replacement, takes a deeper look at why
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  your knee can feel different from day to day,
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  why symptoms can change over time, and how to
• 7:14
  better understand what you might be experiencing.
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  You'll find a link in today's show notes. The
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  more useful question is often not, do I have
• 7:22
  any pain, but rather, what is my knee allowing
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  me to do compared with where I started? Because
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  in the end, the purpose of knee replacement is
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  not to create a knee that never sends you a signal,
• 7:34
  it's to help you return to the activities and
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  parts of life that were limited before surgery.
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  And sometimes recognizing that progress requires
• 7:42
  looking beyond the moment you are currently in.
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  Myth number three, your knee should be back to
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  normal by a certain date. One of the most common
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  beliefs after knee replacement is that there's
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  a specific point where everything should suddenly
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  feel normal. People hear timelines like six weeks,
• 8:00
  three months, or six months, and it's easy to
• 8:02
  turn those dates into expectations. The problem
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  is that healing and functional progress do not
• 8:08
  happen on a calendar schedule that looks exactly
• 8:11
  the same for everyone. Two people can have knee
• 8:14
  replacements on the same day and have very different
• 8:17
  experiences months later. One person may be focused
• 8:20
  on walking farther. Another may still be working
• 8:23
  on strength. Someone else may be returning to
• 8:26
  activities that require more balance, endurance,
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  or confidence. A date can be helpful as a reference
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  point, but it should not become a scorecard.
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  I think this is especially important because
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  often people compare their current situation
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  to where they think they should be instead of
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  looking at where they started. The more useful
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  question is not, am I exactly where I expected
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  to be by this date? It's often, what can I do
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  now that was difficult or impossible before?
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  That shift changes the way we evaluate progress.
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  A knee replacement is not a race against the
• 9:00
  calendar. It's a process of gradually rebuilding
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  your ability to participate in the activities
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  that are important to you. Myth number four.
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  If my knee feels stiff, I must not be making
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  progress. Stiffness is one of the most common
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  symptoms that people talk about after knee replacement.
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  And it can be frustrating because it often changes
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  from day to day. You might feel better one day
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  and your knee might feel stiff the next. You
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  may notice knee stiffness after sitting and increased
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  activity or first thing in the morning. That
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  variability can make people wonder whether they're
• 9:34
  moving backwards. But stiffness in your knee
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  alone does not tell the whole story. A person
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  can still be making progress while experiencing
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  stiffness in their knee. They may be walking
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  farther, getting stronger, doing more around
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  the house or returning to activities that they
• 9:49
  had stopped doing before surgery. Sometimes the
• 9:52
  best measure of progress is not how your knee
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  feels in one moment. It's what your knee allows
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  you to do over time. That doesn't mean every
• 10:00
  type of knee stiffness should be ignored. If
• 10:02
  symptoms are concerning or changing in a way
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  that worries you, it's important to discuss them
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  with your healthcare team. But a stiff knee and
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  a failing knee are not the same thing. Myth number
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  five. Once I'm done with physical therapy, I'm
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  done working on my knee. This is another belief
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  I hear often because Physical therapy is such
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  a big part of the early weeks after knee replacement.
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  People may finish their scheduled visits and
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  think, OK, I'm finished, now I just move on.
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  But finishing formal therapy doesn't necessarily
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  mean you're finished improving. Physical therapy
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  gives you guidance, structure, and a plan for
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  rebuilding movement. As you continue through
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  the months after surgery, many of the changes
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  you're working toward come from continuing to
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  use your knee in everyday life. Staying active
• 10:47
  and continuing to build strength and endurance
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  is important after physical therapy is done.
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  This is where the transition can feel a little
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  strange. Early on, improvement is often connected
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  to very specific goals. Bending your knee farther,
• 11:01
  walking safely, getting stronger and becoming
• 11:03
  more independent. Later, progress often becomes
• 11:06
  about returning to the activities that make up
• 11:08
  your normal life. That might mean carrying groceries,
• 11:11
  walking through a larger store, gardening, traveling,
• 11:14
  exercising, working, or simply moving throughout
• 11:16
  your day without constantly thinking about your
• 11:19
  knee. The myth is that improvement stops when
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  therapy ends. The reality is that your knee continues
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  to adapt as you gradually challenge it and return
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  to most of the activities that are meaningful
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  to you. And finally, myth number six, everyone
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  else's knee replacement experience tells me what
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  mine should be. This may be the most difficult
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  myth to let go of because comparison is everywhere.
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  People share their experiences online, friends
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  tell stories, and family members often want to
• 11:49
  help by sharing what happened to someone they
• 11:52
  know. The problem is that another person's experience
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  is only one person's experience. Someone may
• 11:59
  tell you they had very little pain, walked without
• 12:01
  an assistive device quickly, or felt completely
• 12:04
  normal within a certain timeframe. Another person
• 12:07
  may have had a very different story. Neither
• 12:09
  one tells you exactly what your experience should
• 12:12
  be. There are so many factors involved, including
• 12:15
  your health before surgery, your activity level,
• 12:17
  your goals, your support system, and the challenges
• 12:20
  you're working through along the way. Comparison
• 12:23
  can also make people overlook their own progress.
• 12:26
  You may focus on what someone else can do while
• 12:29
  forgetting what you've already accomplished.
• 12:31
  Instead of asking, am I where this person was,
• 12:34
  a more useful question might be, am I moving
• 12:37
  forward compared to where I started? That's a
• 12:41
  much more fair way to evaluate your own progress.
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  Be gentle with yourself. When you step back and
• 12:48
  look at these six myths together, there's a common
• 12:51
  theme. Many frustrations after knee replacement
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  come from expectations that are overly simplified
• 12:56
  for a process that is actually complex and very
• 13:00
  individual. A new knee does not mean everything
• 13:03
  changes overnight. Progress is not always a straight
• 13:06
  line. Pain or stiffness do not automatically
• 13:09
  mean something's wrong. A calendar date does
• 13:12
  not determine success, and another person's experience
• 13:16
  does not define yours. It can be helpful to recognize
• 13:20
  progress while still being patient with the parts
• 13:22
  that take a little longer than you might have
• 13:24
  expected. It does not mean ignoring problems
• 13:27
  or pretending everything's perfect. It means
• 13:29
  looking at the whole picture. Are you doing things
• 13:32
  today that were difficult before surgery? Are
• 13:35
  you gradually returning to activities that matter
• 13:37
  to your daily life? Are you building strength,
• 13:40
  confidence, and trust in your knee? Those are
• 13:43
  the questions that often tell a much more accurate
• 13:45
  story than comparing yourself to somebody else's
• 13:48
  timeline. In the next episode, we're going to
• 13:51
  talk about another stage that surprises many
• 13:53
  people, the months after knee replacement when
• 13:56
  you finally start thinking less about your knee
• 13:58
  and more about your life again. If you're looking
• 14:02
  for more practical education, my books, Making
• 14:04
  Sense of Pain After Knee Replacement and Walking
• 14:07
  Like Yourself Again After Knee Replacement, are
• 14:09
  available through links in the show notes. And
• 14:12
  if you want practical tips, research updates,
• 14:14
  and resources delivered to your inbox, I'd love
• 14:17
  to have you join the Total Knee Success Insider
• 14:19
  Newsletter. It's totally free and also in the
• 14:22
  show notes. Thanks for joining me. I'm Michelle,
• 14:25
  and this has been the Total Knee Success Podcast.
• 14:31
  This podcast is for educational purposes only.
• 14:35
  Discover more at TotalMeSuccess .com and be sure
• 14:39
  to subscribe and share because every step forward
• 14:42
  takes you closer to living the life you love.