Key takeaways:
Christian Scarborough had a total knee replacement to address his knee pain.
He made the most of physical therapy, learned to rely on others, and made life adjustments to accommodate his new knee.
He credits his knee surgery with helping him get back to an active lifestyle.
Doing research before a major surgery can sometimes help you understand what the process will be like. Other times, there are lessons you learn only after the surgery is complete.
Knee painis a common reason for surgery. Sometimes, knee pain becomes so severe that it makes performing daily tasks difficult.
Christian Scarborough, a 61-year-old public relations consultant from Austin, Texas, opted for knee surgery because he had been living in pain for years. He says his
total knee replacementwas life-altering and let him get back to doing things like hiking.
But looking back, he says, there are six things he wishes he knew before getting a knee replacement.
1. It’s important to have a provider with experience
When Christian started having pain in his right knee, he began getting regular steroid injections. The injections involved an invasive procedure that provided only temporary relief. Once you start taking cortisone shots, “the time is ticking,” Christian says.
Christian’s provider tried many methods to help ease his pain — from scoping and draining his knee to stem cell injections. But nothing was working. In fact, the procedures were making Christian feel worse.
“My knee started getting to the point where I would literally buckle when I’d walk sometimes,” he says.
To address these issues, Christian had knee replacement surgery in 2016. He made sure his surgeon had expertise in knee replacement surgery. And he recommends that other people considering the surgery get a referral for a surgeon and then talk to the provider’s previous patients to get the proper care.
2. Pain management can be difficult
After getting a knee replacement at 54 years old, Christian had to learn to adjust to life after surgery.
“You wake up and you’re in pain,” Christian says of recovering from the surgery.
It was hard for him to stand up and to sleep. To help with the pain, Christian’s doctor prescribed him an opioid pain medication. Christian says he was careful to follow his doctor’s orders and take the medication only when necessary.
“Take the pain pills when you’re in that pain,” Christian advises. “But get off as quick as you can.”
3. The real work happens in physical therapy
For the first 2 weeks of his recovery, Christian did physical therapy at home to strengthen his knee joint. Although physical therapy is painful, Christian says, the pain starts to go away the more therapy you do.
When he went to an outpatient facility, Christian liked the hands-on approach of manual physical therapy. “The human contact element — rather than, ‘Go over there and do that exercise’ — speeds up the recovery,” he says.
Christian says his physical therapist was as important as his surgeon. And he credits regular physical therapy with helping him get his athleticism back.
“I learned so much about everything — things I’d been doing wrong in my regular activities and everything,” he says. “If you want to go up and down the stairs and not have issues with it, do the physical therapy.”
4. Having a solid support system is crucial
Christian knew getting a knee replacement was going to be a lot of work. But he also learned that no one can do it alone. His mother and wife helped him through the recovery process. And he also found motivation through his relationships with other people going through the same physical therapy.
“You need somebody to help you, not just when the PT person comes in. It’s not enough,” Christian says.
5. It definitely feels different
After getting his right knee replaced, Christian can feel a tangible difference.
“Don’t expect your new knee to be like your old knee, because it’s not,” he says.
Sometimes, he feels his knee move from side to side or click. He’s cautious about avoiding things that might damage the joint. So while he is able to lift weights, he doesn’t run anymore.
His knee still “sometimes aches out of the blue,” he says, but he has learned to adjust.
6. A little exercise goes a long way
Christian and his wife recently hiked one of the tallest peaks in Texas, something that he says he couldn’t have done without the knee replacement.
Christian says his experience taught him that he can still do many things in life. “Once you get through this, you’ll find out you can do anything in the entire world,” he says.
His level of exercise intensity may have changed. But he cycles a couple of times a week with his wife and enjoys paddle boarding. And working through physical therapy has given him a positive outlook on life.
“If you want to have quality of life, and not just the amount of years, do a little bit of exercise,” he says. “Because it goes a long way.”
