Knee Replacement Surgery

[DocVikingo]

it is very important after knee replacement surgery like other surgeries to make sure the wound has healed. Give it at least a month or two to heal.

after that, I can't think of any reason not to scuba dive.

I can. Such as complications, insufficient rehabilitation of the leg or instability of the knee due to other causes, the fact that slipping on the dock, boat, elsewhere could seriously damage the repair, presence of other medical conditions that preclude scuba, etc.

Best regards.

DocVikingo

 

[SubMariner]

Have severe osteo-arthritis in my knees which causes me great discomfort. The only med that has really worked in the past to help me deal with the pain, was Vioxx. And now that is gone. I have been on Celebrex for a week now, and pain levels have increased. Spoke to my ortho yesterday, and discussed knee replacement surgery. Doc says after surgery my scuba, dirt, atv and sport bike riding are completely out. Anyone out there had knee replacement surgery and still diving, or very active? If so what were your experiences from the beginning to now? Thanks in advance...
:06:

Nor do I play one on TV. I also didn't sleep at a Holiday Inn Express last night. However, I have had severe OA in my left knee for a few years now. Two years ago I was contemplating an elevation, which was supposed to help with the OA pain. Fortunately, I got a 2nd opinion.

Firstly, I went to Bextra, which is another Cox2 inhibitor (chemically unrelated to Vioxx or Celebrex). I then started on yearly Supartz shots (acts like a lubricant inside the knee, helping it move more freely).

I also started taking glucosamine & chondroitin, but I don't know if that has helped at all. However, what has also helped was bicycling: it's good exercise and the motion is helpful in keeping the knees operative without putting stress on them.

Unfortunately, it's not a matter of "If" for major knee surgery, but "when". But at least I may be able to wait long enough for them to come up with a good option that will give me more than the 5-7 years a replacement will offer me. At my age that is no bargain! :sad:

 

[starrtent]

My orthopedists wants me to do it all, swim, ski and golf. Do you want his name? The weightless environment should be good for all of our body parts. The doc who mentioned the out of water worries was probably the smartest. I am sure the trip up the ladder must be hard.

 

[DiverBuoy]

Give us the followup on this one tiburon72157, you had some surgery, what went right or wrong, and how has diving been since?

 

[tiburon72157]

i ended up finding and using an alternative homeopathic arthritis "cure" called cmo. was a miracle for me and i was able to avoid knee replacement altogether. knees pop and crack quite a bit, but the pain is gone and they still function better than any prosthetic would.

 

[DiverDusty]

OK
I had total KR in December. Just returned from Bonaire where we did 29 dives in 10 days. I was a little testy the first day and was helped some by wife and friends. They carried me BC to the waters edge and helped me put it on. But by 4th day my wife and pals were saying "you're on your own" I was finning great after a couple of days. In fact, I won a fin race to keep up with a pair of spotted eagle rays that were swimming in tandem at Margate. I do admitt that I did some pool work prior to this. Stationary finning against the wall in the pool for 15 minutes every other day for three weeks. There wasn't a dive that was less than 54 minutes long.
GO FOR IT!

 

[carlislere]

I have a friend of mine, who is an instructor, who has had both knees replaced in the last few years and he is still teaching and diving.