Knee replacement surgery is extremely effective at eliminating osteoarthritic pain. But, recent research shows that, “Current practice of total knee replacement as performed in a recent U.S. cohort of patients with knee osteoarthritis had minimal effects on quality of life and QALYs (quality adjusted life years) at the group level.”
Amazed, stunned, and speechless, hope rising up in my heart, as a whole new sense of what’s possible for people struggling with those “sticky knees“… for YEARS.
Merlin’s Story Part III. Opioids and Knee Replacement. Effective pain management is the first layer of building that trust relationship that allows the patient to be an active partner in their own healing from the inception.
In trying to analyze the whole experience, there was one very interesting factor. At the height of the pain on Marlin’s Story Part IV: Managing Pain After Knee Replacement. Saturday and Sunday, I did no exercise at all. But some kind of survival instinct must have kicked in on Monday and though the pain management regimen remained the same, and I was unable to do any meaningful work with the physiotherapist, I completed two sessions on the X10 machine once the pain meds kicked in.
Merlin’s Story Part V: Conclusion. I named my X10 machine ‘Brunhilda’ and we quickly became fast friends. She sat among my plants and books and work files like a sentinel looking out the window to the trees outside. She was strong and relentless and kind and rewarding. I could set my target, crank up the Mozart to levels that drowned the pain, pace myself, and have small victories which I would celebrate with my recovery coaches. My knee surgery recovery and the X10 were now working in synchronization.