knee replacement - body, not boat

chris pearson

chris pearson

Michigan Canoe Nut
Ok, heres the deal. My leg is on about a 15 degree angle below my right knee. I got hit by a car when I was 12 years old, and I'm 50 now. For now, cortisone is the approach. When it gets worse, one surgeon is proposing straightening the leg by cutting the fibia and tibia and screwing a plate to keep it straight, not a faint of heart operation. I will get more opinions and see if just the knee can be replaced, compensated on an angle. Problem is, longevity of the new knee. Does anyone out there have a kneee replacement and what has it done to your canoeing ability? Can you kneel for solo paddling? How long has it lasted? I'm reading on the internet about 12 years, yuck!!!!! :eek:
 
Hi Chris

I have a little bit of anectdotal info. I have a friend who is NOT getting a knee replacement, which he sorely needs because he is afraid he will not be able to kneel. He kneels alot installing dishwashers and water softeners and such. But my neighbor had his done at Genisys in Flint and can kneel perfectly, which is a good thing because he won the canoe at the wild game dinner. his doctor has done knees for carpet layers and they really use their knees alot. So, it depends on the type of proceedure and the type of doc.
 
Isnt 15degrees roughly about a half a bubble off plumb?:p that would explain lots. Let me know how many cedar wedges you need, I'll cut you a bunch - fix you right up!
 
Knee injuries at an early age.

We need Gene Ott to chime in on this one. He assists doctors in the operating room when doing these. When at Canoecopia we were discussing knee resurfacing.

Chris,

I have something of the same problem. I have a few nails in my tibia just below the knee cap from a high school football injury and my knee has about a 5 to 10% bend below the knee and no matter how much I stretch it I will never straighten out.

I'm about to turn 60 and my problem is the associated Hip which I may need to replace before the knee.

Bottom line, I doubt this is new to a good orthopedic guy and I'd get some referrals to some good ones and get it fixed.

I think it's more important to fix the knee before it give you other problems and deal with kneeling in a canoe if the problem comes up. No two people will have the same results from the same medical procedure. I sure some people have no problem kneeling and other do.

It's hell getting old aint it,

Good luck,
Paul
 
Hi Chris, My wife severly dislocated her knee in a twist dance contest when we we 16, and a coup[e of times later. For years she put up with all of the problems that resulted from it. Then she started to have problems in the opposset hip. After several Drs. and considering hip surgery (not a replacement). We found out that because of her knee she was not tracking straight when she walked. That was causing the hip pain. She had the knee replacement last year and is doing well. It seems that everyone does differently afterwards as to weather they can kneel. She gardens and can kneel for a short while, then it becomes too painfull on the kneecap. She uses a foam pad to kneel on. Some people cannot get the rotation range back,can tolorate more pain than others, or have no pain at all. My wife also had a (don't laugh) a computer guided alinement during surgery to make sure that the knee tracked perfectly straight. It is supposed to add years to the life of the replacement. Hopfully we will see. When the pain gets too bad you know that there is no other choice.Good luck, Tom
 
Gil Cramer said:
Chris, you have my sympathy. All I can say is that I'm glad I'm not old like you guys!!!!
Click to expand...

Remember E.B. White's advice regarding canoes:

On age: “For an old man, a canoe is ideal; he need only sit and move his arms.”

Seriously as an 'older guy' with wonky knees, I do understand Chris's situation....sometimes tough kneeling on ribs too long....even with proper padding.
 
Chris - the last concern you should consider for a knee replacement is whether or not you'll be able to kneel in a canoe or not. That is, of course, unless you spend eight hours, five or six days a week, paddling that canoe. I expect that, like the rest of us, you only spend a tiny part of each year paddling. The rest of the time, you are on land. If that knee really bothers you during the "rest of the time", get it fixed and use a low seat to paddle from. I had both knees replaced about seven years ago, with no problems and a HUGE relief from pain which had become pretty much constant all day long. And I paddle using the seat, also with no problems. I can kneel, but have pretty much learned to avoid doing so just to avoid any bad reactions. Good luck with it! Al
 
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