Question
I am 65 years old and have had deteriorating knees for about 15 years.  The medications no longer allow me to walk without pain. I wonder if your experience shows that it is worthwhile to try the shots for a whle before knee replacement surgery?  Also, who long a hospitalization is required for knee replacement and how long before one can walk again?  

Answer
Mary,

I am sorry to take so long getting back to you. I have been out of town for the holidays.

This is a tough question to answer. So much of the answer is associated with the level of damage already in the knee joints.

In general I would suggest trying the shots. There are two primary types of shots. One is steroidal shots the other is with a synthetic synovial fluid or the replace the fluid lost in the knee joint. Many people find a lot of benefits from the shots.

Knee replacements are scarier than they sound. I have met few people who regretted getting the surgery. It is painful to be sure but most people get to live fairly pain free after a few months.

The hospital stay is usually 4 to 5 days and total recovery is 2 to 3 months to a year with most people falling in the shorter recovery time.

For more information about the surgery try this site

http://www.arthritis-symptom.com/procedures/knee-replacement.htm

For more information about shots

http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/fact/thr_report.cfm?Thread_ID=245&topcategory=Knee

I hope this information is helpful.

Rusty