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Life After Joint Replacement

Posted on: August 12th, 2021 by Our Team

Expectations vs. Reality

In our practice we talk a lot about initial recovery from joint replacement surgery. How much pain will I be in after surgery? How much physical therapy will I need? When can I drive after a total knee replacement? But, what will your future look like after this early recovery and rehab period?

Well…. Whatever you want it to look like! Whether your goal is to walk around Costco without pain or it’s to get back to competitive cycling events, anything is possible after joint replacement. Many patients think they can not be as physically active after joint replacement. This is completely false.  Your former active life does not have to end just because your joints were replaced with metal and plastic.

Common questions we receive in our practice include:

  • Will I be able to run again?
  • Can I get back to surfing?
  • How about walking an 18 hole golf course?
  • Can I play tennis or pickleball again?
  • Can I ever ski again?
  • How about participating in marathons?

The answer to these questions? YES, YES, and YES

But, don’t just take our word for it. Listen to what our patients have to say:

Patient Testimonials

Competitive Cycling with David W.

David completed the Belgian Waffles Ride in July 2021. This is a 131 mile cycling competition that consists of 80 miles of pavement and 51 miles of dirt. He impressively finished the race in 9 hours and 28 minutes. He had his left hip replaced by Dr. Peter Hanson in 2019 and had a bilateral partial knee replacements by Dr. Scott Hacker in 2015. As David says “never, ever, think you have to slow down or quit doing things because you need a joint replacement.” He is excited and ready to show the world that he has many more cycling and motorcycle events in the future because, “you never stop going.”

Heliskiing with Larry E.

Larry had a right total knee replacement done in 2015 and a left partial knee replacement in 2017 both by Dr. Peter Hanson. A year later he completed a week of “heliskiing” in Canada in 2018. This is where you are dropped off at the top of a mountain by a helicopter in a remote location to ski down an off trail slope. He “did 79,000 vertical of steep and deep powder.”

Tennis with Dane C.

Dane has had both hips replaced by Dr. Peter Hanson. He had his left hip replaced in 2019 and his right hip replaced this year. Dane was a competitive tennis player through college but had to stop due to the pain he was experiencing in his hips. As he says “I had completely given up playing tennis the past ten years due to the pain, lack of mobility and severely compromised flexibility.” Now he is “back to playing tennis twice a week with no pain whatsoever and at a level that I could never imagine reaching again.”