Knee Pain no more..

The x-ray film shows clear signs of osteoarthritis (OA) throughout the knee.

Joint space narrowing
Osteophytes (bone spurs)

We talked through her x-ray films, the extent of the OA and that there was still some joint space ..a key part of the story.

BUT given her pain was getting in the way of everyday life AND she'd had it for some time..

We also talked about knee replacement, the risks and the potential benefits.

AND made a joint decision to go ahead with joint replacement.

A Useful Delay

Every patient for surgery passes through pre-assement clinic. And as part of that screening..

2x heart problems were picked up.

Cardiology advised Jackie needed investigation.

And, indeed, cardiac surgery..

Crumbs.. that was a lot to take in for Jackie.

However..

Our earlier consultation picked up 3 expert spots..

Finding time to Project Manage yourself
Taking a break from 'Lunge movements'
Improving Sit-to-Stand Strength.

We talked about the evidence for building strength and how Jackie could go about it..

4 months later..

Jackie came back to clinic. Here's an excerpt from our conversation:

ME: I thought we needed to postpone your surgery..?

JACKIE: We do. I've got more tests next week and need heart surgery.

ME: Crumbs, I'm really sorry to hear that..

ME: How are you managing with the knee..?

JACKIE: My pain has gone..

ME: Really.. completely 'gone'..?

JACKIE: Yeah, completely...

ME: What's made the difference..?

JACKIE: The exercise bike..

ME: Music to my ears. How much are you doing..?

JACKIE: 30 minutes on level 3. or 20 minutes on level 4. Most days..

ME: Excellent. And how's your walking..?

JACKIE: I'm able to walk a lot further. A couple of weeks back we spent the day walking around Exeter, and the next day we did Torquay. My knee was fine..

ME: Great. But you were really struggling, right..?

JACKIE: Yeah, I'd had previous hospital admissions with pain and stiffness. It was dominating my life.

Just to get on the bike was a challenge.

But I followed the advice with a couple minutes each morning, and a couple of minutes every evening.

ME: How did you keep going?

JACKIE: I was determined, I wanted to be in that better position.

ME: And it started to get better..?

JACKIE: Yes. I've just been surprised why no one suggested it before. It's such..

A Simple remedy

Jackie had..

Made the time to Project Manage herself
Note the detailed answer to my 'How much..?' question.
Avoided all 'Lunge movements'
Built up Sit-to-Stand Strength.
Note Jackie's truly upward spiral in cycling + walking strangth.

Not easy to do. But simple.

Good luck to everyone 👊