Need encouragement for upcoming knee replacement

[Trek420]

I'm 53, my joints are a train wreck. Someday I will be right there with ya'. But I hope I will do everything I can to delay that. I will train, strengthen, stretch, keep moving and for me most important right now try to lose weight to take stress off the joints. This is because my particular type of arthritis I've been told does not respond well to surgery.

I have no medical experience, can't tell you if your decision is right or wrong and can't imagine your pain. Your pain is your pain. What's "oh heck I'll pop a tylenol and go ride" to you is "stay in bed" to me.

But I'll consider knee replacement when I can't walk with a cane, or maybe two canes. Or maybe when I can't even swim.

It's not a knee replacement it's an amputation. And once you're on that road if you don't train and do PT like a pro athlete and they have to do it again .... go in and cut away more bone .... and again ....

I think it's different for us. By us I mean those who train. I think a lot of things are different because we ride, run, walk .... move

I have several nonathletic friends who went through joint replacement, initially they were enthusiastic about PT because of being pain free. But because exercise was really not part of their lifestyle they quickly fell off the bandwagon. All 3 have had to do it again .... one's now in a wheelchair after the 3rd.

My aunt just had both knees replaced at 80'ish. A lifelong and daily swimmer and gardener it finally got to be just too much. She's back to both activities daily. That would be my goal if I can swing it, do everything I can do to forestall the day.

I'd even ::::gasp:::: get a recumbent before getting my knee replaced. But then if you decide to do it I'm sure the PT will hurt but do whatever your PT says and keep at it for the rest of your life.