Knee Issues

[Bob_Vaughn]

How do those with knee issues keep on rv'ing? Is a small handicap scooter the answer? Plus how are steps being assessed????

[southbound]

Last year my knees got worse . I thought of a cart, my husband & daughters said surgery. I am so thankful I listened to them. Had double knee surgery March 22, had home therapest come 3 times a week for a month. I am able to do everything I did beore and now no pain. I only spent 2 days in the hospital, had therapy classes, up and walking day of surgery. Husband spent both nights in hospital with me. Hope this helps.

[pegdiver]

I had bad knee pain for over 10 years. Had the shots that helped a little. Had knee replacement last year and now have no pain in that area. But, I still have arthritis in my feet. I use a mobility scooter when I have to walk long distances. We have a lift to put it in the car. As for the motorhome steps, install another hand hold bar helped in our old motorhome. Our new motorhome has a bar where I need it so no mods needed. Will have to have hip replacement to get rid of pain there. But, until they solve my arthritis problem, I will use the scooter. It allows me to walk some nature trails and see sights I would never walk to.

[bsinmich]

phillyg wrote:
The first thing I think of when I see someone in a scooter is, if you got up and walked more often perhaps you wouldn't need the scooter. I try to be understanding and I know there are people that have disabilities that really need the scooters. I do believe that once someone starts relying on the scooter, their health and abilities will suffer further. Just so you know I'm not a total ass, I was overweight and have already had one knee replaced, and I don't exercise as much as I should, but getting out there and being as active as possible does, I believe, improve one's overall well-being.

I use a scooter because I need it. I was living a perfectly normal life driving a school bus, church organist & retired @ 69 years old. I came home from driving my bus, sat in the Lazy Boy and 1/2 hr. later could not get up. I had spinal surgery for stenosis that did nothing. They never found a real diagnosis and I still have limited walking. I now have a Travel-Scoot that folds up to fit in my Roadtrek under the bed. It weighs 30#, goes 15 miles on a charge, and carries ne easily. I would recommend one for people in RVs easily. I don't fold it but just lift it into my Equinox when not in an RV. I also have one of those 160# scooters that I think I gave away last Sunday. He has to come and pick it up. I am now 77 years old.

[Thunder_Mountai]

towhead wrote:
My knee was bone on bone and I could not walk on it. My orthopedic gave me shots of Synvisc in the joint. It was like a miracle but only lasted about six months. After three shots I elected to go for total replacement, not that the shots had drawbacks, just to make sure insurance didn't cut me off. If replacement isn.t for you, try Synvisc.

The wife has one knee that is pretty much bone on bone. She started with Synvisc six years ago. She has had several variations of that product over time. She gets the shots every six months and it allows her to hike limited distances and deal with life mostly pain free. She is trying to make it a couple more years until Medicare kicks in and have a replacement.

I, on the other hand, tried the shots a couple of times and had no luck. I had replacement 4 years ago. I was off all pain meds in three days because the surgical pain was so much less that the pre operation knee pain. I was kicked out of PT and dismissed by the Dr. at seven weeks and was climbing the Superstition Mountains in 10 weeks.

I was lucky because I was in good physical condition, healthy and not over weight. After knee replacement, my other knee quit hurting, back and hip pain mostly disappeared and I felt years younger.

[towhead]

My knee was bone on bone and I could not walk on it. My orthopedic gave me shots of Synvisc in the joint. It was like a miracle but only lasted about six months. After three shots I elected to go for total replacement, not that the shots had drawbacks, just to make sure insurance didn't cut me off. If replacement isn.t for you, try Synvisc.

[Clay_L]

2gypsies wrote:
I guess I misread in your post that you had to use a cane or walker BEFORE the surgery....like you had to practice with it.:)

I think you meant that AFTER the surgery you had to use a cane or walker. This is understandable and I think everyone would have to at first.

Medicare doesn't trust the doctors judgement/diagnosis about your need for a replacement. They figure if you are using a cane or walker then you must really need the operation. Typical bureaucratic nonsense.

[Gjac]

I was diagnosed with arthritis in my knees at age 52. I used to have to sleep with a pillow in between my knees to ease the pain. When I bought the MH at age 58 I could not drive more than 30 mins without getting that throbbing pain in my right knee and would have to extend my leg up on the dog house. That is when my wife learned to drive it. I later built a riser under the seat post that allowed me to extend my leg a little further. The seat could not go back anymore because it hit the slide. The raised seat helped a lot. I always drive in shorts and have various arthritis rubs next to me. In addition some trainers at the various gyms I went to over the years gave me some exercises to do to strengthen the muscles around my knees which helped even more. I have been taking Glucosamine chondroitin since 1998 and started taking fish oil in 2006. In taking the fish oil there was a noticeable difference. Now at age 69 I no longer sleep with a pillow between my knees and can usually drive several hrs before the pain sets in. So either I have convinced myself my knees are better or I just have learned to live with the pain better.

[rockhillmanor]

.... Plus how are steps being assessed????

I "thought" I had knee problems arising when I went Full Time.

Turned out all it was was the steps. They are narrow and you have twist sideways on the first step down. You don't give it much thought or realize just how much you have to turn to exit the MH, and after about a month on the road I could barely walk.

I bought a plastic step stool from Ace. It fits perfectly up to the MH. The top step is deep enough that you don't have to twist sideways to walk out of the MH. Within a month my knees felt fine again. My knees have not used the MH steps in over 6 years!

I've posted it before but when parked for a month or longer at any CG I buy cinder blocks and use them to make real nice wide steps and platform to step out of the MH.

I ask the CG manager when I check out if I can leave them and they always say yes. I stack them up alongside the site.

The cinder blocks cost me all of 10 bucks and well worth the price to be pain free at my CG stays.:C

[2gypsies1]

I guess I misread in your post that you had to use a cane or walker BEFORE the surgery....like you had to practice with it.:)

I think you meant that AFTER the surgery you had to use a cane or walker. This is understandable and I think everyone would have to at first.

[Clay_L]

2gypsies wrote:

Clay L wrote:
When I had a hip replacement they checked (x-rayed) my knees and told Note that Medicare now requires you to be using a cane or walker before they will pay for the operation.

This is not true. My better half had a replacement a month ago and Medicare covered it.

I didn't say they wouldn't cover it - I said they now require you to be using a cane or walker before they will cover it. That is according to my surgeon who only does hip and knee replacements and should know what he is talking about.

[acker1]

If you go for the replacement be sure to do the therapy. It really helps.
DICK

[Mr__Camper]

phillyg wrote:
The first thing I think of when I see someone in a scooter is, if you got up and walked more often perhaps you wouldn't need the scooter. I try to be understanding and I know there are people that have disabilities that really need the scooters. I do believe that once someone starts relying on the scooter, their health and abilities will suffer further. Just so you know I'm not a total ass, I was overweight and have already had one knee replaced, and I don't exercise as much as I should, but getting out there and being as active as possible does, I believe, improve one's overall well-being.

Just to help you adjust your thinking not everyone who uses a mobility chair is too lazy to exercise. I'm blind in my left eye and have trouble with depth perception. I tend to miss the exact location of tree roots, items to step over etc. The chair can helpme avoid simple falls for objects my right eye misjudges.

[darsben]

Bob Vaughn wrote:
My knee has no cartilage, absolutely none. I had a slight knee pain and felt if I walked more it would go away. WRONG answer. I went to the gym every morning and walked the track for an hour. It finally got so bad I could not walk without excruciating pain. By the time I was able to see the ortho surgeon there was nothing between the bones in my knee. So now I am looking at a replacement knee as they do not put zerk fittings in knees....

This is one of the conditions STEM CELL is supposed to help.
They use your stem cells

[Dick_B]

I'd bet that NanciL recuperated so quickly because she was in shape prior to the operation. My Wife's knee recovery is ahead of the curve partly because we bike 2000 miles each year (in late 70's).