Healthy Living: The Knee Joint's Connected to The Leg Joint

This may be somewhat of a departure from my normal subjects on healthy eating and healthy sleeping, but, nonetheless it has a direct bearing one's quality of life and his or her enjoyment of healthy living.  I'm talking about the active lifestyle most of us enjoy well into our senior years and the toll that vibrant activity can take on our joints. I'm not suggesting that we shouldn't be active until late in life, only that modern day technology and increasing lifespans may be putting stress on joints that were designed for shorter durations of use.  Add complicators like arthritis, and it's a miracle we can function at all.  Modern orthopaedic surgical techniques to the rescue.

In the 21st Century we can have our knees, hips, and shoulders replaced as they wear out and we're good for another 20 to 30 years.  My mother is 92.  She had complete knee replacements done (both at the same time- she doesn't recommend that) almost 19 years ago.  Today, her knees are the "youngest" part of her body and she still takes daily walks that would tire out many younger folk.  Others are routinely having joints replaced that give them back their quality of life and put them back "in the game".

In 2011 I had my left knee replaced.  Not the whole knee, since only one of my knee joints was damaged and needed replacement.  Yes, they can do what is generally referred to as a "half knee" replacement.  Without getting into any arcane medical terminology, I had the inside joint of my left knee (you have two joints in each knee-one inside and one outside with the knee cap in the middle) replaced with a floating bearing which is supposed to give added life to the joint as the bearing can move, thereby not wearing it in only one spot, as would a fixed bearing.  

Since having knee surgery over two and a half years ago, I have lived a normal life and have been able to regain my normal activities including golf, boating, and lap swimming.  My point here is that modern surgical techniques offer options unheard of only 25 or 30 years ago.  In my grandparents' day if you had bad hip or knee joints, you were essentially lame for the rest of your life.  How times have changed.

Modern joint replacements are becoming more and more common and routine while the techniques are increasingly less invasive and recoveries are generally faster.  Credit surely goes to society's increased emphasis on healthy lifestyles and the advancement in general health and well-being afforded by modern medicines.  

If you know someone that is suffering from joint problems, have them check out the various techniques that are available to help give them relief.  In my case, it gave me my life(style) back.  And that's worth everything.  Stay healthy my friends.