Back to home Aug 2012
Orthopedics
Knee Replacement Surgery Alleviates Joint Pain
For years, Chris Naylor lived with what she thought was small pain in her knees.
"I didn't want to think about it," Chris says. "I'm a very active person and tried to
keep doing the things that I love."
When a trip to Disney World turned out to be anything but happy, Chris knew she had to make a change. "I was with my family and couldn't walk," she says. "Everything was painful—going up stairs, standing up, everything."
She attended a lecture presented by orthopedic surgeon, Edward T. Humbert, D.O. Once there, she sat in the front row and found the courage to raise her hand. She asked if knee replacement surgery would correct her bowed leg. Dr. Humbert assured her it would.
"After I learned that I could get help, I sat in my car and cried," Chris says. Not long after, she scheduled surgery on her right knee. Six weeks later, she had knee replacement on her left knee.
Chris' condition, a worn joint, is familiar to orthopedic surgeons. "So many people live with joint pain because they think it's part of the normal aging process," Dr. Humbert says. "It doesn't have to be." Osteoarthritis of the knee occurs when the frictionless cartilage wears off the bones of the upper and lower leg and exposes the underlying bone.
Signs of osteoarthritis that may require a knee replacement include:
- Stiffness in the joint
- Swelling and/or tenderness in the knee
- Crepitus (crunching sound) in the knee
- Pain with normal movement
Since she had her surgery, Chris has become more active. Recently, she took a trip back to Disney World, and this time her story had a fairy tale ending. "I couldn't believe the difference," she says. "I can walk for miles. I do 40 squats every day. I can do whatever I want."
“So many people live with joint pain because they think it's part of the normal aging process,” Dr. Humbert says.
Bilateral Knee Replacement: When Two Knees Go Bad
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Edward T. Humbert, D.O.
Joint Implant Surgeons of Florida
7331 College Pkwy.
Suite 300
Fort Myers, FL 33907
239-337-2003