Overcoming Pain: Off the Bench and Back in the Game

Does pain keeping you from enjoying life? Do you spend time and money trying to relieve your pain? Do your work, family and home life suffer because of pain?

At some time in our life, we all suffer from pain of one sort or another that blocks our movements and that, in turn, blocks our enjoyment of life. As Albert Einstein said, "Nothing happens until something moves."

I am in the pain-with-movement business, i.e. I am an orthopedic surgeon who performs hip and knee replacements. In doing so, I have the great honor and privilege to help restore a person’s mobility and, at least in that small way, help restore that person’s life. 

People come to see me daily with pain that causes them to suffer in many areas of their life. In the 20 years of my practice, I have seen may people whose arthritic joint caused incredible, and sometimes needless, suffering either because patients didn’t know what medical care was available to them, received bad advice, or were too scared to seek treatment. 

Now I hope to dispel some of the myths surrounding arthritis pain, its treatment and its impact on patient’s lives. By way of introduction, I have recruited one of my patients to tell his experience, which he has graciously allowed me to share with you: 

"I want to share my story on how I was able to overcome the knee pain I lived with and got up off the bench.

"I tore my anterior cruciate ligament when I was a senior in high school. My parents did not have good health care insurance and could not afford the extra cost to have the knee fixed. I lived with the knee in that condition for many years. Then I started getting shots in the knee to help with the pain. That helped some but the pain never completely stopped.

"About seven years ago my other knee started to hurt as well. After seeing several orthopedic doctors over the years and receiving shots in both knees and doing therapy for both knees I went to the bench. I had to take steps one at a time. I could not walk much more than a city block without a high level of pain. I could no longer play golf. It was time for me to make the decision to look at having the knees surgically replaced.

"Over the years I had talked with a lot of people who had their knees replaced or those who knew some family member that had their knees replaced. Wow! what a mixed bag of information I received. People told me, it is working out OK but I would never do this again. I heard other stories as to how bad the surgical replacement process was and lead to a bad outcome.  I really became very fearful of having my knees replaced. I had to do something and finally decide to move ahead and hope for the best outcome.

"I went to see several physicians and eventually scheduled my first knee replacement. The left knee was done in November of 2012. Since the first surgery was a huge success, I decided to go ahead with the right knee, which was done in November 2013. With both knees,  I was walking without any aid within two days from surgery. After two weeks of home therapy I was flexing both knees between 135 and 140 degrees.

"I now enjoy NO pain with the first knee I had replaced and after 3 ½ months from surgery on the second knee minimal pain. I know that by the summer months I will be completely off the bench and enjoying walking and playing golf. If you have knee pain, don’t put yourself on the bench…get up and get a consultation. You will be glad that you did!"

I have literally thousands of stories of patients who were discouraged by horror stories of treatments and who became so fearful that they delayed their care and perhaps suffered when they could have received help. I hope everyone who is experiencing pain and limited mobility can read a story like this and realize that there is hope and with the right treatment: movement and life can be restored and you can get back in the game!

Dr. Michael Swank is the president and medical director of the Cincinnati Orthopaedic Research Institute; medical director of the Musculoskeletal Research Joint Preservation, Restoration and Reconstruction Responsibilities/Services at The Christ Hospital; and, volunteer assistant professor in the Department of Orthopaedics at the University of Cincinnati.