If you have a knee, hip, or ankle prosthesis you can practice any sports activity. Exercise is always recommended and is part of the patient's rehabilitation process, especially if you are a young and active person.
However, specialists in traumatology and orthopedic surgery, as well as rehabilitation doctors and physiotherapists, recommend taking precautions or not practicing some sports at all. In this article, you will find some keys that, without a doubt, will be useful to you.
What sports are the most suitable for people with a knee, hip, or ankle replacement?
People with knee, hip, or ankle replacements can play any sport but should avoid any activity that places a significant impact on the leg. That is, those that involve running, jumping, starting, or braking abruptly.
Yes, they greatly limit these indications, but as we have indicated before, they are recommendations, since each person has different levels of pain capacity and, in turn, may depend on their physique in their professional work. Even so, it is understood that sports such as tennis, continuous running, or soccer should be off our radar. Now, the practice of these sports could be continued if we take appropriate measures:
· Carry out the practice of any of these sports at a very moderate intensity
· Before starting the game of tennis, soccer, or the continuous race, do a good previous warm-up
· Also, before and after the continuous race, the soccer or tennis match, you should do stretching
What is inadvisable are sports where you can have a strong clash with another player, since this is something that you do not control and the opponent may not know your pathological situation. We are talking about sports such as soccer, rugby, basketball, etc., in which their high percentage of possible bruises and shocks make them potentially dangerous. Although this also depends on the materials with which the prosthesis is made, which we will talk about next.
Moderate activity and maintaining good muscle tone are very beneficial for the function of the prosthesis. Keep in mind that the prosthesis is a passive element. Therefore, sports activities such as swimming, going to the gym or walking should be done, since they help muscle toning but do not offer options with a great impact on the prosthetic joint.
The types of materials that exist for knee, hip, and ankle prostheses
Depending on the personal situation of each case, hip, knee, or ankle prosthesis, one prosthetic material or another will be put on:
· In young people, combinations of ceramic materials are usually used since they usually have a more demanding physical activity and ceramic provides much more resistance to wear.
· In older people, metal-polyethylene pairs are used
The possibility of a replacement of knee, hip or ankle prostheses
It is possible to change the knee, hip, or ankle prosthesis, but this does not mean that we can take it lightly since the replacement of the prosthesis carries a series of risks that are not advisable. A second intervention is a more aggressive surgery for the patient, more difficult for the surgeon, and with greater risks than the primary surgery. Why?
· The incision is larger. Removing the implant can be difficult and involves some damage to the bone as the implant may need replacement and not just be loose.
· The replacement prosthesis is larger and requires more implantation techniques
· It is a longer surgery. By being exposed for longer, the risks that the initial surgery already presented (infection, bleeding, etc.) are greater.
· recovery is longer
How is the recovery from a knee, hip, or ankle replacement?
Recovery from a knee, hip, or ankle prosthetic intervention begins before surgery. The specialists will analyze the patient's situation, together with the medical rehabilitator in order to arrive at a rehabilitative treatment that will be prescribed by the rehabilitating doctor and carried out by the physiotherapist.
Among the tools used by physiotherapists, we can find the following:
· Magnetotherapy. A treatment that consists of the application of magnets on the areas of the human body in which pain or some type of pathology is suffered
· Adhesive tapes for physiotherapy. Used in the kinesiotape, they help us in circulation, as an analgesic, and neuromechanical (it can influence the performance of movements and help decrease or increase muscle tone.
· The ultrasound. It is used in all kinds of physiotherapy treatments. A transfer of mechanical waves that are transferred through the use of a gel is carried out.
· Transcutaneous Nerve Electrostimulation (TENS). It allows us, through electrodes, to send electrical impulses to the underlying nerves, which causes the activation of a mechanism known as the pain gate.
· therapeutic laser. In most physiotherapy treatments, we can mention the laser. This instrument allows many painful symptoms to go away. It also collaborates in the recovery of movement.
· Physiotherapy stretchers. Its use in physiotherapy includes massages and sports recovery, reflexology therapies, or even relaxing massages.
· Microwave in physiotherapy. Microwaves in physiotherapy, or radar equipment, are used in high-frequency electrotherapy treatments (2450 MHz). Its popularity is based on its ease of use as well as the large number of applications that electrotherapy has.
· Conical head microwave. Produces a more intense heating sensation by concentrating the beam. It is used in the cervical area, elbows, and knees.
Orthopaedic doctor in Vadodara
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