(BPT) – Renee Yahara valued her active lifestyle and the activities that brought her closer to friends and family. However, severe knee pain began to have a negative impact on her daily life.
For many like Yahara, living with knee pain can be an unfortunate reality. In fact, according to an online survey of 500 women in the U.S. ages 45-65, including those who have had joint replacement surgery and those planning to have joint replacement surgery, 58 percent of respondents who had yet to have joint replacement surgery experienced pain for more than five years and an average of six days a week.
Yahara’s pain meant that she couldn’t participate in the activities she enjoyed, because of the consequence afterward – severe, prolonged knee pain.
‘We like to go out dancing. We like to clam. To do all that, you need to use your knees and your legs,’ Yahara said. ‘I would be able to do them maybe for about an hour or so, and then after that I was just lying on a couch in pain, and then in pain the next day.’
After exploring several options and treatments, such as arthroscopic surgery and cortisone shots, Yahara only saw temporary pain relief. She knew that without a treatment that would give her lasting results, she wouldn’t be able to live life to the fullest.
‘My husband and I, we used to work out together, so when I wasn’t playing tennis, he couldn’t play, or he wasn’t going to the gym when I wasn’t going to the gym,’ she explained. ‘I wasn’t playing tennis as much as I like to, and I wasn’t dancing. We would go out dancing on the weekends, and I wouldn’t be able to move my legs.’
The unwanted difficulties Yahara experienced eventually prompted her to consult a doctor and discuss her options. That’s when she learned about the ATTUNE(R) Knee System.
‘What drove me to the surgery was that I like to do things on the weekends with my children, my family, my husband.’
With the support of her family and doctor, and the right preparation, Yahara went into her surgery with a positive mindset.
‘My doctor made me feel very comfortable with my decision. He answered probably the same questions 10 times before I had the surgery done,’ Yahara said. ‘I physically prepared by doing a lot of swimming, a lot of bike riding and a lot of upper body weights, because I knew, especially having both knees done, I would need all the strength that I possibly had to pull myself up and down.’
Yahara came out of the operation with recovery at the forefront of her mind and a determined attitude to get back to her preferred lifestyle.
‘My surgeon set up an app on my phone where I had exercises that I could do every day,’ she said. ‘I pushed myself to do them four times a day.’
With her new knees, Yahara is back to participating in all of the activities she enjoys, spending quality time with her family and friends.
It’s important to remember that the performance of knee replacements depends on age, weight, activity level and other factors. There are potential risks and recovery takes time. People with conditions limiting rehabilitation should not have these surgeries. Only an orthopaedic surgeon can determine if knee replacement is necessary based on an individual patient’s condition.
For more information and to hear more stories from people who have received the ATTUNE Knee, visit www.ATTUNEKnee.com.
About the Survey
The survey was conducted in June 2018 online by Edelman Intelligence on behalf of DePuy Synthes Companies, in the United States, among 253 women 45-65 years old who had knee and/or hip replacement surgery in the last five years and 271 women 45-65 years old who are planning to have knee and/or hip replacement surgery in the next two years.
124152-190923 DSUS
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