All articlesLife After Surgery

Realistic Expectations for Pain Relief

Dr CR Oosthuizen 3 min read

Dramatic relief of arthritic pain. The 'normal' minor twinges of an active life remain.

The pain that brought you to surgery — sharp pain on weight-bearing, ache that disturbs sleep, pain at rest — typically resolves completely after a successful partial knee replacement. This is what makes the operation worthwhile.

What you should not expect is a 25-year-old's knee. Mild discomfort at the end of a long day, weather sensitivity in some patients, and a faint awareness of the implant when kneeling are all common and not signs that anything is wrong.

If you compare your operated knee to your non-operated knee 12 months later, most patients say the operated side is the more comfortable of the two. That is a reasonable benchmark.

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