Joint replacement | Arthritis Information
Has anyone here had their elbow replaced? If so, can you give me details? Like how it went? what was the elbow like before the replacement. afterwards. Can you still do normal activities? I had mine operated on in july 07. The dr said since there was no joint left, that bone was rubbing on bone and wore a hole in the radial head. So he had to go in there and grind it down. Now the pain is back, the grinding, clicking. If I sleep on it wrong or right i wake up in the middle of the night and cant move it. It would be stuck in the bent position. Plus i cant straighten it anyway. havent been able to since 1991. ThanksI've had both of mine replaced. The left in 2004 and the right in 2006. I couldn't touch my face with either hand pre op and neither came close to extending all the way. The hands were frozen in a downward position...and we won't discuss how much they hurt
now both have complete flexion and ext is about 5 degrees short of staight. No pain in the joint itself though i will get soft tissue pain in the right elbow when I push or pull from the elbow joint. You know the type of pain that when you tell the doctor it hurts when you do that and he says so don't do that. I have complete rotation on the left hand..after I had my wrist replacement and functional rotation on the right with a fused wrist
but most importantly I have function...painless for the most part function. I am limited with how much I can lift and have to keep repetitive motion to a minimum but I'm so much better than I was before
feel free to ask me any specific questions
Well let me ask you this. When my pain allows me, I ride dirt bikes and sport street bikes. Nothing crazy. No jumping or wheelies or stunts. Do you think i would still be able to ride if I get it done?I think it all depends on how much pressure the elbow takes. If the arm gets torqued too much its not a good idea but it certainly would be a question for the doctor. hi, I too have had a couple of elbow replacements - most recent 6 months ago, and although they aren't as good as new, they have completely transformed my life - because I can do so much more now than before and without pain. I put off having the second one because I could just about manage and I hate the whole hospital and recuperation process - but now I wish I had had it done years ago so I could have had the enjoyment of life I have now so much sooner - plus the sooner they fix it the more they can do to get it as close to original function. The main restriction is not to carry heavy weights - 2kg is the max. I don't know about biking but I know I'm not to play tennis but I can now swim which I love and haven't been able to do for a long time. Good luck.My husband had a total elbow replacement 3 or 4 years ago. His was due to an injury in which his elbow was shattered. The surgery went very well and he wasn't off work more than a week or two---of course, when he went back it was with a splint supporting it and still more healing to be done. He went through physical therapy and it works pretty well now with no pain. But he can't completely straighten his arm out ( almost, but not quite) and it can't rotate as far as it used to. Anyway, that's been his experience with it. Good luck!!
edit---forgot to mention, he can do most things but it's not quite as strong as the other arm and he had to give up volleyball which he used to love to play.
Charlie Brown2008-09-28 20:50:23
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