Jan Dahl went into her knee replacement surgeries prepared to work — hard.
But she knew that the amount of effort she put into her rehabilitation after surgery would pay off with more mobility and less pain than she’d had in quite a while.
Dahl also decided that her early to mid-60s was the right time to replace her arthritic knees, rather than waiting. She watched her mother have knee surgery at 88 years old, when “she wasn’t all that interested” in the rehabilitation process, Dahl said.
达尔说:“所以我决定，如果我要投入所有的投资，那么我希望能够享受它。”
Pain hindered active lifestyle
Dahl had always enjoyed a pretty active lifestyle. For one thing, her job as a nurse for2022世界杯巴西阵容’s surgical services kept her on her feet and walking a lot. At home, she and her husband enjoyed walks and bike rides together. And her personal habits encouraged movement, such as taking the stairs instead of the elevator, or choosing a parking spot far from the entrance.
Gradually, though, she noticed changes. Her right knee started to ache, and the pain worsened over time. Along with that, she started to lead a more sedentary lifestyle. She opted for the elevator over the stairs. She drove around looking for a closer parking spot. At home, she piled things on the stairs instead of making multiple trips with them.
Then came another sign, along with the intensifying pain. “Even if I was only going to get one gallon of milk,” Dahl said, “I would grab a cart at the entrance to a store so that I could lean on the cart as I walked through the store. And I thought, ‘It’s time.’ ”
The trim woman no longer would settle for a sedentary life.
‘Work begins when you leave the hospital’
Dahl, now 65 and retired, had surgery to replace her right knee in January 2017. Her surgery by orthopedic surgeonBrian AamlidatSanford USD Medical Centerin Sioux Falls, South Dakota, went well, and she stayed in the hospital for two nights. The nurse had a new perspective now as a patient, and she appreciated her care.
“They make sure that you’re comfortable while you’re in the hospital and have all the information you need when you’re ready to be discharged,” Dahl said.
When she went home, she got busy. “With some surgeries, you go home and you rest and you just wait to get better,” she said.
全膝关节置换术?不是那种手术。“当你离开医院时，工作就开始了，”她补充说。
达尔带着一些东西离开了医院。她用制冰机制冰，抬高膝盖。她接受了药物治疗，以缓解她感到的严重疼痛。她还预约了马上去看理疗师，她认为这很重要。
“They help you with any issues — questions that you may have. They work in close contact with the surgeons,” she said.
Dahl worked with aphysical therapiston exercises for about 45 minutes three times a week. Then she went home with the expectation that she would repeat the exercises there several times a day. “I found those really helpful,” she said.
“Whenever I would have pain or stiffness, I would go get on the bike and just try to work it out. That helped. … Usually the pain — that would be my reminder that I’ve got to work through this,” Dahl said.
11-mile hike 4 months after surgery
After three months, she said she could resume normal activities — but that the recovery continues long afterward. “Things just get more and more easy. The more you work at it, the stronger you get. I would say for sure (for) a year, you’re still improving.”
在达尔的右膝置换手术后，她的左膝实际上有了改善。她想她可能会避免换掉那个。但随着她的右膝盖逐渐开始出现严重的症状，她知道是时候更换左膝了，2019年2月，她在医院住了一晚。
她恢复了她积极的生活方式。在她第一次做膝关节置换手术四个月后，她和丈夫徒步6英里来到了疯狂的马纪念碑。今年夏天，在她第二次手术四个月后——“用两个强壮的膝盖”——他们在冰川国家公园徒步11英里。
Her diligent approach to physical therapy had paid off.
“I would say do it sooner than later. It’s a big process, and you have so much to gain,” said Dahl, who now moves easily around her home with no hint of her former pain.
“I never dreamed it would be this nice,” she added. “I hope to take care of them so that I’ve got years of good use.”
Dahl’s surgeries held a couple of surprise bonuses for her, too. Before, she had been having hip pain, but that has gone away now. And the other benefit dates back much further.
“I was very bow-legged, all my life, and Dr. Aamlid aligned my legs. My legs are straighter than they ever have been,” Dahl said.
“Maybe I’m taller now,” she quipped.
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Posted InHealthy Living,Orthopedics,Rehabilitation & Therapy
