Knee prosthesis and sports

Which sport is advisable for a knee prosthesis and which is not?

Opinions on sports after the insertion of a knee prosthesis have changed considerably in recent years. Considerations on this point are becoming more and more necessary as patients who are fitted with a knee prosthesis are becoming younger and younger. In the past, it was still believed that for the initial period after a knee prosthesis operation, the patient should take complete care of himself/herself, and also in the long term, the artificial knee joint should be loaded as little as possible in order not to endanger it.

In the meantime, however, several studies have been published which suggest exactly the opposite. Today, patients are advised to take up adequate sports activities again soon after the implantation of the joint prosthesis, preferably within the first three days after the operation. In the beginning, this mobilization is best done with crutches or a walking frame in order not to overload the joint directly.

Of course, some activities require special caution, such as climbing stairs. Sports that are particularly suitable for people with a knee joint prosthesis are, for example, hiking or Nordic walking, cycling, swimming or any form of gymnastics (of course, here especially physiotherapy, which is carried out under the professional supervision of a physiotherapist or doctor). Avoid such sports where the knee joint may be subject to jerky movements, especially rotations, or where it has to perform sudden stop movements, as these put particular strain on the artificial joint.

These include soccer, martial arts (karate, judo, etc. ), skiing, tennis or squash. As long as you do not overdo it, there is nothing wrong with jogging.

One study found that patients with a knee prosthesis have only a 10% risk of prematurely limiting their functionality by excessive mechanical stress during sports. However, this was not the only astonishingly positive finding, the study also had a much more surprising result: Those of the patients who subjected their knee prosthesis to regular mechanical stress actually had fewer problems with the new joint on average than the control group. How well rehabilitation with a knee joint prosthesis is successful also depends on the activity level a patient was in before the operation. The stronger the muscles, the better the joint functions, as this ensures greater stability and strength in the knee.