More than 40 per cent of Irish people who have had a hip or knee replacement faced “significant struggles” in everyday life before surgery, including the ability to walk and sleep, new research has found.
The survey, commissioned by Blackrock Health, which carries out hip and knee replacements, seeks to highlight the real-life impact that chronic hip and knee pain has on those living with it.
The research found that 60 per cent of those who have had a hip or knee replacement claim they lived with pain for up to three years before undergoing surgery, with just over 83 per cent claiming that their hip and/or knee pain affected their ability to enjoy major milestones in life including weddings, birthdays, and holidays.
Some 47 per cent of respondents said they could not take part in sports, 53 per cent said it affected their sleep, 47 per cent said it affected their ability to drive and 43 per cent said it affected their ability to work.
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A further 47 per cent of respondents said it affected their ability to be intimate with their partner.
The survey was conducted by Empathy Research, commissioned by Blackrock Health, in March 2023 and included a nationally representative sample of 1,040 members of the general public aged 18 and above.
Dr Niall Hogan, consultant orthopaedic surgeon at Blackrock Health Blackrock Clinic said if an individual is experiencing joint pain, they should not ignore it.
“From my experience, most patients wait too long to have a hip or knee replacement. The older someone is, the more likely they have multiple coexisting health conditions, such as high blood pressure or diabetes, and those can complicate recovery, further underlining the importance of earlier intervention,” he said.
“Lean muscle mass also declines with age, so the physical effort of recovery can seem harder than if the surgery was performed a bit earlier in life.”
Pat Slater, a retired Garda and former junior Leinster rugby player, said his life was limited by living in chronic joint pain and missed key milestones including holidays and making memories with his family before making the decision to opt for surgery.
“I sustained a cruciate ligament injury in 1996 while playing rugby. I had an operation at the time and repaired the cruciate and medial ligaments in my right knee but this began the injury problems in both knee joints which lasted years,” he said.
“I had numerous procedures over the next number of years on both knees and discussed the possibilities and necessity of knee replacement, going forward and into the future. I knew it was not if but when for me.”
Mr Slater got his left knee replaced in November 2021 and his other knee in December 2022. That decision, he said, has given him a new lease of life.
“I knew that joint replacement surgery came with the promise of improvement to your life, but I waited. With hindsight, I don’t know why I waited and missed out on so much in my life,” he added.
