Joint deterioration is the most common reason why someone would need to undergo a knee or hip replacement procedure, and one of the leading reasons for this deterioration is obesity. When you’re overweight or obese, your joints have to handle more stress with every step you take. Over the years, all this stress adds up and causes the joint to wear down faster, increasing your likelihood of needing a joint replacement to restore function.
Not only is obesity a common factor in the need for a joint replacement, but it also complicates the procedure and recovery. In fact, obesity may render an individual unable to pursue a joint replacement procedure for one reason or another. This leads many people to wonder if there is a certain weight limit or body mass index (BMI) that would cause someone to automatically be ineligible for joint replacement surgery. In today’s blog, we explore whether someone can be too heavy for hip or knee replacement surgery.
Too Large For Joint Replacement
Roughly a decade ago, there were more rules when it came to determining who was eligible for a joint replacement procedure. The general rule of thumb was that if you were more than 100 pounds overweight, you would not be considered for joint replacement surgery until you worked towards a healthier weight. In recent years, that general guideline has fallen by the wayside a bit. While weight is still certainly a factor that is considered when determining surgery eligibility, there isn’t a specific number that would always disqualify someone from joint replacement.
Instead, obesity is treated in a similar manner to age when it comes to joint replacement surgery. As we talked about in this blog, age alone doesn’t dictate joint surgery eligibility, and the same can be said about your weight. Your weight is just one factor that will be considered when determining if surgery is the right path forward. Like we mentioned in that other blog, your doctor will look at a totality of the circumstances to determine if surgery is the best option for you. Some other factors that will be considered when making that call include:
- Your Health – Your weight is just one aspect of your health, and your surgeon will want to take a closer look at other important factors before making a care decision. Besides your weight, they’ll look at things like your heart rate, blood pressure, your bloodwork and your medical history to get a better ideal of your candidacy and what changes could be recommended to help you become a more ideal joint replacement candidate.
- Your Treatment Efforts – As we’ve said on the blog numerous times in the past, surgery is rarely ever the first choice for joint specialists. If we can help you alleviate discomfort and live a more active life with the help of conservative treatments, that’s what we’ll do. Surgery carries additional risks and an extended recovery timeline, and we don’t want to put you through that unless we know that conservative treatment has been unable to produce the results we’d hoped for. If you haven’t pursued non-operative techniques, surgery may be off the table regardless of your weight.
- Your Commitment To Recovery – We need all of our patients to understand what will be asked of them after their procedure in order to get the most out of their recovery. You’re not just going to lay in bed for 12 weeks while healing runs its course, you’re going to need to push yourself during physical therapy and with your home-based exercises. If you aren’t willing to put in the effort to make a strong recovery, your doctor is going to be hesitant to push forward with a procedure. Weight aside, we’re interested in finding motivated patients who are willing to be the catalyst of their own recovery journey.
Of course, your weight will play a role in determining whether or not to pursue a joint replacement procedure, but the good news is that your weight is a factor you can control. You won’t be able to do it overnight, but if you show a commitment to healthy lifestyle habits, we’re confident that you can work towards a more ideal weight that could tip the proverbial scales and allow you to get the surgery that can help to restore function and mobility in your hip or knee. We’ve helped countless patients shed some extra weight and become a healthier version of themselves prior to surgery, and we’d be happy to develop an individualized plan that will work for you.
For more information about how weight factors into your joint pain treatment, or to learn more from a doctor about your specific joint condition, reach out to Dr. Botero and his team today at (865) 558-4444.
