Who Does Best After Knee Replacement – Men or Women?

There are probably good reasons why women and men recover at different rates after knee replacement: i.e. anatomic, social, and cultural differences that place varying strains on new joints. To help explain actual differences in outcome, German physicians have conducted a multicenter trial, and reported their findings in Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research.    

Data from three clinical trials done at different German centers were used; there were 494 patients (141 men and 353 women).  The WOMAC scale (the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index) questionnaire was administered at 3, 6, 12, and 24 months after surgery, along with physical and mental parts of the SF-36, a health survey often used to assess quality-of-life.    

At the time of surgery the women were, on average, 3 years older than the men (70.8 years vs. 67.8 years); they were less physically active, had higher pain scores, and more stiffness.  However, at 3 and 6 months after surgery women showed greater improvements in function and reduced pain in their WOMAC scores than men.  By 12 and 24 months there were no differences in improvements between the sexes.

In summary, although women had greater limitations at the time of surgery, they recovered faster initially;  men caught up, however, by12 months.  This information may be useful to those of you planning a knee replacement.