Q. What is more painful, hip replacement or knee replacement?
Doctor Answer is medically reviewed by SecondMedic medical review team.
The degree of pain associated with hip or knee replacement varies among individuals and is largely related to the individual’s existing health condition. In terms of which type of operation is more painful overall, the answer depends on whom you ask.
From a survey conducted by Healthline, 60% reported that their hip replacement was more painful than their knee replacement surgery. This could be due to the amount of physical movement required for recovery following a hip replacement compared to that for a knee replacement. Additionally, hip replacements involve cutting through tissue near nerves in order to access the joint as well as manipulating multiple muscles around it, meaning there can be additional sources of discomfort beyond what may be felt with other types of surgery such as a knee replacement.
According to Buzzfeed Health’s survey results from patients who underwent both surgeries, they overwhelmingly rated hip replacements as being significantly more painful (76%) than their respective knee replacements (14%). Some factors contributing to this gap include patient age and pre-existing conditions; elderly patients may require additional medical attention post-surgery which could delay full recovery and thus cause greater levels of discomfort than someone younger who recovers faster after either surgery type. Similarly, people with existing medical issues impacting joints may experience prolonged healing time leading to further pain during recovery periods.
Ultimately, it is difficult to definitively determine if one procedure or another would result in higher levels of physical pain, but many respondents have suggested that based on different personal experiences -comparatively speaking-hip replacements are typically accompanied with more intense pain than their alternative:knee replacements.