If you are an avid golfer who is having aknee replacement, you should use precautions when returning to your sport. While most surgeons will not tell you to avoid golf, it can place extra stress on your new knee. Being diligent in your rehabilitation and making some modifications may help reduce the risks.
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Making Knee Replacements Last
Both patients and doctors are interested in doing whatever they can to help ensure a knee replacement willlast as long as possible. Improving implant design, ensuring replacements are properly inserted and aligned, and counseling patients on behaviors can all help to make replacements last as long as possible.
There are activities that place more forces and stress on knee replacements, and because of this, surgeons will often ask patients to avoid impact sports activities such as running and jumping. However, there is not a lot of data to guide recommendations on which activities are best to avoid.
How Much Stress on Implants?
A 2008 study quantified which activities cause the most stress on knee replacement implants.A handful of patients who required total knee replacement because of severe knee arthritis were outfitted with special knee replacement implants. Embedded inside these implants were pressure sensors that could provide accurate information about when the implants experienced unusual forces and pressure.
The study found, as suspected, that low-impact activities such as stationary bicycling placed very little stress on the knee replacement implants. On the other hand, activities such as running and tennis placed predictably higher stress on the implants. However, there were some surprises—golf placed some of the highest stress on knee replacement implants. Specifically, forces on the leading knee of the golf swing were some of the highest forces tested.
Golf or No Golf?
So the question comes up: should doctors advise their knee replacement patients to avoid golfing? You will have to discuss with your surgeon their specific recommendations as most surgeons don’t advise patients to avoid golf.
There is limited information about which activities really place the most stress on implants, but the 2008 study indicated that golf could be an activity that leads to more rapid wearing away of the implanted joint. That said, this was a very small study, that looked at one specific knee replacement implant. A 2017 review of studies concluded that golfers undergoing total hip, knee, or shoulder arthroplasty (replacement) could safely return to golfing.
Knee replacement implant improvements may help address these concerns, and some particular types of implants may help patients who want to participate in activities that place particular stresses on the knee joint.
There are benefits of golf of getting exercise, keeping weight down, and improving emotional health.It may be (and often is) worth the possible risk of decreasing implant longevity for knee replacement patients to participate in these activities that bring them fitness and joy.
Precautions for Returning to Golf
Discuss your return to golf with your doctor and physical therapist. You will likely be advised on how long it should be before you can head to the links.
Rehabilitation takes an average of two to six months, and the average return to golf is five months after surgery. However, every person’s recovery time is different.
Limit the number of holes you play at first. As always, pain should be your cue that your knee has had enough for the day.
5 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Papaliodis DN, Photopoulos CD, Mehran N, Banffy MB, Tibone JE.Return to golfing activity after joint arthroplasty.Am J Sports Med. 2017;45(1):243-249. doi:10.1177/0363546516641917
D’Lima DD, et al.The Mark Coventry Award: in vivo knee forces during recreation and exercise after knee arthroplasty.Clin Orthop Relat Res. 2008;466(11):2605-11. doi:10.1007/s11999-008-0345-x
Swanson EA, Schmalzried TP, Dorey FJ.Activity recommendations after total hip and knee arthroplasty: a survey of the American Association for Hip and Knee Surgeons.J Arthroplasty. 2009;24(6 Suppl):120-6. doi:10.1016/j.arth.2009.05.014
Hospital for Special Surgery.Arthritis and knee replacement in the golfer.
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