[Andy Reed]

Hi Joseph

 

Thanks for the question. Generally most orthopedic surgeons don’t recommend a lot of impact to prosthetic knees and hips. Repeated impacts can lead to premature wear of the implants, and in rare cases peri-prosthetic fracture or loosening. Low impact activities – cycling, hiking and in your case climbing/mountaineering would be just fine. I do have patients with replaced knees who do occasionally run. Generally it’s recommended to stick to softer surfaces to lessen the impacts – ie trail is better than road, but really you should keep runs short and slow to lessen the stresses. Many orthopedic surgeons would take a dim view of running, however!