Dr. David Fischer

And it takes a long time sometimes to get back to a normal gait.

In the case of the knee, that's being able to straighten your knee out all the way.

Usually, as the knee gets stiff, it won't straighten out all the way.

And if it doesn't straighten out all the way, you limp.

And even after knee replacement, when the knee straightens out all the way on the operating table and everything else,

the brain doesn't quite, you know, it's not a, it's not a switch that the brain can turn off.

And so I think normalizing gait is what, what is kind of the last, you know, once your gait gets normal, then you start to, I think, appreciate fully.

But I, I, I, I don't, you know, I don't expect a miracle in the, in the first few months.

No, I think you both raise a good point.

You know, pain has always been a concern in terms of how to manage it.

And one thing we learned the hard way is that if we rely on these highly controlled medications to fight back pain, once it gets bad, in other words, you know, asking a patient, well, grade your pain on a one to 10.

And we like, we like say, well, it's not an eight yet.

You know, that doesn't work.

That doesn't work because

Those high-powered pain medications, which, of course, are really, really been subjected to restrict, you know, all kinds of restrictions.

Now, they're not just specific for pain.

They have all kinds of other side effects and emotional effects.

And we created a lot of trouble, you know, trying to medicate pain instead of getting in front of it, like you both talked with.

Less pain medication more frequently, I think, has been the key.

Stay in front of it.