Many people who need a hip or knee replacement live with chronic pain for years before undergoing surgery, a new survey has revealed.

According to the findings, 60% of those who have had a hip or knee replacement lived with chronic pain for up to three years before their surgery. Some 83% said that this pain affected their ability to enjoy major milestones, such as birthdays, weddings and holidays.

The survey found that overall, activities of daily life were significantly impacted on a daily or weekly basis while waiting for surgery. Some 53% said the pain they experienced affected their sleep, 47% said it affected their ability to drive, while 43% said if affected their ability to work.

Almost half also said they could not take part in sports while a similar number said it impacted their ability to be intimate with their partner.

Common everyday activities that were adversely impacted included using stairs, carrying groceries and the ability to put on socks.

Meanwhile, 32% of people only considered a hip or knee replacement when they could no longer go about their daily life with ease.

The survey was carried out on behalf of Blackrock Health, which has launched a campaign - Freedom in Motion – aimed at encouraging people to speak to a healthcare professional if they are living with chronic hip or knee pain.

“From my experience, most patients wait too long to have a hip or knee replacement. The older someone is, the more likely they have multiple co-existing health conditions, such as high blood pressure or diabetes, and these can complicate recovery, further underlining the importance of earlier intervention,” commented Dr Niall Hogan, a consultant orthopaedic surgeon at the Blackrock Clinic.

He explained that lean muscle mass declines with age, “so the physical effort of recovery can seem harder than if the surgery was performed a bit earlier in life”.

“This research found that 87% of people have improved mobility compared with before surgery, enabling them to recover many aspects of life lost previously due to levels of pain experienced. Many patients who undergo surgery have told me that they wished they would have had their surgery earlier so as to regain freedom in motion and enjoy more years with less pain,” he said.

Retired Garda and former junior Leinster rugby player, Pat Slater, lived with chronic joint pain for some time before opting for surgery.

“I knew that joint replacement surgery came with the promise of improvement to your life, but I waited. With hindsight, I don’t know why I waited and missed out on so much in my life,” he noted.

The survey of 1,040 adults was carried out by Empathy Research in March 2023.