Bad Knees and Stairs

[joshsmom]

My mom (who is 67) has a lot of pain in her knees. She had knee surgery several years ago, but it didn't last long. We are going to WDW in August (we've been many times) and although walking isn't generally a problem, stairs are. I know there are not A LOT of rides with stairs, but Splash and Toy Story Mania are two I can think of. Has anyone found ANYTHING that works for this type of pain? She's been to the doctor and was told other than knee replacement, he didn't think there was anything more he could do for her. I told her "time to find a new doctor". She's not looking for meds, she is just looking for a way to do stairs without pain. Any suggestions?

 

[Cheshire Figment]

If she does not use a wheelchair or ECV have her go to Guest Relations in the first p[ark she goes to and ask for a Guest Assistance Card that will allow bypassing of stairs. With those that you mentioned, she would follow the regular queue until the disabled bypass signs are reached, then follow them. On others (such as BTMRR) just follow the accessible route.

 

[Tink575]

My mom (who is 67) has a lot of pain in her knees. She had knee surgery several years ago, but it didn't last long. We are going to WDW in August (we've been many times) and although walking isn't generally a problem, stairs are.... Any suggestions?

Has your Mom done physical therapy for her knees? I have knee damage as well, and while the therapy didn't make all the problems go away, it did make things like climbing stairs easier than it was. They worked on exercises on all the muscles surrounding my knees, so they could be strong and help the knees along and carry the burden so to speak.

If your mom has arthritis in her knees it may be worthwhile to consult a rheumatologist. Orthopedic doctors, in my experience, are more focused on surgical remedies.

 

[joshsmom]

No mobility assist units, just stair trouble. We will check into this. I'm just hoping that her knees are better by August, but I have my doubts. Thanks for the information.

 

[joshsmom]

Has your Mom done physical therapy for her knees? I have knee damage as well, and while the therapy didn't make all the problems go away, it did make things like climbing stairs easier than it was. They worked on exercises on all the muscles surrounding my knees, so they could be strong and help the knees along and carry the burden so to speak.

If your mom has arthritis in her knees it may be worthwhile to consult a rheumatologist. Orthopedic doctors, in my experience, are more focused on surgical remedies.

She did A LOT of physical therapy after her knee surgery, but it has been a few years ago. She seems to think it is arthritis. I will talk with her about a rheumatologist. Thank you for the suggestion!!

 

[dawnball]

My mom (who is 67) has a lot of pain in her knees. She had knee surgery several years ago, but it didn't last long. We are going to WDW in August (we've been many times) and although walking isn't generally a problem, stairs are. I know there are not A LOT of rides with stairs, but Splash and Toy Story Mania are two I can think of. Has anyone found ANYTHING that works for this type of pain? She's been to the doctor and was told other than knee replacement, he didn't think there was anything more he could do for her. I told her "time to find a new doctor". She's not looking for meds, she is just looking for a way to do stairs without pain. Any suggestions?

I don't know what the connection is between WDW and her knee pain - the stairs at WDW are remarkably easy to avoid compared to the stairs in my daily living.

If she's opposed to medication, she may want to go to a physiatrist or a rehab doctor. They can evaluate her situation and recommend a brace/wrap or support that might help, as well as exercises to build the muscles she needs to adequately support her knee. I find that on days my knees or ankles are bad, a cane (on the opposite side) can reduce the weight my joint needs to lift, which reduces pain. Medication may be the best answer for her though, (anti-inflammatory, or cortisone shots are the kinds of things we talked about for mine) and hopefully she can be open minded about that.

 

[joshsmom]

I don't know what the connection is between WDW and her knee pain - the stairs at WDW are remarkably easy to avoid compared to the stairs in my daily living

If she has to take stairs at home or in the community,there aren't 600 people in the queue behind her waiting to get up the same stairs. I'm thinking specifically of TSM or Splash. It would take her FOR EV ER to get up those stairs right now. She does much better going down than up. If there is a way to avoid the stairs on such rides, we would rather wait longer to get on the ride than have her walk the stairs. Even if SHE could avoid the stairs and wait for us in another area until we caught up using the regular queue, that would be AWESOME. As a matter of fact, this would be preferable if she can't get them in better condition by then.

 

[dawnball]

If she has to take stairs at home or in the community,there aren't 600 people in the queue behind her waiting to get up the same stairs. I'm thinking specifically of TSM or Splash. It would take her FOR EV ER to get up those stairs right now. She does much better going down than up. If there is a way to avoid the stairs on such rides, we would rather wait longer to get on the ride than have her walk the stairs. Even if SHE could avoid the stairs and wait for us in another area until we caught up using the regular queue, that would be AWESOME. As a matter of fact, this would be preferable if she can't get them in better condition by then.

I've never ridden splash, but when I could do the stairs at TSM, it always seemed to me that it took FOREVER to go up them. That was when the merged queue filled the stairs, and I think that they may have changed it so the stairs are usually empty though. In that case, the stairs are usually wide enough that people can go around you.

WDW is easy enough to solve, though. Just stop by guest relations and explain that your mother has trouble with stairs. They'll give you a guest assistance card and the last CM before the stairs will divert your party to an alternate route. Faster or slower will vary. If she uses a cane, she shouldn't need to stop by guest relations - I've always been asked if I need to avoid stairs when I had my cane.

 

[asta]

My mom (who is 67) has a lot of pain in her knees. She had knee surgery several years ago, but it didn't last long. We are going to WDW in August (we've been many times) and although walking isn't generally a problem, stairs are. I know there are not A LOT of rides with stairs, but Splash and Toy Story Mania are two I can think of. Has anyone found ANYTHING that works for this type of pain? She's been to the doctor and was told other than knee replacement, he didn't think there was anything more he could do for her. I told her "time to find a new doctor". She's not looking for meds, she is just looking for a way to do stairs without pain. Any suggestions?

It may not be what your mom wants to hear but I strongly recommend that your mom get her physician to refer her to physical therapy as soon as possible. If she starts now she will have a lot of time to work on her knee strength. I have suffered with bad knees for 10 years, had two surgeries and finally had a total knee replacement 7 months ago. When the cartilage totally wears out a knee replacement is inevitable but a physical therapist can work with your mother to strengthen her muscles in the meantime. Stronger muscles can greatly help with the pain and instability in her knee. Even after knee replacement physical therapy is critical to a successful outcome of the surgery. It is hard work but there is not an easy answer.

One comment in particular you made about her pain makes me think she has strength issues is the comment about more trouble climbing stairs than going down. Most people with arthritic knees have just as much if not much worse pain going down stairs. She should climb stairs with one foot up on a riser followed by the other before going to the next step. This and stronger muscles should help her cope with the few steps at WDW.

I hope this helps. I have suffered so much that I am glad to help with the things that have helped me cope.

 

[joshsmom]

It may not be what your mom wants to hear but I strongly recommend that your mom get her physician to refer her to physical therapy as soon as possible. If she starts now she will have a lot of time to work on her knee strength. I have suffered with bad knees for 10 years, had two surgeries and finally had a total knee replacement 7 months ago. When the cartilage totally wears out a knee replacement is inevitable but a physical therapist can work with your mother to strengthen her muscles in the meantime. Stronger muscles can greatly help with the pain and instability in her knee. Even after knee replacement physical therapy is critical to a successful outcome of the surgery. It is hard work but there is not an easy answer.

One comment in particular you made about her pain makes me think she has strength issues is the comment about more trouble climbing stairs than going down. Most people with arthritic knees have just as much if not much worse pain going down stairs. She should climb stairs with one foot up on a riser followed by the other before going to the next step. This and stronger muscles should help her cope with the few steps at WDW.

I hope this helps. I have suffered so much that I am glad to help with the things that have helped me cope.

Thank you SO MUCH for this information. I will show it to her. The part I bolded, she does already. She is so afraid of falling.

 

[asta]

Thank you SO MUCH for this information. I will show it to her. The part I bolded, she does already. She is so afraid of falling.

A couple of other things (sorry if I come off as a know it all): if your mother still is able and wants to walk in the park, a cane can be a big help with stability. And more importantly, it signals to others that she might need accommodations. I found most people to be kind and gave me room to walk and time to move more slowly. Without the cane people won't know to help.

And the physical therapists can work with her on the right height of her cane and how to walk with it.

In addition to my knee replacement, I have been dealing with my 85 year old mother about her mobility issues so I am familiar with some of these issues. Knees can hurt and make you miserable. To cope with this pain, many people develop all sorts of weird walking patterns that end up weakening muscles and hurting their joints even more.

Getting old is no fun!

 

[SmallWorld71]

I am younger (41) but have bad knees that really only hurt these days when I have to do a lot of stairs. My problems are not from age, but rather a birth defect. I have had surgery and may need to again in the future. I have also had lots of physical therapy.

Anyway, the only things I have found that help are:
1) Wearing a knee brace - I just bought one at CVS.
2) Taking the stairs one at a time. (I do OK going up. It is down that is a problem)

I will add that I couldn't believe how LITTLE pain I had at WDW compared to every day life. Then I realized there are so few stairs in FL compared to home. At home, I need to go up stairs to get into my house, to go to the basement to do the laundry... I teach at a school with 2 floors and I am up and down the stairs all the time between my office and the classrooms I teach in....

I did have a little trouble getting in and out of some of the rides that go down low such as Small World and the boat ride in Mexico. But, overall it was so much better than at home.

Enjoy your trip!

 

[Betty Rohrer]

esp for TSM the wait at the wheelchair area can be a lot longer than the steps. there is no where to sit or get off your knees while waiting. we have waited over a half hour just in that area even with FP. only 2 sets of ride cars that stop there plus they are slower loading.

 

[asta]

esp for TSM the wait at the wheelchair area can be a lot longer than the steps. there is no where to sit or get off your knees while waiting. we have waited over a half hour just in that area even with FP. only 2 sets of ride cars that stop there plus they are slower loading.

I think that I might have experienced that long wait for a different reason. After a very long wait in the regular line, nothing worked in the car they put us in. We complained at the end and the CM put us on the side to wait for another car. We stood there for what seemed like forever until a car came by that they loaded us into.

 

[KPeveler]

esp for TSM the wait at the wheelchair area can be a lot longer than the steps. there is no where to sit or get off your knees while waiting. we have waited over a half hour just in that area even with FP. only 2 sets of ride cars that stop there plus they are slower loading.

Sometimes they can be a little slower loading, but in my experience, that is just as much to do with the CMs as with how many cars stop there. Some CMs just seem to be better about making sure that every car is full, which sometimes means asking further back in the line for a party of two to fill the last bit...

Sometimes the wait can be quite long, but in my experience it is about as long as it would be waiting on those stairs, all the way up and down, and then the wait before being put into rows.

And for those of us who cannot do stairs, we just figure that the line may take a bit for this one. Your experience is one of the reasons we try to give people the heads up that waits can be longer with a disability. It stinks, but there it is...

To the OP - have your mom go to Guest Relations and tell them she cannot do stairs - they will have a solution for her. Yes, she should get in PT, and get a new rheumie dr, as well as a Pain Management doctor... but she should still talk to Guest Relations about help in the parks. After all, who wants to be in pain on vacation when there is help for it!

 

[Tink575]

In Magic Kingdom have Mom try the Pirates before It's a Small World. The Small World boats are the ones that hurt my knees the most and are the toughest to get in, you have to keep your knees bent more during the ride making it uncomfortable too.

If at all possible ask NOT to sit in the front row of the boat. There is even less room in the front. My dh wears size 13 shoes and once got his foot wedged at an angle, couldn't free it by himself, and I had to yank his foot out of the boat. It was really hilarious! I thought I was going to have to call over cast members to try to pry him out of there