WASHINGTON — We bang our knees as kids; as adults, we replace them.
More than five million Americans over age 45 had knee replacement surgeries between 2000 and 2010, according to a new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In 2010 alone, 700,000 total knee replacements were performed in the United States, making it the most common inpatient surgery that year.
Knee replacements rose dramatically for men and women during the decade — by 86 percent for men and 99 percent for women.
The study also reports that patients are getting their knees replaced sooner: The average age dropped from 69 in 2000 to 66 in 2010.
The report didn’t specify reasons for the increases, nor did it look into the success rates for total knee replacements.
Previous studies have linked an increase in knee replacements to a rise in the nation’s obesity rate.
Among them was a 2013 study at the University of Massachusetts that found the majority of knee replacement patients under 65 are clinically obese.
