Years of manual labor took a major toll on Scott Jordan’s body. The longtime Janesville resident worked on assembly lines at General Motors and Morgan Corporation for 26 years, standing on cement and completing repetitive tasks for hours each day.
“I started to feel the knee pain when I became a truck driver,” he said. “It was gradual, but eventually got pretty bad.”
About five years ago, Scott first discussed the pain with his doctors. Scott chose to receive steroid injections as the first step for relief.
“The injections worked at first, but eventually they didn’t make much of a difference,” he said.
An x-ray and orthopedics consultation revealed why: Scott’s knee cartilage had been worn away, and he was experiencing bone-on-bone movement. Although the knee pain wasn’t severe first thing in the morning, Scott could only complete 2-3 hours of daily activity before he was unable to move any more.
“I would just be done for the rest of the day, and in the end both of my knees were hurting because I was overcompensating with the good one,” he said.
Everything in Scott’s life took longer to complete because of his knee issues. He consistently had to take breaks and would find even small projects taking weeks to finish. “I could only ride my motorcycle for a short period of time,” he added.
Scott fully retired from spending his days driving in the fall of 2023. He had hoped to get knee surgery right away but needed to get some other health challenges and household tasks taken care of first.
“During this time, I truly committed to a lifestyle change and began to put in the work to feel better,” he said.
A friend who worked in physical therapy recommended that Scott begin e-biking and water walking prior to getting surgery. The physical activity, paired with improved nutrition, made a tremendous difference in his overall health. “I tried to even convince myself that I didn’t need surgery because I was feeling so good,” he said. “But in truth I was just scared.”
Going to joint replacement education classes hosted by SSM Health St. Mary’s Hospital – Janesville Orthopedics Care Coordinator Julie Wintlend helped to calm those feelings.
“Julie was inspiring, and she was instrumental in me finally saying that I am going to be OK with surgery,” Scott said.
The day of Scott’s knee replacement surgery went smoothly at SSM Health St. Mary’s Hospital - Janesville. The whole process took less than 12 hours, and he was up and walking before going home.
“I will always remember looking at my foot coming down to the floor and putting pressure on it after surgery,” he said. “I was flabbergasted to think I could do it - and just start walking.”
Scott is completing physical therapy and is doing much better. He soon hopes to get back to his e-bike and water walking routine. His long-term goal is to be back on his motorcycle before the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in August.
“Today I’m able to walk out of here feeling great, and I know I’m going the right direction,” he said. “I’m grateful for the overwhelming support from everyone at the hospital and clinic.”
If you are experiencing joint pain, request an appointment with an SSM Health Orthopedics specialist near you.
