Letter Carrier Knee/Hip Arthritis & Replacement

There can be many causes to arthritis. When and how it starts is subject to much discussion. However, once present, there is no question that performing the arduous, physical tasks of a letter carrier accelerates the progression of the disease and increases the symptoms. Excessive wear and tear over a prolonged period and an injury to the joint are thought to be the most common factors leading to arthritis. A combination of these two factors will more than likely result in a case of severe arthritis. For instance, doing the labor intensive job of a letter carrier on a knee that has suffered a torn meniscus will almost certainly cause a severely arthritic knee. As load bearing joints, the knees and hips are particularly susceptible to arthritis. This is of special interest to letter carriers as their job requires the constant carrying of a satchel that can weigh up to thirty five pounds. This results in a significant extra strain on the hip and knee joints and is thought to be a leading cause of the prevalence of lower extremity arthritis amongst letter carriers.