I am 83 and had both knees replaced. One at 75 and the other at 78. Was driving at 7 days for each and the only thing I can recommend is do not put it off because the sooner you do it the better you will feel. I still climb mountains and have no problems with my knees. I use an Infinium, GMT and pinpointer with no detecting problems. You must use knee pads to do any nealing, that is the only problem I have. The sooner you get rid of that pain and misery the better off you will be.