Former UW Football Star's Knee Replacement Gets Him Back in the Game
"I'm going to start off by saying that for the first time in 51 years, my right knee is stronger than my left," said local homebuilder and former University of Washington Huskies defensive end Mike Nykreim.
Mike Nykreim
From 1972 to 1975, Mike ran plays with UW football greats like Sonny Sixkiller, Warren Moon and others for legendary coaches Don James and Jim Owens. He cracks a sentimental smile passing by their bronze statues at Husky Stadium to this day.
At 6' 9", Mike was unstoppable. But in a game against Oregon State in 1974, he blew out his right knee, an injury that gave him chronic pain for 51 years. It didn't slow him down, though—Mike raised a family, started a successful contracting business, and even "spent 35, 40 years climbing mountains around the Pacific Northwest."
But in early 2024, his knee had become so stiff, even regular activities like climbing a flight of stairs had become challenging. He'd given it the ol' college try for 51 years, but the over-the-counter pain medications, superfoods and supplements that had kept Mike on his A-game for all those years just couldn't outrun that old injury.
The time had come for a change.
That's when Mike's friend recommended an appointment with Dr. Adam Rothenberg at EvergreenHealth. And the rest, as they say in both football and life, was history.
"I can't imagine it being any better"
Mike had his total knee replacement surgery with Dr. Rothenberg on August 15, 2025. Ten weeks after his operation, Mike was already mostly pain-free and back to his favorite hobbies of cycling and even practicing master's level track and field. Most of the pain was gone in two weeks.
"Doing practice throws a few weeks ago felt amazing," Mike said. "Everything was flying out of my hands and at the end of the little session, my arm was sore, but my leg and knee were feeling good. That was the first time that had happened in decades; I'd forgotten that was even possible."
Now that his right knee is in top form, Mike can't wait to replace his left one. "I'm really looking forward to doing the other side," he said. "It's got a little bit of a bow leg and it's missing cartilage, so [Dr. Rothenberg] says I'm going to need that one too."
But true to form, even the prospect of another knee replacement surgery isn't slowing Mike down. Credit that to the "Dawgedness" he showed on the gridiron all those years ago. "You know, I was almost thinking of going downhill skiing this year," he said with a chuckle, "but then maybe I don't want to push it too hard."
Whether we see Mike on the slopes this year or next, he has a bit of advice for anyone living with knee pain, stiffness or dysfunction: "Just buckle up and do it and follow every single thing you're supposed to do. Do the physical therapy every day like they tell you to. And yeah, it'll hurt at first, but it's a great pay off."
Dr. Rothenberg and the rest of the EvergreenHealth Orthopedic & Sports Care team think that's a pretty strong game plan too: "Mike put in the level of effort in his recovery that you would expect from a former division 1 athlete," Dr. Rothenberg said. "Because of that mentality, he was able to return to his healthiest self so quickly. Fortunately, we were able to match the right implants to someone who truly pushes the norms of total knee replacement, and that match let to an amazing recovery."
