What I Wish I Knew Before Knee Replacement Surgery
Knee replacement surgery can be a life-changing procedure, offering improved mobility and relief from chronic pain, but it’s important to do your research first. Understanding the preparation, the surgery itself, and the recovery can significantly enhance your outcome and overall experience. This blog will walk you through some key insights and practical advice from the experts here at Alexander Orthopaedics to help you feel more confident and informed about your choices.
1. Get An Experienced Provider
Many surgeons perform knee replacements, but not all provide the same quality of care. Some surgeons pursue additional training to sub-specialize, or become an expert in, knee replacement surgery. This is known as a fellowship in Adult Reconstruction and often will be listed on the provider’s biography. (For instance, our own Dr. Jonathan Dattilo received an additional year of advanced training in hip and knee reconstruction at the world-renowned Anderson Orthopaedic Research Institute after he finished his residency at the University of Pennsylvania.) These surgeons are more likely to be experienced with the latest techniques and often perform several hundred knee replacements per year.
2. Physical Therapy Is Essential
Just like anything else in life, the more effort you put into recovering from your knee replacement, the better your ultimate function and outcome will be. Consider planning your surgery at a time when you’re able to devote 4 to 6 weeks to dedicated physical therapy. Avoid having surgery immediately before a trip or a major life event where you may be tempted to skip some of the therapy.
3. Recovery Is a Marathon, Not a Sprint
It may be frustrating at times if you’ve been living with years of knee pain. You understandably want to get back to the activities you’ve been missing as soon as possible. This can be helpful, and you should choose an ultimate goal or activity and use this as motivation throughout your physical therapy. Remember, though, that therapy is a series of small goals to ultimately allow you to achieve your recreational goals. Typically these goals may include things like learning to walk again without the assistance of a walker or a cane, progressively increasing your knee range of motion, and strengthening the muscles around your knee. It’s often helpful to ask your physician prior to surgery what a realistic timeline is to achieve your particular pre-operative goal.
4. The Pain Is Real, But It’s Manageable
Ask your physician for a personalized pain medication program. Pain control after total knee replacement has made tremendous improvements in recent years with many new techniques. Modern improvements utilize what is termed a ‘multi-modal’ pain protocol, meaning that they incorporate many different, non-narcotic medications to help control your pain, while limiting the side effects and addictive potential of narcotic medications. Additionally, many surgeons utilize injections as an additional way to decrease post-operative pain and swelling and allow you to recover faster.
5. Prepare Your Home for Recovery
Preparation is the key to success. Prior to surgery, examine your home for any potential dangerous obstacles, such as carpets or rugs, that could be tripping hazards in the course of your recovery. Also consider the type of shower you have and whether you feel you may require additional assistance to get in and out of the shower following surgery. Installing a support rail in your shower is a relatively quick and easy way to feel more secure as you recover.
6. Have a Strong Support Network
Identify a coach prior to surgery who can come to pre-operative and post-operative visits with you and assist in your recovery. This could be a spouse, significant other, or a friend. If you know others who have had a knee replacement, ask them what their experience was like and if they would have done anything differently.
7. Recovery Is Mentally Draining
Recovering after knee replacement doesn’t just take physical work; it can be mentally draining as well. Putting the time in for physical therapy is an investment, and it can feel frustrating when you’re not back to your old self right away. Treat it like you would any long term project: take it one step at a time, and focus on the small victories, and before long you’ll see the transformation has occurred.
8. Pain Management Is Key
Adequately controlling your pain following surgery is paramount to allow you to participate in the therapy process. There are many new techniques, often using non-narcotic medications, that have greatly improved on our patients’ pain management after surgery. For this reason many patients are choosing to do this as an outpatient procedure, allowing you to recover in your own home and eat your own food, surrounded by family who can support you through the process. Ask your physician to personalize a pain management protocol tailored to your specific medical conditions prior to surgery, so that you have a clear plan for how your pain will be managed and allow you to focus on your knee recovery.
9. Explore Other Treatment Options
While knee replacement is a tremendously successful operation, there are many non-operative treatment options that may provide substantial benefit prior to proceeding with surgery. This may include physical therapy, medications, and injections. Discuss whether you may be a candidate for alternative treatments with an orthopedic specialist prior to proceeding with surgery.
10. Knee Surgery Is Not a Cure-All
A knee replacement involves replacing the worn bone and cartilage in your knee, but remember you still have the same muscles and many of the same ligaments around the knee, and they can still experience soreness or stiffness after prolonged activities. Strengthening these muscles and ligaments after surgery through physical therapy is a key part of the recovery process.
11. Your Knee Might Feel Different
While modern knee replacement technology has greatly evolved over the last several decades, it’s still an implanted device that may feel strange, especially at first. Occasionally, particularly in the first several months after your surgery, it may click until the muscles around your knee become strong again. This is not typically painful and usually resolves, but it may take several months before your knee feels like a ‘normal’ knee again.
FAQs about Knee Replacement Surgery
Here are answers to some common questions about knee replacement surgery and what you should know in advance to prepare for it.
What Is the Biggest Complaint after Knee Replacement?
For most people, the biggest regret is that they didn’t have their knee replacement sooner. Once your recovery is complete, a knee replacement is a tremendously successful operation to restore your quality of life and return you to your desired recreational activities. However, not all knee replacements are perfect, and they may feel slightly differently from a perfect, normal knee.
What Should I Be Able to Do 3 days after Knee Replacement?
Three days following knee replacement surgery, your goals should be focusing on your physical therapy, learning to walk again, and regaining your range of motion. When you’re not actively participating in physical therapy, you should be focusing on icing and elevating your knee to help some of the normal post-operative swelling resolve.
How Long Does It Take to Recover from Knee Replacement Surgery?
Patients report continued improvement and a sense of gradual return to a “normal” knee that they can trust for up to one year following their operation. However, most individuals will return to recreational activities such as golf and tennis within 3 to 4 months after the operation.
What Can You Never Do after Knee Replacement?
Some surgeons discourage certain activities, such as kneeling or running, while others do not impose these restrictions. This question is best addressed with your surgeon, and depends largely on your particular health circumstances and the recreational and mobility goals you identify with your doctor prior to knee replacement surgery.
Trust Alexander Orthopaedics Associates With Your Knee Replacement
Understanding the surgery and recovery process is critical for making a healthy recovery after knee replacement surgery. At Alexander Orthopaedic Associates, we work carefully with our patients to make sure you understand all your options and never feel rushed into a procedure you don’t understand. If you’ve been living with knee pain and want to explore ways to feel better and get back to the activities you love, schedule an appointment today.