Knee Replacement

Having a knee replacement takes not only certain physical preparation but mental preparation as well. Before having the surgery it is important to have your home laid out for simplicity and easy navigation.

Find a chair that you will be spending a majority of your time in when you arrive home. preferably, its a recliner as you do not want to have your leg in a dependent position where gravity affects the pooling of the blood. Once your chair is designated be sure its of proper height and does not rock. Building a platform prior to surgery to place under the chair is an idea that many have used in the past with great success to raise its height for easier transfers.

Hopefully you have been given an exercise handout prior to surgery to begin preparing your body for the surgery. Completing basic exercises to the affected limb or limbs will greatly assist you in the post-surgical recovery as its known that muscle has memory, and will return to normal function and strength much sooner if exercised in the same manner prior to surgery. The time varies, but 3-5 weeks out should have you prepared and ready following a written exercise program.

Please be sure to have a quality cold pack or other cooling system ready when you get home. Your knee will recover and respond much faster and pain relief will be kept to a minimum with an effective cold pack. Check your local drugstore or better yet a local medical supply will have a larger selection. I see many patients trying to ice down a knee with a small bag of peas and carrots this is something I do not recommend, your knee will need better coverage than that.

Have your meals prepared or have someone that will be staying with you for the first 10 days to 2 weeks home, as the last thing you want to do is stand on your surgical leg in the kitchen preparing meals, believe me it will only take one episode of meal preparation to understand the importance of having food prepared or someone assisting you with it.

Make sure you bring home your compression stockings that are issued at the hospital, many leave them and find they would have come in handy at home. The stockings are to curb edema and to prevent DVT. Take your pain medication as prescribed as well. Many try to get off the pain medication too soon only to be very uncomfortable you will need the pain medication anywhere from 4-6 weeks out from surgery.

And most of all, complete the exercises that have been prescribed by your therapist. your final outcome will be only as good as the time you put into the exercise program. You will see a big change in your overall condition within 6 weeks after surgery if not sooner remember, everyone is different and what your neighbor did and experienced down the street will be different from your experience.