How to Recover from Your Total Knee Replacement Surgery in Weeks, Not Months

It’s not surprising that the success of your knee replacement surgery and recovery will depend on how well you follow your orthopaedic surgeon’s instructions at home during the first few weeks after surgery. There are several simple things (in addition to avoiding the 100 meter dash for awhile) that you can do to help speed your recovery time after yourtotal knee replacement surgery.

Wound Care

At home, you’ll be in charge of wound care post-total knee replacement. You will have stitches or staples running along your wound or a suture beneath your skin on the front of your knee. You should avoid soaking your wound in water until it has thoroughly sealed and dried. You may also want bandage your wound so it doesn’t get irritated from clothing or support stockings.

Diet

Some loss of appetite is common for several weeks during your recovery from knee replacement surgery. You should follow a balanced diet, often with an iron supplement, to promote proper tissue healing and to restore help your muscle strength quickly. So for at least the first few weeks, try to avoid those fast food burgers and fries.

Activity

You should be able to resume most of your normal daily activities within three to six weeks following your knee replacement. If you note some pain with activity and at night that’s common for several weeks of your recovery. Your activity program should include a graduated walking program that will slowly increase your mobility, normal household activities, and exercises as prescribed by your physical therapist.

You should be able to start driving again at approximately four to six weeks into your knee replacement recovery when your knee is strong enough to provide the necessary reaction time for braking and acceleration.

Blood Clot Prevention

Follow your orthopaedic surgeon’s instructions carefully so you can minimize the potential of blood clots that can occur during the first several weeks of your recovery.

Stay alert for symptoms like increasing pain in your calf, tenderness or redness above and below your knee, or swelling in your calf, ankle, and foot. These are all warning signs that you have a possible blood clots in your leg. 

Warning signs that a blood clot has traveled to your lung include sudden increased shortness of breath, the onset of pain in your chest, or localized chest pain with coughing.

Stay proactive and notify your doctor immediately if you develop any of these signs.

Preventing Infection

After your knee replacement, the most common causes of infection during your recovery are from bacteria that enter the bloodstream during dental procedures, urinary tract infections, or skin infections. The infection can attack your knee so watch for persistent fever, the chills, redness or swelling and tenderness of your knee wound, drainage, and increasing pain whether you are exercising or resting. Notify your doctor immediately if you develop any of these signs so you can tackle the infection right away.

Avoiding Falls

It’s always a good idea to avoiding falling down. But it’s even more important when you’re recovering from surgery. A fall during the first few weeks after your surgery can damage your new knee and may result in the need for further surgery. You should use walking aids or have someone to help you until you are sure that you have improved your balance, flexibility, and strength.