Total Knee Replacement (TKR) is a surgery where a damaged knee joint is replaced with an artificial implant. Total knee replacement can relieve pain and help you get mobile and active again after a knee injury or osteoarthritis. The most common reason for a knee replacement is osteoarthritis followed by rheumatoid arthritis and operations because of trauma in the past. It will take up to a year to recover from a knee replacement.

Prehabilitation exercises

To give yourself the best chance of a full recovery after TKR, you should consider building some strength in your legs before the operation. If you have been suffering for some time from knee pain, you may have had to deal with a lot of pain and stiffness. As a result, you may be experiencing secondary problems such as muscle weakness, inflexibility and restriction in the joint range. These exercises should focus on strengthening quads, hamstrings and glutes, range of motion in the joint and overall leg flexibility. Your physiotherapist can help you with these exercises. We’d certainly recommend;

• Leg slides – sitting on your bed or couch with your legs straight out, slide your heel up and down the bed 10 times.

• Knee extension – sitting in a chair or over the edge of your bed, straighten your leg and hold for 10 seconds 10 times.

• Hamstring stretch – for an easy hamstring stretch sit on the edge of your bed and one leg straight out and lean forwards until your feel a stretch at the back of your leg.

After your surgery…

Typically, most people will stay in hospital for 2 to 4 days after a TKR. You will see your physiotherapist in the hospital, and they will teach you how to walk with crutches and give you exercises to work on.

You will be told to use crutches for the first 6 weeks post-surgery, so for the first 6 weeks you are dependent on other people to drive you around and help you with day to day tasks. Your physiotherapist will help you to move off 2 crutches and onto 1 crutch as soon as possible.

You will be seeing your physiotherapist to work on bending and straightening your knee as well as strength, balance, and walking.

Aftercare Tips !

• Ice ice baby! Knees often get sore after your exercises and your walking program. It’s a good idea to put your leg up and put a good ice pack on it. Make sure you have a few ice packs so you can rotate them.

• Try not to sit for too long as your leg will get stiff. Short walks and elevating the leg will help you manage this.

• You really do have to do your exercises as you’re recovering. Some people do not achieve a 90-degree bend in their knee after this operation which makes walking up stairs or steps difficult. To give yourself the best chance of a great outcome you need to work on those exercises!

Over all most people have a fantastic outcome following a knee replacement,  we wish you the best of luck with yours!