Rehabilitation and Exercise After Knee replacement surgery
If you have serious pain or arthritis in your knees then you might benefit from treatment of physiotherapy to help improve your knee condition. However, at times arthritis causes pain, joint degeneration, limited motion, and thus surgery is vital to restore the normal mobility. One of the major aspects of a total knee replacement is the proper course of rehabilitation and exercise. After a knee replacement surgery, a patient generally stays in the hospital for around 1 to 3 days and longer if required. It also depends on the patient’s condition, for example, some go home the same day of their surgery but only if the medical team feels it is safe to do so.
After your surgery, your surgeon will ask you to follow a knee-post operative protocol to make sure that you are progressing properly. This protocol involves a framework to build your rehabilitation. Most patients tend to start their rehabilitation program while staying in the hospital. After getting discharged, the patients will either undergo in-patient therapy at a rehabilitation centre or outpatient therapy while living at home. Every effort made in healthcare physical therapy is to help the patient return to their home at the earliest.
Here is the list of some early postoperative exercises:
The following exercises will aid you to improve the circulation to your legs and feet, which is vital for preventing blood clots:
These exercises might make you feel uncomfortable at first but then will help speed your recovery.
- Quadriceps Sets
- Straight leg raises
- Ankle pumps
- Knee straightening exercises
- Bed-supported knee bends
- Sitting supported knee bends
- Sitting unsupported knee bends
Regaining motion and strength
The first two weeks of recovery aim to manage pain, decrease swelling, restore normal walking, heal the incision and also initiate exercise.
After a knee replacement surgery, exercising regularly is one of the most crucial aspects to regain the strength and the range of motion. The physiotherapy plan starts with some very basic and gentle exercises to aid you to bear the weight on your replaced joint. Exercise even helps to prevent scar tissue from restraining the flexibility of the replaced joint. You can expect some pain after your surgery but there is nothing to worry about that as your physical therapist will teach you the ways to manage the pain as well.
Rehabilitation programs or exercise therapy in physiotherapy for knee replacement often involves a range of motion exercises, gait training, quadriceps strengthening, and daily life training exercises. It is vital to avoid overworking or straining the knee during your recovery stage. There is one thing that you need to keep in mind, healing takes time and therefore you shouldn’t try to rush your rehabilitation. As you progress in your rehabilitation, you will be able to start resuming your daily activities.
Your knee will keep on improving gradually over time and the pain will also reduce but only if you work closely with your healthcare provider. Remember that your rehabilitative therapy and treatment of physiotherapy are equally vital for your recovery. Therefore, choose your rehabilitation centre wisely!
Avanta Healthcare Rehabilitation Center, Bangalore, specializing in inclusive rehabilitation services in Bangalore, is dedicated to helping patients with exercise therapy and physiotherapy.
Address-
453, 5th Cross, Vijaya Bank Layout, Bilekahalli, Bengaluru – 560076
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