Once you get the total knee replacement surgery done, the matters don’t end here, most often you’ll experience post-surgery Total knee replacement pain. Pain is the most vital component of all the complications that you might face days and weeks after your done with the surgery. Physical therapy is a vital part of that healing. Total knee replacement physical therapy exercises will help you walk, climb stairs, and return to normal activities more quickly.
What to do if there is a presence of post-surgery total knee replacement pain?
Physical therapy is the answer to this.
You can start it as early as the day after the operation. A physical therapist will arrive at your hospital room and teach you workouts that you should begin doing immediately. You’ll have recent stitches and a brand-new body member. Trust that the moves are safe, though. They’re designed to:
- Strengthen your leg
- Restore knee movement
- Help you walk on your new knee
Need to go to the rehab clinic for total knee replacement pain relief?
Maximum people spend one – three nights in the hospital. Later when you’re discharged, you might stay in a rehab facility. There, you’ll regularly get physical therapy six days a week for several weeks. One benefit of a rehab clinic is that you will have aides and you’re certain to do your activities every day. After which, most people will go straight home. If performed right, home Physical Therapy is just as effective as in-patient rehab. It is possible that you will need in-home physical therapy several days per week for 4-6 weeks.
A third alternative is to do your Physical Therapy at an outpatient rehab clinic. A few people have the knee surgery itself as an outpatient, avoiding an overnight stay. Your specialist will pick the best choice for you based on your age and health.
Advantages of physical therapy to relief post-surgery total knee replacement pain?
| What does it improve? | How does it work? |
| Range of Motion | One of the primary barriers after total knee replacement surgery is to gain range of motion around your knee joint. Your physical therapist will possibly guide you with exercises to assist you in improving the amount that your knee flexes and straightens. You may be asked to ride a stationary bike to help improve the ROM of your knee. Don’t be upset if you cannot pedal the bike in full rotations. You may have to gently ease into pedaling the bike and work slowly on making full rounds. |
| Strength | Decreased strength in the muscles around your knee is often a problem area after a total knee replacement. Strengthening exercises to help improve your quadriceps and hamstrings may be prescribed. The hip muscles are also very significant knee stabilizers, so you may need to work on hip-strengthening exercises as well. |
| Balance | After your total knee replacement surgery, your balance may receive slight damage. Exercises to enhance your balance and proprioception may be performed while in the outpatient clinic. The convenience of a BAPS board and single-leg standing exercises may be helpful for you to reacquire normal balance. |
| Gait Training | You likely will still be walking with a walker or cane when you begin outpatient physical therapy after your total knee replacement operation. Your physical therapist can work with you easing you to revive your normal gait with no assisting device. |
| Scar tissue management | Your physical therapist may perform scar tissue massage and mobilization to retain the scar and skin around your scar moving normally. Also, you can see how to perform scar tissue massage on your own to help hurry the process along. |