Whether you need the surgery is a decision left entirely to you and your doctor. More than 90% of people who have had their knees replaced see a huge improvement, not just in pain but in their ability to move bout, also.

Knee replacement surgery is also called arthroplasty. Knee replacement surgery replaces damaged parts of the knee with artificial parts.

You might need to go for the surgery for multiple reasons:

• You have bend knees or some other defects.
• Severe pain and stiffness make walking, climbing stairs, or moving out of the chair hard.
• The pain seems so irritating that even while resting, they don’t leave you.
• You have swollen knees most of the time.
• Physical therapy has not been of any use.

Preparing for Surgery:

Before going for surgery, your surgeon will take your medical history and do a physical examination, including X-rays and blood tests. Your doctor will use these to examine the damage inside the knees. The doctor will also check the strength of the muscle and the muscle support around the knee.

Your doctor should be aware of all the medicines you take, which can be blood thinners, aspirin, or other drugs. Also, let them know if you have a history of infection, bleeding, or blood clots. Another important thing is not to eat anything prior to the surgery and remain empty stomach for at least 8 hours.

At the time of surgery:

Knee replacement surgery has become advanced. If you are healthy, it can be done as an outpatient procedure without being able to get admitted in the hospital. If done in a hospital, a stay of 1 – 4 days is necessary. Before surgery, nurses may inject an IV in the vein in the arm or hand so that all fluids and medicines get inside.

You may even get anesthesia so that you sleep during surgery. Your doctor may also decide in giving you spinal/epidural anesthesia, through which your waist below will be kept numbed, but you will be awake.

Hospital stay:

Your surgery will take place in a hospital or a surgical center. Most of the times, acute postoperative physical therapy starts the day after surgery. If surgery takes place early in the morning, a physical therapist may even visit you at the hospital, the same day.

Some things which physical therapist may help you.

• Learning to walk (gait training)
• Using your continuous passive motion machine
• Strengthening exercises
• Exercises to help improve your range of motion
• Using your assistive devices, like a walker or crutches
• Stair climbing
• Pain and swelling control
• Sub-Acute Rehabilitation

After your total knee replacement, the orthopedic surgeon may admit you to a subacute rehabilitation facility. Your physical therapist will work with you and other team members of rehabilitation in helping you improve your functional mobility.

Back to home sweet home

Once you are back home, after surgery, you may still be limited in functional mobility and also may have a difficult time leaving your house to attend physical therapy, You can opt for getting the therapy at your place, in such a case.