Knee Replacement Surgery - What's the Best Rehabilitation?

Knee replacement surgery is performed on individuals who experience severe pain and disability due to arthritis in their knee. Often the individual has suffered for many years in pain and as a result their quality of life has been significantly affected.

Time for surgery varies depending upon the individual but key things that are taken into consideration include: Limited walking distance - the individual not able to walk more than 3 blocks Significant Pain - the pain is not relieved by arthritis medication

A good outcome for knee replacement surgery occurs around 95% of the time. Rehabilitation following a knee replacement is very important to help achieve this good outcome rate. Physical therapy (or physiotherapy) provides the individual with specific exercises to both increase strength and ensure the knee replacement has both a good bending range and as well as being able to straighten it fully.

Exercises can be divided into 2 groups: Range The individual is prescribed exercise to bend the knee and exercises to ensure the knee can be fully straighten. The position the individual performs these exercises in varies depending on a number of different factors. Strengthening The individual is prescribed exercises to build up the strength of the quadriceps muscles (quads) located on the front of the thigh that is responsible for straightening the knee. It is also important to work at strengthening the hamstrings which is the muscle group at the back of the thigh which is responsible for helping the knee to bend. Other muscle groups in the lower leg of hip may be weak because the individual has not walked properly for many years due to the pain of knee arthritis. A physical therapist will be able to assess and prescribe what is best for the situation. Gait or walking re-education may also be required. As the individual typically has experienced pain of knee arthritis for many years, the individual may still walk with a limp due to this old program. A good physical therapist will be able to provide with some walking tips and strategies to ensure quality of walking improves after knee replacement surgery.

A good way to think of a physical therapist is that of a coach. They can show you what to do, but it is the individual who must get on with it and practise their exercises at twice a day to ensure a good recovery. By making your knee exercises part of your normal routine, a bit like cleaning your teeth or combing your hair, your quality of life will improve dramatically following knee replacement surgery and you will be very glad of the decision to have it done.