Sometimes the only way to save your knee is to get knee surgery. It may be after a fall or an accident that leaves your knee badly injured. Knee replacement procedures take about six to twelve months before you fully recover. Within the first three months, you will experience a bit of warmth and soreness, followed by some pain. The length of time it is going to take you to recover depends on how you treat your knee. There are various things you can do to facilitate faster knee recovery, something that will see you continue with your normal life sooner.
Perform calf muscle pumps once in a while
After knee replacement, you will remain on bed rest for the first few days, after which you will spend most of your time on a 4 wheel mobility scooter. That is to prevent you from using your leg most of the time. What most people don’t know is that doing so can be quite dangerous. Sometimes you find that there are blood clots that cause further complications on the knee. The best way to prevent such a scenario is to do calf muscle pumps. The exercise should increase blood flow throughout your leg and prevent any clots thus leading to fast recovery.
Do physical therapy
A knee replacement is a procedure that will see you lose strength on your leg and keep you low for some time. No matter how strong you are, it would be best if you had someone knowledgeable to show you how to get back on your feet in no time. That is why you need physical therapy. The individual is going to take you through some of the activities that are going to facilitate fast knee recovery. He is also going to show you techniques on how to exercise without stressing your knee. His or her main job is to show you how well to handle various exercises and recover faster.
Always keep the knee straight
Immediately after surgery, you need to ensure that you keep your knee straight most of the time. That is among the few quick recovery tips for a knee that is going to keep you from experiencing knee inflammation. To do so, you need to get a comfortable straight back chair or a recliner. You should also ensure that you keep your leg straight while sleeping. The idea is to prevent stressing the ligaments of the replaced knee. That is why you also need to avoid the use of stairs and other things that will see you put pressure on the area.
Keep the wound clean and dry
Keeping the wound clean and dry may seem very obvious, but it is not. It is something that requires practice for you to master. First, you need to ask the doctor how long you need to take before you can start taking a shower. You also need to know how to change the wound dressing all by yourself. Those are some of the things you need to be aware of for you to be able to keep your knee clean and dry. Failure to do so may cause an infection, which may lead to longer recovery times.
Do exercises
After the first three months are over, you need to start doing various tasks. These are the essential activities to ensure a fast recovery. Exercises will see you regain your knee strength and improve your leg balance, among others. It is also one of the few ways to improve blood flow and keep your leg muscles supplied with oxygen. Some of the exercises include swimming, walking, and stretching your leg once in a while, among others. The intensity of the training depends on the timeline. You should start slow and proceed to more exercises as days go by. That will see you recover within the shortest time possible.
Ensure regular movements
After two to three months, you should start performing regular movements. This is to ensure that your leg adapts faster, and your ligaments heal more quickly. It is also one of the ways to keep your muscles stimulated and enable your knee to support your body. By doing so, you are going to have an easy time recovering, and in no time, you will be able to continue with your regular activities. But be careful so that you don’t end up making matters worse while moving from one place to another. The movements should be slow.
Those are so far some of the best tips to recover faster after knee replacement. It is also one of the few ways to ensure that your knee regains its normal activities within the shortest time. You need to keep in mind that every step you take should be calculative. That is to prevent undergoing twisting your knee joint and making matters worse.
