Recovery after knee surgery
If you’ve had knee surgery recently, it is important to know what to do after surgery to ensure you recover quickly.
After knee surgery, your knee will be painful and swollen due to the inflammation, the knee may feel stiff and the muscles around your knee may be shut down as a response to surgery.
The 3 key things to manage these reactions / responses to surgery are:
Cold therapy (icing) and compression
Icing is extremely helpful to control and reduce swelling after surgery. There are commercially available cuffs with machine which deliver cold therapy and compression. You can also use a bag of frozen peas or ice pack wrapped in a small towel. You can use cold therapy for 20-30 minutes at a time every 2-3 hours. Gradually taper off your frequency as swelling reduces. Using cold therapy before and after your exercises during your rehab process is also helpful.
Muscle activation
Your quadriceps muscle may be shut down after knee surgery, especially if you’ve had ACL reconstruction or major reconstructive surgery. This is called Arthrogenic Muscle Inhibition. The quadriceps muscle are a group of 4 strong muscles in the front of your knee which allows you to straighten your knee. They are crucial for day to day activity such as walking and standing. I encourage you to perform regular static contraction and isometric exercises after surgery to re-activate them. In some circumstances, it can be difficult to re-activate the quadriceps muscle. Our physiotherapists may recommend using a muscle stimulation device to help stimulate the muscles.
Range of motion
Stiffness and reduced range of motion are common after knee surgery. I encourage you to perform regular exercises to ensure your knee is fully straight (extension) after surgery and gradually bend your knee (flexion). You also need to sleep and rest with your knee straight (full extension) after surgery so that it does not stiffen up in a bent position. If your knee is not fully straight after surgery, it will be difficult to walk and regain your quadriceps muscle strength.
Pay attention to the swelling and keep it down, get the quads working and get your knee moving