Yay, Sabine! Welcome to the healing side. I'll leave the Recovery Guidelines for you to go over when you're feeling up to it. Congrats on your new knee and Safe Travels Home!
As you begin healing, please keep in mind that each recovery is unique. While the BoneSmart philosophy successfully works for many, there will be exceptions. Between the recommendations found here, your surgeon's recovery protocol and any physical therapy you may engage in, the key is to find what works best for you.
KNEE RECOVERY GUIDELINES
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Note to Basic Members: The links below are a premium service available only to Insiders Club Members. To learn about membership, click here ).
1.
Don’t worry: Your body will heal all by itself. Relax, let it, don't try and hurry it, don’t worry about any symptoms now, they are almost certainly temporary.
2.
Control discomfort:
rest
elevate
ice
take your pain meds by prescription schedule (not when pain starts!)
don't overwork your new knee.
3. Do what you want to do BUT
If it hurts, don't do it and don't allow anyone - especially a physical therapist - to do it to you.
If your leg swells more or gets stiffer in the 24 hours after doing it, don't do it again.
4. Good Nutrition is essential for successful recovery:
Dietary Tips for Recovery
Nutrition Basics
4. PT or exercise can be useful BUT take note of these
BoneSmart view on exercise
BoneSmart philosophy for sensible post op therapy
and please also read the Recovery myths below.
5. At week 4 and after you should follow this
Activity progression for TKRs
7. If you want to use something to assist with
incision healing and scar management, BoneSmart recommends hypochlorous solution. Members in the US can purchase
ACTIVE Antimicrobial Hydrogel through BoneSmart at a discount. Similar products should be available in the UK and other countries.
8. If you're still in need of recovery aids, check out the ->
BoneSmart Recovery Shop for popular products at reasonable prices to support your healing.
Recovery articles:
The importance of managing pain after a TKR and the pain chart
Swollen and stiff knee: what causes it?
Energy drain for TKRs
Elevation is the key
Ice to control pain and swelling
Heel slides and how to do them properly
Chart representation of TKR recovery
Healing: how long does it take?
Post op blues is a reality - be prepared for it
Sleep deprivation is pretty much inevitable - but what causes it?
Recovery myths:
Myth busting: no pain, no gain
Myth busting: the "window of opportunity" in TKR
Myth busting: on getting addicted to pain meds
We try to keep the forum a positive and safe place for our members to talk about their questions or concerns and to report successes with their joint replacement surgery.
While members may create as many threads as they like in a majority of BoneSmart's forums, we ask that each member have only one recovery thread. This policy makes it easier to go back and review history before providing advice.
Canada
