knee pronation before/after surgery

[colorado6945]

I am contemplating knee replacement (both knees) late next year. the reason for the delay is that I am a competing athlete, and I want to compete internationally next August - even though I am handicapped with my knees now (bone on bone and femur damaged), I don't want to significantly change my body until after that major competition.

My concern is this: All my life, I've had knee pronation, and very very flat feet to go with it. After knee replacement, I'm pretty sure the pronation problem can be dealt with. However, will my very flat feet make my new knees want to pronate too? will my muscles have problems/cramps due to the very unfamiliar "posture" of my legs? Will I have to have something done to my feet in addition to my knees? Will my potential surgeon understand this, since he/she will be a knee specialist?

 

[Josephine]

will my very flat feet make my new knees want to pronate too?
will my muscles have problems/cramps due to the very unfamiliar "posture" of my legs?
Will I have to have something done to my feet in addition to my knees?
Will my potential surgeon understand this, since he/she will be a knee specialist?

Not necessarily. You'll not know the full result until after the surgery and quite likely until well into your recovery. So don't get freaked out in the early weeks if things don't seem to be normalised as much as you'd hoped for. Recovery can take up to a year overall.

Another tip while we're at it: being an athlete you're probably expecting to be doing heaps of strength building exercise immediately after the op. Don't! You must bear in mind that after this major surgery your muscles will go into a form of shut down for a while. This won't be because they are weak or out of shape but because they are injured! Injured tissues and bones need to be rested, elevated, iced and have the pain managed adequately (in other words, take your pain meds by the clock!). I'll leave you with a collection of articles from our Library to get you started!

The importance of managing pain after a TKR and the pain chart
How Long Does Healing Take ......
Chart representation of TKR recovery
Energy drain for TKRs
Elevating your leg to control swelling and pain
Using ice
Swollen and stiff knee: what causes it?
Progression of activity for TKRs

Knee Replacement - Where Am I in Recovery?
So What Is It Going to Take? The Five “P’s” of Knee Recovery
Work “Smarter” and not “Harder”
About recovering a knee - from one who knows!
Some suggestions for home physio (PT) and activity progress
Myth busting: The "window of opportunity"

MUA (manipulation under anaesthetic) and adhesions
It's never too late to get more ROM!
It's Worth the Wait for ROM
Myth busting: on getting addicted to pain meds
Post op blues is a reality - be prepared for it

 

[referee54]

Welcome to the forum! You have been given some excellent advice and some great reading material! AS Josephine has stated, a recovery from a TKR or a BTKR can take upwards to a year, so take it slowly and gently and do not try to push yourself too quickly through recovery---you will only become more frustrated and slow your progress down. This is not an athletic-type surgery or rehab---it is major surgery that demands that knee be given plenty of time to heal and to normalize itself.

I would think that, after your surgery, your mechanics of walking would feel weird for a while, after all, "mechanics is muscle memory"---but slowly your knee and leg will sort things out and produce the correct mechanics and help your gait to normalize itself.