Understanding Life After Knee Replacement Surgery

Knee Condition and Mobility

Once you’ve had knee replacement surgery and completed rehab, your knee should have range of motion and strength sufficient for all your daily tasks such as walking and climbing stairs.

Thanks to your new knee, you will be able to do many of the activities you did before your knee surgery, but with little or no pain. Most people with total knees can do recreational walking, swimming, golf, light hiking, recreational biking, ballroom dancing and stair climbing without difficulty. Usual activities such as housekeeping, gardening, driving, dancing, and sex are encouraged. Exercise is important on a regular basis

Maintain Your Ideal Weight

Increased forces on your knee may lead to wear or loosening; your weight directly correlates with the amount of force on the knee joint.

Infectious Precautions

Infectious precautions are important to prevent the artificial joint from infection. You must take antibiotic pills prior to any invasive procedure such as dental work or gastrointestinal studies.

Periodic Office Visits

Patients receiving total knee replacement should see Taos Orthopaedic Institute periodically after surgery. This varies depending on the individual. This follow-up visit helps diagnose any potential complications which may arise and allows us to monitor the successful or poor outcomes of all total knee replacements. (Please keep us informed of any changes in your status or address).

Activities to Avoid

Even though your activity level is likely to increase, a knee replacement surgery means that high-demand or high-impact activities must be avoided. You should definitely avoid running or jogging, contact sports, jumping sports, and high impact aerobics.

You should also try to avoid vigorous hiking, aggressive skiing, singles tennis, repetitive lifting exceeding 50 pounds, and repetitive aerobic stair climbing. The safest aerobic exercises are biking (stationary and traditional) or swimming because these place very little stress on the knee joint.

How Long Your Implant Should Last

The average total knee currently lasts 10-20 years before the components wear out. In some cases, worn components can be easily switched out for new ones, but revision surgery is always an experience doctors and patients want to avoid if at all possible.

Fortunately, there have been significant advances in materials and designs that extend the life of total knee replacements. Oxinium means 85% less wear for younger, heavier or more active patients with a goal of avoiding the need for revision surgery due to long term wear.