ACL Reconstruction Surgery Recovery can be challenging because the knee is a complex joint that is used frequently in daily activities. Patients typically need to wear a brace and use crutches for several weeks following the surgery, and they may need to undergo physical therapy to regain strength and mobility.
Total Knee Replacement
This has the longest recovery time out of all of the options, and therefore is almost always a last-resort choice.
In general, research has found that orthopedic surgeries, or those involving bones, are the most painful. However, researchers also found that some minor surgeries or those classed as keyhole or laparoscopic could also cause significant pain.
Shoulder Replacement. The surgeon removes the damaged or diseased part of the shoulder with a shoulder replacement, replacing it with an artificial joint. A shoulder replacement is considered major surgery and can have a lengthy recovery period.
And how about the results for patients? A hip replacement is a much less painful operation. People are on crutches for a while, and then their hips feel normal. But it takes six months to a year to recover from total knee surgery, and even then, the knee just doesn't feel normal.
You shouldn't downhill ski or play contact sports such as football and soccer. In general, avoid sports that require jerking, twisting, pulling, or running. You should be able to do lower-impact activities, such as hiking, gardening, swimming, playing tennis, and golfing.
Most patients can start walking while still in the hospital. Walking helps deliver important nutrients to your knee to help you heal and recover. You can expect to use a walker for the first couple of weeks. Most patients can walk on their own roughly four to eight weeks after knee replacement.
The most significant pain occurs while the knee is inflamed and recovering from the acute inflammation after the surgery. The first six weeks are the toughest. Of that six weeks, the first week is the hardest.
When quantifying how much pain there is after surgery, it is relative to the patient. The pain after a knee replacement is typically no worse than one of your worst days before you had surgery. However, you can feel this way for the first two to three weeks after the day of surgery.
I perform replacement for the shoulder, the hip, and the knee and I commonly get asked questions about the three of them. The knee replacement is much more painful than a hip or shoulder.
Doctors do sometimes recommend that people under age 60 wait to undergo a knee replacement procedure, because these artificial joints typically last only about 15 to 20 years. If someone younger gets the procedure, it's likely that the joint will need to be replaced again down the line.
Recovery is slow
While it's different for everyone and depends on the type of knee surgery you've had, many people are surprised by how long it takes to recover. The time it takes to start doing simple tasks around the home, get back to work and importantly bending your new and improved knee may catch you by surprise.
The most common knee surgeries involve arthroscopy — a surgical technique used to repair many different types of knee problems — or knee replacement. Arthroscopy is a type of keyhole surgery used to diagnose and treat a wide range of knee problems.
TKA patients begin rehabilitation during the seven-day bedrest period, with the goals of decreasing swelling, increasing ROM, promoting normal leg control and promoting normal gait with an assistive device.
However, total knee replacement does not restore the ease associated with normal knee function. Research shows that people climb stairs slower after knee replacement; they also have a reduction in muscle strength around the knee and complete less total knee work.
Researchers recorded the stress placed on knees during downhill walking, they found it to be quite high. For downhill hikes after total knee replacement surgery, they suggest walking slowly to reduce the burden on the knee joint.
The majority of patients expect to be able to kneel after TKR,2,4,5 however, these expectations are frequently not met,1,6 with between 50% and 80% of patients reporting that they have difficulty kneeling or do not kneel in the months and years after TKR.
We estimate that roughly 80% of our patients can now kneel after their procedure. Some factors that decrease the ability to kneel include other incisions/cuts on the skin that are placed at the front of the knee.
After knee replacement surgery, you can gradually resume normal activities and there are no permanent restrictions, as long as you stay within your comfort level and follow the guidance of your healthcare team.
The 0.3% regret rate of our newest study is much smaller compared to other, common yet serious surgeries. Interestingly, knee replacement surgery has a dissatisfactory rate of 6-30%.
As knee arthritis progresses, the knee becomes much looser and more unstable. In some cases, this is mild. In other cases, it is substantial enough that cause the patient to fall. Patients who have bone-on-bone arthritis and are starting to fall because of it should strongly consider surgery.
Another pro of hip replacement is that the rehab is generally the easiest of all joint replacement surgeries. You're often standing up and bearing weight within a day of surgery.