Got a Knee replacement done recently? Few Tips while you are recovering at home!

It is Just day two after such a major surgery! "Am i Fit to go home yet".

It is not uncommon if such a question pops up in your head after undergoing a knee replacement surgery. However, unlike other orthopaedic procedures, this is one of the procedures where you will be allowed to ambulate bearing full weight on your operated limb just a couple of hours after surgery. When you are discharged from the hospital, you will go home with a bandage and stitches or staples, which your doctor will remove on day 14to 18 after your surgery. Change the bandage as your doctor tells you to do so. You may still have some mild pain, and the area may be swollen for 3 to 6 months after surgery. Do not worry, this is a reaction of your body to the surgery, it will resolve gradually with every passing day.

Before your discharge, you should be able to move around with a walker or crutches. You might need someone to help you at home for the next few weeks or until you have more energy and can move around better. With advancing days of exercise and physical therapy, you may be ready to use a cane or even walk on your own in 4 to 6 weeks of time. You will need to do months of physical rehabilitation (rehab) after a knee replacement. Rehab will help you strengthen the muscles of the knee and help you regain movement. After you recover, your artificial knee will allow you to do normal daily activities with less pain or no pain at all. You may be able to hike, dance, ride a bike, and play golf. Time required to walk on your own, return to normal activities, and go back to work depends on your health and how well your rehabilitation (rehab) program goes. The better you do with your rehab exercises, the quicker you will get your strength and movement back.

This care sheet gives you a general idea about how long it will take for you to recover. But each person recovers at a different pace. Follow the steps below to get better as quickly as possible.

How can you care for yourself at home?

Activity

• Rest when you feel tired. You may take a nap, but don't stay in bed all day. When you sit, use a chair with arms. You can use the arms to help you stand up.

• Work with your physiotherapist to find the best way to exercise.

• After your knee has healed enough, you can do more strenuous activities with caution. Your doctor may suggest that you stay away from activities that put stress on your knee. These include tennis, badminton, contact sports like football, jumping (such as in basketball), jogging, and running.

• Avoid activities where you might fall.

• Do not sit for more prolonged time at a stretch. Get up and walk around for a while before you sit again. If you must sit for a long time, move your feet up and downwards to pump your calf muscles.

• When you get into a car, sit on the edge of the seat. Then pull in your legs, and turn to face the front.

• You should be able to do many everyday activities 3 to 6 weeks after your surgery. You will probably need to take 4 to 16 weeks off from work. When you can go back to work depends on the type of work you do and how you feel.
  

Diet

• By the time you leave the hospital, you should be eating your normal diet.

• Drink plenty of fluids (unless your doctor tells you not to).

• Include protein rich food like dal, beans, soya, egg white in your diet.

• Eat healthy foods, and watch your portion sizes. Try to stay at your ideal weight. Too much weight puts more stress on your new knee.

• You may notice that your bowel movements are not regular right after your surgery. This is common. Try to avoid constipation and straining with bowel movements. Your doctor may advise you stool softners for a short period of time. If you have not had a bowel movement after a couple of days, ask your doctor about taking a mild laxative.

Medicines

• Your doctor may give you a blood-thinning medicine to prevent blood clots. If you take a blood thinner, be sure you get instructions about how to take your medicine safely. Blood thinners can cause serious bleeding problems. This medicine could be in pill form or as a shot (injection). If a shot is needed, your doctor will tell you how to do this.

• Take pain medicines exactly as directed.

• Contact your doctor if the medicines are not able to reduce your pain.

• Plan to take your pain medicine 30 minutes before exercises. It is easier to prevent pain before it starts than to stop it after it has started.

• Your pain medications are anti-inflammatory in nature and will reduce the post surgical inflammation.

• If you are a diabetic, you may notice fluctuations in your sugar levels after surgery, make sure you take the diabetes medications as modified by your treating physician. You may need a Injectable Insulin for a short while after surgery.

• If your doctor prescribed antibiotics, take them as directed. Do not stop taking them just because you feel better. You need to take the full course of antibiotics.

Incision care

• You will have a dressing over your surgical stitches. A dressing helps the incision heal and protects it.

• You have to protect this dressing from getting contaminated or wet.

• Avoid having direct bathe, make sure to wrap it firmly with a cling wrap in case you plan to do so

• A clean sponge bathe is usually recommended till your stitches are removed and your surgeon is confident about the healing of your wound.

• You may not need to change the dressing frequenty.

• Light blood spots may appear over your dressing after sessions of physiotherapy.

• The dressing need not be changed unless it is grossly soaked with blood or discharge.

• You may notice bluish/blackish discoloration, resembling a bruise around your knee. It is totally normal and you may not worry for the same. It is self resolving and gets better over 7-10 days.

• Your joint may feel warm for a few days after surgery, it is physiological and not raise caution.

Exercise

• Your rehab program will give you a number of exercises to do to help you get back your knee's range of motion and strength. Always do them as your therapist tells you.

Ice

• For pain and swelling, put ice or a cold pack on the area for 10 to 20 minutes at a time. Put a thin cloth between the ice and your skin.

• You can apply ice pack 3-4 times a day. It relieves muscle spasms, inflammation and has a numbing effect reducing the pain.