Can you give me some general guidelines for activity and exercise after I have my knee replaced? I know this varies from person-to-person but what are patients told are general good rules to follow? I intend to be very active but don't want to blow it either.
After going through all the fuss to replace a joint, you do want the best results, right? Well, here are a few tips to help you along the way. Knowing how much activity is too much and ways to prevent complications are important. The information comes from a systematic review of 30 years' worth of research results (over a period from 1980 to 2010). All English-language studies of total joint replacements were gathered and reviewed. A special search was done to find studies that reported on sports or recreational activities after total joint surgery. Most of the surgeries were to replace the hip, knee, or shoulder. Why is this information important? Because like you, more and more young adults and active older adults are turning to joint replacement to alleviate pain from degenerative joint disease. And they intend to stay active after the surgery. It is in their best interest to receive advice about level of activity and exercise. What's reasonable? What's too much? What's allowed? What's prohibited? How will the final results of the joint replacement be affected by physical activity and exercise? These are some of the issues addressed by this study. Here's a list of the current guidelines available. Keep in mind, these are NOT the result of direct research studies comparing one patient group to another. They are the answers provided by surgeons filling out surveys and from consensus statements (agreements) made by groups of surgeons.