Six months ago, I had an operation to replace my knee joint. This has helped with the pain, but I am weaker than before the operation. I am doing the exercises my doctor recommended, but I don’t seem to be getting better. What else can I do?

Loss of strength after knee replacement is a common problem. This tends to happen because of aging, arthritis, and the operation itself. Ask your doctor to recommend a physical therapist who can help measure your muscle strength and plan out an exercise program just for you.

The therapist can also use a form of electrical stimulation to help build your muscles back up. By using an electric current, more of the individual fibers in the muscles contract, and with more force. This is a painless and effective method to build strength in addition to using weights.