Hospitals are beginning to add non-essential surgeries back into daily practices. The American Hospital Association announced the CMS updated guidance on re-opening hospitals to procedures and other care as the country moves forward during the pandemic. The AHA, in conjunction with the three surgical professional organizations, released an extensive document for hospitals outlining the critical safety measures to incorporate into their re-start of non-essential surgeries. The Joint Statement defines a roadmap for resuming elective surgeries.
Total Knee Replacement
According to the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons more than 600,000 procedures are preformed annually. Their patient information website offers an overview of the knee anatomy and practical information for discussion with your surgeon.
Getting ready for a successful outcome with your new knee is just as important as understanding what is involved in the procedure itself. This preparation is referred to as prehabilitation where key muscles are strengthened and conditioned to effective movement. This study demonstrated that a 4-8-week training program that incorporates bands, flexibility and step training performed three times a week led to improved functional status post operatively.
Our knees take the brunt of our daily activities. Climbing and descending stairs, walking on hard surfaces, jogging, biking and even the mundane action of standing up from the sitting position requires our knees to cooperate. Aging certainly contributes to knee pain, but so too athletics.
This Mayo clinic graphic shows the knee changes that occur, causing pain in daily activities.
PT Insights
The exciting message from the world of physical therapy is that even if you are not contemplating a knee replacement now, certain exercises that have been studied are shown to improve function and decrease pain – helpful to anyone desiring to minimize stress to the knee.
Those who follow pre-training for functional outcomes, such as standing up from sitting position, show improved mobility and 90 degrees of flexion within a month.
Erica Walker DPT demonstrates one of six key exercises:
The following chart will supplement the video. Let us know how the exercises work for you and if you have questions. Use our contact form below.
Have you used any of these exercises? How did they work for you? Are there other exercises you found valuable when preparing for or recovering from knee replacement?