Tips to speed up recovery after robotic knee and hip replacement surgery You probably envision leading an active and pain-free life if you recently had knee replacement surgery. An artificial joint can, however, permanently eliminate the pain associated with the diseased joint. Treatments, including pain medication, physical therapy, exercise, and therapeutic injections, may help to reduce the amount of pain you feel. If you intend to undergo knee replacement surgery to stop your pain, it is in your best interest to do everything you can to ensure a rapid and complete recovery. There are some specific things that you can do to help your surgeon heal your pain. So, get ready to team up with your orthopedic surgeon and the rest of your healthcare team. Use these few tips for faster recovery from a knee replacement and get ready to live pain-free. Consider light exercises: After you've undergone surgery, it's important that you only take part in exercises and activities that are approved by your doctor. The exact exercises that are approved for you will depend on the complexity of your surgery, your overall physical health, and the time that has passed since your surgery. Besides the healing movements you perform during physical therapy, it’s important to exercise. This differs from the movements you learn in physical therapy. Engaging in safe physical activity helps your muscles get stronger and helps you heal quickly. Remember, although exercise is important, it shouldn’t cause pain. It’s normal to want to heal as quickly as possible. However, pushing yourself too hard can cause a setback. Your team can tell you what type of exercises are safe for you to perform, which might include extra walks or riding on an elliptical machine. Eat healthy food: besides getting plenty of oxygen, good healing is promoted by eating a healthy diet. After surgery, avoid the empty calories that provide no nutritional value and that cause weight gain. Give your body the fuel that it needs to recover quickly and completely. Lean meats, fruits, vegetables, whole greens, and 6-8 glasses of water a day will fill that bill. Not only will you be getting the vitamins and minerals needed to support your healing, but you won’t gain any weight that would put added stress on your new joint. Don’t overdo it: After surgery, you may experience pain and swelling. You may need to be careful about your movement for a few weeks. For the first few weeks after surgery, both you and your doctor will work on improving activities like standing, walking, and getting up from a chair. Restrict movements like bending, climbing, or twisting until they are appropriate again. Also, avoid sleeping on your back too soon after surgery. Sudden movements increase pain, and slow recovery, and can also be the cause of another procedure. Make exercise a way of life: Physical therapy is an important part of early recovery and getting back on your feet. The patient will be exposed to exercises through physical therapy. However, long-term training must be included as well. Simple exercises like walking, standing leg extension, and flexion improve blood flow early on in the recovery process. In time, focus on activities that improve strength and range of motion like using exercise bikes or water therapy to support healing. Prolonged exercise speeds up recovery and improves the life span of hip prosthetic devices
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