Clinically reviewed by What is knee replacement recovery
A total knee replacement removes the worn surfaces of the knee and replaces them with metal and plastic parts, ghutne ka operation. The surgeon does the operation. How well the knee works a year later depends mostly on the rehabilitation that follows.
The operation reliably removes arthritis pain. It does not, by itself, give you a knee that bends and straightens. That has to be worked for.
The first six weeks are the window in which movement returns most easily. A knee that settles into a bent, stiff position then is much harder to correct later.
Symptoms you might have
- Swelling around the knee and down into the calf and ankle, often for two to three months
- A knee warm to touch for several weeks, which is normal after surgery
- Bruising spreading down the shin, which is gravity rather than a problem
- Clicking from the new joint, which is the implant and is harmless
- A numb patch of skin beside the scar, usual and often permanent
- Stiffness worst in the morning and after long sitting, with ache building through the evening
Why it happens
- Not getting the knee fully straight in the first six weeks, which leaves a lasting limp
- Sitting with the knee bent for hours, so the back of the knee tightens
- Swelling that is never controlled, because a swollen knee will not bend or straighten
- Stopping the exercises once the pain settles, usually around week four
- Floor sitting and squat toilets, which demand far more bend than a new knee has
- Poorly controlled diabetes, which slows wound healing and raises infection risk
When you should see a physiotherapist
Your surgeon sets the plan. How much weight the leg may take, which movements are restricted and what range to aim for are their decisions, and they differ between surgeons and implants. Physiotherapy works inside that protocol, so bring your discharge instructions.
Most people start moving in hospital within a day of surgery. If nobody arranged physiotherapy after discharge, come in the first week or two.
Contact your surgeon the same day if the wound becomes hot, red, swollen or starts leaking, or if you develop a fever. Go to a hospital immediately for a hot, swollen, painful calf, with or without breathlessness, which can be a clot, or for sudden chest pain or breathlessness. Tell your surgeon if the knee gives way, locks, or will not bear weight.
Al-Shama Physiotherapy Clinic
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How it is treated
Assessment comes first: how straight the knee goes, how far it bends, how the thigh muscle is firing and how much swelling there is. Those are rechecked every session, so progress is measured rather than guessed.
- Extension work, the priority. Getting the knee fully straight matters more than bending, because a knee that heals short cannot be straightened later
- Flexion work, progressed to the range your surgeon set. Around 90 degrees is commonly expected early and 110 to 120 degrees is a typical final result
- Exercise therapy for the quadriceps, hamstrings and hip, which is what makes stairs and standing possible
- Cryotherapy, compression and elevation for swelling, in the session and at home
- Manual therapy to the kneecap and surrounding tissue, away from the healing wound, since a stiff kneecap limits bending
- Gait retraining, walker to crutches to stick, correcting the limp before it becomes a habit
- Scar mobilisation once the wound is completely closed
Ultrasound, electrotherapy, needling and cupping are not used over the replaced joint or a healing wound. Any further surgery is rare and entirely your surgeon's call.
Exercises, and what to avoid
What helps
- Static quadriceps, pressing the back of the knee down into the bed and holding, many times a day
- Heel props, with the heel on a cushion and the knee unsupported, letting gravity straighten it
- Heel slides for bending, taken to a firm stretch and held rather than forced
- Ankle pumps, short frequent walks, and sit to stand from a high firm chair
What to avoid
- A pillow under the knee while resting. It feels comfortable and it teaches the knee to stay bent
- Sitting for hours at a stretch with the knee bent
- Letting anyone force the bend by pushing on it or hanging weight from it
- Kneeling, deep squatting and floor sitting until your surgeon says they are allowed
What you can do at home
Ice the knee for fifteen to twenty minutes several times a day, with a cloth between pack and skin, never over an open wound or dressing.
When you rest, lie down with the leg straight and the heel propped higher than the hip. Sitting with the foot down all day keeps the swelling in.
Raise the seating. A firm dining chair with arms beats a sofa, and a raised toilet seat makes the bathroom manageable.
Walk little and often, five or six short walks rather than one long one, using your aid until you are steady without it.
Pain relief is your doctor's prescription, and timing it before your exercise session is worth asking them about. Heat is not useful in the first weeks while the knee is swollen and warm.
How long it takes
Weeks one and two: walking indoors with a frame or crutches, exercises several times a day, swelling at its worst. Weeks two to six: aids reduced to a stick or nothing, bending improving, driving often near six weeks if your surgeon agrees.
At three months a good recovery looks like this: walking comfortably indoors and short distances outside without an aid, stairs one foot after the other, the knee fully straight, bending close to its final range.
From three to twelve months strength and endurance keep building. Most people say the knee feels properly theirs between nine and twelve months.
Stiffness at the start, uncontrolled swelling and stopping the exercises early are what slow it down.
Urdu / Roman Urdu
Choose your reading script / اپنی پسند کا رسم الخط منتخب کریں
اردوUrdu script
گھٹنے کا آپریشن درد ختم کرنے میں بہت کامیاب ہے، لیکن گھٹنا خود با خود کام نہیں کرتا۔ پہلے چھ ہفتے سب سے اہم ہیں۔
سب سے ضروری کام گھٹنے کو پورا سیدھا کرنا ہے، موڑنے سے بھی پہلے۔ جو گھٹنا سیدھا نہیں ہوتا وہ چال میں لنگڑا چھوڑ دیتا ہے۔
آرام کرتے وقت گھٹنے کے نیچے تکیہ نہ رکھیں۔ پیر سیدھا رکھ کر ایڑی اونچا کریں اور ٹھنڈی پٹی لگائیں، دن میں کئی بار۔
موڑنے کا ہدف سرجن طے کرتا ہے، عام طور پر 110 سے 120 ڈگری۔ زخم لال یا گرم ہو، بخار آئے، یا پنڈلی سوجی اور درد والی ہو، تو فوراً ڈاکٹر کو دکھائیں۔
Roman Urdu
Ghutne ka operation dard khatam karne mein bohat kaamyab hai, lekin ghutna khud ba khud kaam nahi karta. Pehle chhe hafte sab se ahem hain.
Sab se zaroori kaam ghutne ko poora seedha karna hai, mornay se bhi pehle. Jo ghutna seedha nahi hota wo chaal mein langra chhod deta hai.
Aaram karte waqt ghutne ke neeche takiya na rakhen. Pair seedha rakh kar airi ooncha karen aur thandi patti lagayen, din mein kai baar.
Mornay ka target surgeon tay karta hai, aam tor par 110 se 120 degree. Zakham laal ya garam ho, bukhar aaye, ya pindli sooji aur dard wali ho, to foran doctor ko dikhayen.
Treatment at the clinic, and online
INFORMATION → INDIVIDUAL CARE
A plan built around you.
Talk with Dr. Zahra Fatima, DPT. Understand your next steps, with guidance for your own symptoms and daily routine.
Talk it through
Discuss your symptoms, what you find difficult and what you want to get back to.
Understand your next steps
Use the consultation to discuss which care and exercises fit your situation.
Take your plan with you
Your online consultation includes a written plan you can refer to afterwards.
Questions people ask
How long does recovery from a knee replacement take?
Why is getting the knee straight more important than bending it?
How much should my knee bend after a knee replacement?
How long will the swelling last?
Can I sit on the floor or use a squat toilet afterwards?
Related conditions
- Rehabilitation after a fracture
- Recovery after hip replacement
- Recovery after ACL surgery
- Physiotherapy after surgery
- Sports injury treatment