The knee is a very complicated joint. It is composed of two long bones, the femur, and tibia, which meet to form the knee cap or patella. It contains four main compartments: medial (inside), lateral (outside), anterior (front), and posterior (rear). If knee movement is restricted, pain can result in associated inflammation, stiffness, and swelling. It is not uncommon for knee pain to be continuous or reoccurring, making daily activities difficult. In such a case, it's advisable to consider knee replacement surgery.

What is Knee Replacement Surgery?

Knee replacement surgery, also commonly known as knee arthroplasty, is an effective surgical procedure to replace the weight-bearing surfaces of the knee joint to relieve pain and disability. The surgery may be recommended if other treatment options have failed to relieve knee pain due to arthritis or injury.

Knee replacement surgery can improve your ability to do daily activities, such as walking or climbing stairs. After the surgery, the recovery process includes physical therapy to strengthen knee muscles, knee range of motion, and knee stretches.

Recovery time after knee replacement surgery varies depending on what type of knee replacement is done and individual medical conditions. Common factors that affect recovery include:

• Patient's Age- The recovery process significantly depends on the patient's age. For older adults, the surgery recovery may take longer because they need a longer time to adapt to knee replacements.
• Diabetes- The knee replacement surgery recovery process may take longer in patients with diabetes because of knee problems, such as ulcers and poor circulation.
• Obesity- The knee replacement surgery recovery process will also be slowed if the patient is obese because obesity puts stress on all knee components, such as muscles and knee replacements.
• The Severity of Arthritis- The knee replacement surgery recovery process can also take longer if the knee arthritis is severe and if other treatments were not helpful.
• Other Health Problems- The surgery recovery process may be delayed by other health problems, such as hypertension, heart disease, and lung disease.
• Infection- The recovery process will be delayed if knee replacements are infected, loose, or poorly aligned.

After the surgery, the knee replacements should fit well and should not make any sound. The knee should also move smoothly with no grinding during knee range-of-motion activities, such as walking, knee-bending, knee-rising from sitting to standing position, and knee-straightening.

Typically, the knee replacement surgery recovery process involves rehabilitation activities, such as strengthening exercises, knee stretches, range of motion activities, and knee balance activities.

The Takeaway

Knee replacement surgery is a procedure that replaces knee joint components. The surgical procedure can be performed as an open knee replacement surgery or as a knee replacement arthroplasty, which is performed through small incisions. It can be performed for both osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis, and other knee conditions, such as knee trauma or knee deformities.