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What does a replacement replace?
A knee replacement replaces damaged joint surfaces with components designed to allow movement. A total replacement involves several knee surfaces. A partial replacement replaces a selected part of the joint when suitable. The choice depends in particular on the areas affected and the condition of the knee.
The operation does not turn the knee into a new joint without limits. It aims particularly to reduce pain and improve function, but carries risks and does not guarantee the same result for everyone. Ask the surgeon what you can reasonably expect for your specific activities.
Understand the picture
Replace surfaces and regain function
Thigh bone
A component may cover the affected surfaces.
Shin bone
Another component forms part of the joint contact.
Muscles and movement
Rehabilitation prepares daily tasks.
When is a surgical discussion appropriate?
Discussion may be appropriate when pain, stiffness or limitations greatly affect quality of life and non-surgical options are insufficient or unsuitable. A severe-looking image alone does not require surgery. Equally, you do not have to wait until you can do nothing before seeking advice.
Discuss alternatives, potential benefits, complications and expected recovery. Partial and total replacements have different advantages and limitations. Other illnesses, available help and your preferences form part of shared decision-making.
How can you prepare before surgery?
The team may suggest suitable exercises and advice to maintain your abilities before surgery. Preparing chair rises, walking and use of aids can make the next stage easier to understand. The programme should not cause repeated flare-ups to reach an ideal level by a deadline.
Also organise practical matters: home access, stairs, help with shopping and transport. Only the relevant medical team should decide which medicines to take or stop. Ask about necessary documents and who to contact if your health changes before surgery.
Chapter sources [1]
What happens at the start of rehabilitation?
Rehabilitation usually begins early in hospital when your medical condition allows. The team helps you move, use walking aids and understand exercises. They also prepare the tasks needed for safe discharge according to your home and abilities.
Before discharge, clarify permitted weight-bearing and movement, wound care and prescribed medicines. You should know who to contact with a problem. A programme to do yourself should be explained and adjustable; it does not mean you must solve significant difficulties alone.
Chapter sources [1]
Pain and swelling: what should you monitor?
Pain and swelling can accompany the early stages of recovery. Their course and response to activity matter. Spread effort and rest according to the plan. Take pain medicine as prescribed and have it reviewed if relief is poor or side effects occur.
Unusual worsening, fever, wound leakage or spreading redness needs prompt contact with the team. Do not assume everything is normal because surgery was recent. A knee that suddenly becomes very painful after a fall also needs examination.
Which signs may indicate an urgent complication?
A suddenly painful or more swollen calf, warmth or a change in leg colour needs prompt assessment, particularly for a blood clot. This remains possible even with prescribed preventive treatment. Do not massage the leg to try to remove the swelling.
If breathlessness, chest pain or feeling seriously unwell occurs, call 112 in Luxembourg. Do not wait for a physiotherapy appointment. Follow clot-prevention prescriptions and instructions for any stockings; do not shorten them using a general timetable found online.
What are the aims of exercise?
Recovery combines straightening, bending, strength and function. Being able to straighten the knee helps walking; bending helps with chairs and stairs. Needs vary, and one angle measurement does not describe the quality of recovery. Do not force through severe pain to gain degrees.
Exercises progress according to the wound, swelling and surgical instructions. Your physiotherapist can adjust the dose and check walking. The general exercise page is not a post-replacement protocol: select only movements approved for you. A limitation that persists or worsens should be reported in good time.
In everyday life
Before going home
Understand the instructions
Weight-bearing, exercises, wound care and medicines.
Try essential tasks
Walking, chair rises and stairs with suitable aids.
Know your contacts
Know who to call and which signs need urgent help.
Chapter sources [1]
Walking, stairs and getting up
Use prescribed aids until walking is safe enough and meets your instructions. Walking without crutches while limping heavily is not necessarily progress. Split journeys into smaller parts and keep opportunities to rest. The team can demonstrate a suitable stair technique using the rail and an aid.
A stable chair at a comfortable height makes standing easier. Arrange items to avoid obstacles and rushed movements. Techniques should be demonstrated with your equipment; a general description cannot correctly adjust a crutch or guarantee safety on a particular staircase.
Sleep, work, driving and leisure
Pain and a changed routine may disturb sleep. Work with the team to find comfortable support without keeping the knee bent over a pillow for long periods if this conflicts with regaining straightening. Follow instructions specific to your operation and report worsening night pain.
Return to work depends on your job and journeys. Driving requires control, an emergency response and no medicine affecting alertness; have return confirmed. For cycling, recreational walking and other leisure activities, discuss the required abilities. Kneeling and impact sports cannot be decided by one universal date.
Chapter sources [4]
What recovery and follow-up can you expect?
Progress often continues for several months, sometimes longer. Improvement is not always steady. Track useful abilities: walking distance, chair rises, stairs, sleep and independence. Supervised rehabilitation may be needed when exercises alone do not meet your needs.
Keep follow-up appointments and the contact details provided. New or increasing pain, a worsening limp or loss of function related to the replacement needs orthopaedic advice, even long after surgery. Finishing the initial phase does not mean accepting every later difficulty without assessment.
Your questions
How many physiotherapy sessions are needed?
There is no number that applies to everyone. Need depends on mobility, walking, difficulties at home and progress. A self-managed programme can be supplemented with supervised sessions when it is not enough.
Chapter sources [1]
Must I reach a particular angle every week?
Measurements help follow-up, but goals should suit your operation and progress. Do not force movement to reach a number found online. Discuss insufficient progress early with your team.
Chapter sources [4]
When can I drive?
You must be able to control the vehicle and brake in an emergency without interfering effects from treatment. The operated side, vehicle type and recovery matter. Seek your team’s advice and check the conditions applicable to your situation.
Chapter sources [4]
Sources and references
- [1] NICE NG157 — Joint replacement
- [2] AAOS OrthoInfo — Artroplastia total de joelho
- [3] NICE NG226 — Osteoarthritis in over 16s
- [4] NHS — Recovering from a knee replacement
- [5] Assurance Maladie — Douleurs du genou : que faire et quand consulter ?
- [6] NHS — Baker’s cyst
- [7] CGDIS — 112 Luxembourg
- [8] NHS — Complications of a knee replacement
Text updated on
Medical review: awaiting Hasib Selimovic.