Key takeaways:
Knee replacement surgery can provide pain relief and improved mobility for people whose knee cartilage is worn out.
Recovery after surgery can include physical therapy, pain management, and help from loved ones.
Movement through physical therapy is crucial for a successful recovery.
Your knee joints experience wear and tear over time.
That can lead to knee pain. That’s often why people choose to have knee replacement surgery, which can reduce pain and restore mobility.
Those researching the surgery are often curious about what to expect, how to prepare, or what people wish they knew before getting knee replacement surgery. You also might be wondering what recovery looks like.
While the process is different for everyone, here’s how three people describe recovery from knee replacement surgery.
Michael O’Brien, a 56-year-old executive coach and meditation teacher from New Jersey, survived a near-death cycling accident in 2001. He knew one day that he would need knee replacement surgery.
For 20 years, Michael had an external lift for his shoes because he felt like his left leg was shorter than his right leg.
In July 2021, he had his left knee replaced and says it was a game-changer.
“After my total knee replacement, I can now fully extend my left leg. And now I can bend it much, much better,” he says. “The legs are the same way, which is really cool.”
He says doing “prehab” — addressing his physical fitness, nutrition, lifestyle, and psychological barriers to healing after surgery — helped in his eventual recovery.
After surgery, he did physical therapy to rebuild strength in his left leg.
“With my rehab, they focused on standing up with good, tall posture and getting my walking gait back again,” he says. With time, he had an easier time walking than before his surgery. And he could stand straight for longer periods of time without feeling fatigue.
After 6 weeks of rehab, Michael continued physical therapy at home. This included stretching, lifting weights, and getting back on the bike. He worked on his strength and flexibility and started practicing yoga and mindfulness meditation.
“As a meditation teacher, I would use mindfulness a lot to help deal with the pain,” he says.
He also made sure to watch for blood clots while his wound was healing. The discoloration went away with time.
He says having a positive outlook made all the difference.
“It’s the mindset of getting ready for something hard,” he says.
In 2022, Michael rode his bike across the country to celebrate a year after the surgery. His cycling adventures show what is possible after a knee replacement, he says.
“I like to think that I’m helping rewrite that myth,” he says. “You can have a vibrant life after a total knee replacement.”
Gabi Martorell, a 53-year-old professor from Norfolk, Virginia, had chronic knee pain for many years. Sometimes, she could hear her knees click.
Gabi also teaches group fitness classes in her spare time. Gradually, her knee pain started to affect her ability to teach spin and strength-training classes. Even with modifications, she had a hard time using correct form when she was weightlifting.
After dealing with the pain on her own for so long, she finally went to the doctor to look at her knees.
“Essentially, all the cartilage was gone,” she says. Her knees were “pretty much bone on bone.”
In January 2023, she had full bilateral knee replacements.
“When I got home, it looked like a little kid had taken a purple marker and purpled my legs up,” she says of the bruising. She also remembers taking opioid pain medication that made her feel nauseous. “It made me feel really sick, and I couldn’t even watch TV.”
Her mother helped her in the weeks after surgery, and Gabi kept a cooler near her bed so she’d have easy access to food and drinks.
During physical therapy, she worked on fully extending and bending her knees with strengthening exercises. She also worked on stretching her muscles.
Her new knees are different, she says, and she’s still getting used to them.
“They don’t hurt anymore,” she says. “But they don’t feel normal.”
Her kneecaps are still kind of numb, and she’s waiting to see if the nerves grow back.
In May 2023, she returned to teaching strength training.
“It’s been a process of kind of going slow and making sure that I wasn’t injuring myself,” she says.
She was also able to get back to traveling. But her new knees continue to make their presence known.
“I set off metal detectors at airports now,” she says.
Toni Gitles, a 73-year-old caregiver consultant from Lake Mary, Florida, didn’t have the typical knee pain signs before her first knee replacement surgery. But she does have arthritis everywhere.
It was an X-ray that led to her right knee replacement in 2014.
“It showed that it was time to have something done before it got more painful for me and more difficult to walk around,” she says.
Toni prepared for her surgery with the hospital and had an idea of what the recovery period would look like. But once she had the surgery, she says, it was “the worst pain I’ve ever experienced.”
Since she was living alone, she spent the first few days in the hospital and then went to a skilled nursing facility for 10 days to recover.
“I needed assistance in the shower,” she says. “I needed assistance with meal preparation. So, that was the best place for me at the time.”
Toni had physical therapy every day for an hour and worked on bending her knee and improving her flexibility. She learned to manage her pain. And she also learned what it was like to ask for help.
“People [who have knee replacement surgery] lose their independence, their ability to take care of themselves and function on a daily basis,” she says. “That’s almost as difficult as the pain and the healing process itself.”
When she needed her second knee replaced in 2020, she had a partner to take care of her. That recovery looked a little different because she was able to have physical therapy at home and outpatient therapy after that.
Though her surgery experiences were different, Toni says she was glad to find a physician she was comfortable with.
Her advice to others is to be aware of how recovery will look if you’re alone. Whether it’s transportation or insurance questions, she says, it’s important to do the research.
If you’re able to be at home for your recovery, you need to be able to ask family and friends for help, she says. “You’ve got to schedule people’s time to be with you.”
Medical Editor
Knee replacement surgery (total knee arthroplasty) is becoming more common. This is in part because people are living longer. But it’s also because people prioritize mobility and independence as they age. During knee replacement, your natural knee joint is removed and replaced with an artificial joint. This can restore your mobility and reduce your pain.
Unlike a natural knee joint, artificial joints don’t depend on cartilage, which wears down over time. But even so, artificial knee joints don’t last forever. In the past, some people needed a new knee joint after 10 years. But newer mechanical knee joints can last for 25 years. So you may never have to worry about replacing your artificial knee.
Knee replacement surgery can give you a new lease on life. But it is a major surgery. There are complications and risks to consider. And it’s important to plan for rehabilitation. Rehab will take up a lot of your time and energy, but it’s worth the investment. With the right rehab strategy, you can get back to the activities you love.