Sunday

Things to Know About Your New Knee

By Dr. Stefan Tarlow

There are a few physical differences between your new knee and your old knee. For one thing, you may feel a little numbness and stiffness around your new knee. Excessive bending may tend to increase the stiffness. Your new knee may not have quite the ROM (range of motion) your old knee had. Nonetheless, you are sure to find your new knee is an improvement over your old knee.

Another difference is that you may find it a little difficult to kneel. However, you should not worry about kneeling. It will not hurt your new knee. Sometimes you will hear a little clicking from your new knee. This is the metal moving against the plastic as you move. This should diminish after a while. Most patients have no trouble getting used to it. It is surely much less troublesome than the painful knee they had before.

If your were active before your surgery, you can be active again after your surgery. You will be able to straighten and bend your new knee well enough to perform common activities such as stair climbing and using your car.

Click here for more on knee replacement recovery .

Be careful about entering buildings with metal detectors as your new knee may set them off. Be ready to inform the security personnel about your new knee so that you wont run into any trouble.

Here is an after surgery reminder list:

Be extra careful not to hurt yourself or to fall. If you have a fracture after your knee surgery, you will just need more surgery.

Trust your orthopedist. He or she is also a medical doctor. Therefore, a lot of training backs up his or her diagnosis and treatment plan. Your orthopedist is familiar with the musculoskeletal system (bones, nerves, joints, muscles, ligaments, and tendons) and fully capable of determining both surgical and non-surgical treatments.

When you go to the dentist, be sure he or she knows about your knee replacement. You must always take antibiotics prior to any dental procedure to prevent bacteria from traveling to the site of your operation and causing problems.

Take regular exercise to keep your new knee strong and mobile.

Visit your orthopedic surgeon every year. He or she will want to follow up with x-rays and an annual examination. - 26706

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