9 Good Activities After Total Knee Replacement

Key Takeaways:
Staying active after total knee replacement is essential for maintaining strength, flexibility and the longevity of your implant. Low-impact activities such as walking, cycling, swimming, yoga, dancing and golf promote joint health without overstressing the knee. Sports like tennis, bowling and skiing can often be resumed with proper precautions and modifications. To protect your new joint, always warm up, listen to your body, rest as needed and avoid high-impact activities like running or basketball. With the right approach, you can safely enjoy an active, pain-free lifestyle after knee replacement surgery.

Total knee replacement can be a life-changing procedure. It can help you alleviate chronic knee pain and restore full function and mobility to the joint. Once you’ve fully recovered from knee replacement surgery, it’s important to stay active so that you can maintain the proper strength and mobility in the knee joint. An active lifestyle will also help you manage your weight which will reduce the strain placed on your prosthetic knee and help you maximize the lifespan of the implant.

While maintaining an active lifestyle after knee replacement is critical to optimizing your surgical outcome, it’s important to understand that the activities you engage in matter. Choosing low-impact activities will help you minimize stress on your knew prosthetic knee joint and prolong your results. The following overview will help you understand some of the best activities after total knee replacement, as well as a few sports that may require adjustments to your routine in order to make them safer post-surgery.

Walking

Walking is a great activity after knee replacement since it will help you strengthen your knee, improve your heart health and burn calories. Our knee surgeons recommend that you start walking as soon as possible after surgery since this is one of the best activities you can engage in during your recovery. But building regular walks into your daily routine after you’re fully recovered is also a great way to get physical activity that won’t place stress on your knee. Begin with short walks and gradually increase the distance and level of strenuousness as your body gets stronger.

Cycling

Cycling is a great activity that you can do both during your recovery and long term once you’ve fully healed. This low-impact activity will help you rebuild strength in your knee, and it provides a great cardiovascular workout. When cycling after total knee replacement, it’s best to start out slowly on an exercise bike and gradually build up the length and intensity of your workout as you recover knee strength. It may take several months before you can go for an outdoor ride. When you resume cycling outside, start on flat trails and gradually incorporate inclines as your knee feels strong enough to handle them.

Swimming

Swimming is one of the best activities if you’ve had knee replacement. It’s low impact so you won’t place stress on your knee, but you’ll also receive a great full body workout that helps you maintain both strength and cardiovascular fitness. Make sure your wound has fully healed and your surgeon has cleared you for swimming before you get into the water.

Yoga

Yoga is a great low-impact workout that provides a variety of benefits while minimizing stress on your knee. It’s a great way to keep your muscles toned, improve your mobility and flexibility, and boost your heart rate. Make sure to avoid twisting movements and focus on using the proper form so that you knees remain aligned with your hips and ankles. You should also let your instructors know you’ve had knee replacement so that they can make any adjustments to your workout that may be necessary to keep your knee safe.

Dancing

Dancing is a great way to introduce light aerobic activity into your routine while engaging your leg muscles. However, it’s important to make sure your dance moves are gentle and don’t place unnecessary stress on your knee. Make sure you avoid twisting, jumping and other abrupt movements that can damage your new knee joint.

Golf

If you’re an avid golfer, you’ll be happy to know that you’ll be able to get back out on the course after you’ve recovered from surgery. Golf allows you to incorporate more walking into your day, which is always beneficial after knee replacement.

It’s important to warm up at the driving range to ensure your body is loose before you play a full round of golf. You should also focus on your balance when hitting the ball, and avoid wearing spikes since they can get caught in the ground and place additional strain on your knee. While you should eventually be able to walk around a golf course without any restrictions, you may want to consider using a golf cart to reduce strain on your knee the first few times you play following surgery.

Tennis

Tennis can be a great activity after total knee replacement, but it’s important to make adjustments to your game in order to reduce the impact on your knee. In general, it’s best to play doubles since it requires less movement than singles and will place less stress on your knee. If possible, play on a clay court since this will further reduce the impact on your knee.

Bowling

Bowling can be a nice social activity after knee replacement. You may want to consider using a lighter ball to reduce stress on your knee. If you feel any pain or soreness in your knees while bowling, stop at once.

Skiing

While skiing is typically considered to be a high-impact activity, most people are able to resume skiing after knee replacement with a few caveats. If you’ve never skied before or if you’re a beginner skier, then this probably isn’t the right activity for you after knee replacement. However, if you’re an advanced skier, you should be able to get back on the slopes with a few restrictions that will help protect your prosthetic knee:

• Stick to the groomers since these runs will place less stress on your knee than the bumps and trees
• Ski on days when the snow is soft and avoid icy, hardpack days that can be higher impact on your body
• Ski at moderate speeds to help you maintain better control and reduce the likelihood of falling
• Stick to shorter ski days that will reduce the likelihood of skiing to the point of fatigue

Tips to Stay Safe When Being Active After Knee Replacement

Maintaining an active lifestyle after knee replacement is beneficial in many ways, but it’s important to take steps to safeguard your new knee implant. The following tips will help you remain safe when participating in your favorite activities:

• Warm Up – Spend a few minutes doing some light stretching and mobility work prior to your activity. This will help you maintain flexibility in your knees during your workout.
• Listen to Your Body – While it’s understandable that you’ll want to get back to a full level of activity as soon as possible, it’s important not do overdo it while your knee is regaining full strength and mobility. Even after you’re fully recovered, there may be days when your knee isn’t feeling as if it’s at full strength. Always listen to your body and stop engaging in an activity if you begin to feel knee pain or excessive soreness.
• Rest More Frequently – Rest will be more important when you’re engaging in activities after knee replacement. Always build in some rest time so that you don’t place unnecessary stress on your knee.
• Avoid High-Impact Activities – The activities discussed above are primarily low-impact activities that will help minimize the stress on your knee. It’s best to avoid high-impact sports such as football, basketball, running, martial arts and other activities that place greater stress on your knee or have a higher likelihood of falling.

Colorado Advanced Orthopedics Can Help

If you’ve been struggling with chronic knee pain and reduced mobility in the joint, Colorado Advanced Orthopedics can help you get back to enjoying your favorite activities. CAO is the premier orthopedic clinic on the Western Slope. Our team of board-certified, fellowship trained orthopedic surgeons are committed to delivering the exceptional patient care you need to restore a pain free life.

Our knee replacement procedures are performed by Dr. Kevin Borchard and Dr. Josh Mares. Dr. Borchard has completed a fellowship in total joint replacement and has performed over 1,000 knee replacement procedures using the Mako Robotic-Arm Assisted Surgery System. Dr. Mares has a specialization in joint replacement surgery, including knee replacement. The specialized skill of our surgeons, along with their use of the most advanced technology available, allows our team to perform knee replacement with the highest levels of precision and achieve exceptional surgical outcomes. Our track record of success has resulted in CAO being recognized by Healthgrades as one of the top 100 hospitals in the country for joint replacement.

Contact us today to schedule an appointment. Colorado Advanced Orthopedics serves patients in Meeker, the White River Valley, Grand Junction and throughout the Western Slope.