Knee replacement surgery pro tips and shopping list

This knee replacement surgery article has nothing to do with The Natural Home. Straight-talk from someone who experienced the best from Dr. Nathan Cafferky of Vail's Steadman Clinic. Hope it prevents some pain and aggravation.

Consider having an extensive blood test to ensure that you are not allergic (reactive) to any of the metals or cements common to knee replacement surgery. You may have to pay out-of-pocket, but it's one less thing to worry about. Should an issue appear after surgery, dealing with it is not fun.

If your bone density allows, an experienced surgeon will opt to install a 'press-fit' (no cement) knee. Recovery time seems to be faster and the end-result is much stronger, physically bonding the implant into the leg bone matrix. A skilled surgeon makes this decision "on-the-fly" when they see how porous your bones are.

Interview physical therapists to ensure a solid connection and watch them work with others. This is an intimate, painful, aggravating, frightening relationship. Your PT must have true empathy, not just show you tough love. Perhaps a more mature PT whose vocabulary is not limited to "like", "awesome", and "trigger" would be less aggravating.

Your first PT visit will be the second or third day after surgery. Yes, this sounds crazy to a sane person, but it has proven long-term benefits. Go at least twice a week and avoid morning appointments since it takes time to warm up. When PT starts talking about "strength exercises" around week six, watch out. If you get terrible muscle aches and have trouble walking the next couple of days, force PT to go back to primarily range-of-motion. Plenty of time later to strengthen muscles.

Wear sensible slip-on shoes with arch support foot beds. https://amzn.to/4pDZyrt Consciously remind yourself to walk normally with equal strides, keeping your back straight and your eyes forward. Flip-flops and Crocs should be avoided. They are comfortable, but they are not supporting your feet and will change your stride. Plus, the last thing you want is to trip and fall. Have your PT show you how to get up. Leave chairs around the house to help you get back on your feet.

Sit in your chair with your foot elevated well above your hip. This allows gravity to pull your knee down and stretch those muscles in the back, so that you can get full range of motion sooner. Do not lie down with your knee bent over a half-dome cushion or folded pillow. You need to be stretching the knee out straight, as much as possible, or your recovery suffers.

Buy as many 'tools' as you can before surgery and practice with them. Remove the aggravation of being hobbled with clever helping-hand devices. Reduce pain, both mental and physical, every chance you get to keep a positive mindset. It may seem like your recovery is going too slow, but this is a serious surgery with long-term changes to your lifestyle. 

Rent a professional-duty commercial-sized ice machine for the first few weeks. Even if your insurance does not cover an ice machine, they are a life saver. These machines can cost a couple of thousand to buy, but renting one for $200 a week is doable. Your PT (or surgeon) should have units that you can rent. The best ice machines have a very large leg wrap pad that covers from crotch to calf.

Links to Amazon.com products we have tested...

https://amzn.to/4cqL2Ne ... Polar Active ice machine with 16 quart cooler allows for changing the frozen 16.9 ounce water bottles less often. This 12.5" by 22.5" pad is adequate after the initial swelling goes down around week three.

https://amzn.to/42yExDK ... Two or three XXL velcro ice wraps. These wrap all the way around your knee. Great for weaning yourself off the ice machine. Take them with you to PT sessions in a cooler for the car ride home.

https://amzn.to/4luQjYl ... Leg lifters are a must-have tool for the first month or two. I bought four so I had one in the car, one on my walker, one at bed, and one on the couch. You don't want to be without one.

https://amzn.to/46gMSOb ... Walker with an R-shaped design. Four textured handles that provide firm support, allowing the user to gradually transition from a lower position to a higher position comfortably, helps you stand up more easily.

https://amzn.to/4i9Xn9T ... Basket for your walker will save a lot of grief and keep your requests for fetching things to a minimum. One with a cup holder is key. Save yourself a few trips and it adds up over the coarse of a day.

https://amzn.to/3VRFfJ2 ... Ski gliders for walker feet prevents them from catching on rugs and lips in the floor. These are critical for the front legs of walkers without wheels, but work quite well for the rear feet on walkers too.

https://amzn.to/4lpNZlz ... A high-quality cane with 'shock absorbing' foot, wide supportive handle, wrist strap, and ability to fold-up is well worth the extra money. This one has a glow-in-the-dark foot to help find it at night.

https://amzn.to/4j4VYCL ... Cane holders for your walker will save you a lot of heartache. Keep your cane handy to speed transition away from the walker by allowing increasingly long trips away from it. 

https://amzn.to/4lujOte ... Memory foam bed wedges are well worth it. This set keeps you from rolling over in your sleep. Falling asleep is difficult (at best) in the beginning so anything that allows you to stay asleep longer is priceless.

https://amzn.to/44lJ92s ... A large 10 inch bed wedge is great for elevating your leg and forcing the knee to straighten when relaxing in your recliner. Use it with the thin side towards your knee and the thick side towards your heel.

https://amzn.to/4pmKKgs ... Two-piece double leg elevation pillow is a must-have. You might not get any sleep the first couple of weeks, but this will allow you to get comfortable. It raises knee above heart for better circulation.

https://amzn.to/3VL1zUL ... Portable urinal with four foot hose allows you to stay in bed. Getting up to go pee just ensures you don't get back to sleep easily. Nice tight-fitting cap. Lay a towel on the side of your bed to catch drips.

https://amzn.to/47MRzln ... Depends diaper underwear is not something anyone wants to think about, but you gotta have it. Humiliating in the worst way to have an accident during physical therapy or on the ride home.

https://amzn.to/48fSA5r ... Grabber reacher magnetic tool is a life-saver, buy a two pack. Nothing worse than dropping your keys or straining to reach a bag of chips. This set is magnetic and folds-up to fit in walker basket.

https://amzn.to/4j95qFq ... Herbal lymphatic system drainage tincture helps. Extreme swelling after knee surgery overwhelms your lymphatic system. Massaging with a dowel rod or tennis ball is key, but this tincture does help.

https://amzn.to/42yDZ0E ... Yoga balls allow for physical therapy at home. You might get by with a Medium size at 48-55 cm? Ask your PT. Sitting on one at your desk helps "develop your core" later.

https://amzn.to/4pmfVsd ... Horbäach turmeric and ginger to fight inflammation and acid reflux. Easy to swallow pill with no aftertaste is gentle on the stomach. They will help before and after weaning off prescriptions.

https://amzn.to/4joFBke ... Tubular cotton stockinettes are great for keeping your pants and sheets clean, and protecting your incision when wearing short pants after the surgery bandage is removed at around two weeks.

https://amzn.to/4i7U9Uh ... Scar cream can be applied at about 6 weeks (ask your surgeon). This one is reasonably priced and probably works as well as any, but there certainly is a huge selection of higher priced creams.

https://amzn.to/42pFtKn... Vibration plates 'passively' massage your leg. Handy to sit at your desk with feet on a vibration plate to gently massage legs, reducing lymphatic system inflammation. Vibration is known to speed bone growth and healing too. Place your foot in the center for less vibration in the beginning.

We wish you the best of success with your surgery and hope you have a speedy recovery.