By the time you’re encouraged to go for total knee replacement surgery, you’ve probably spent plenty enough time battling and in severe pain. That is the upside to surgeries of this magnitude, because you’re likely at your wit’s end by now.
In addition, the Texas Joint Institute advises preparing for any major surgery takes time, particularly for a total knee replacement. There are aspects that you need to prepare for long before the day of your operation.
You will encounter difficult times on your road to recovery, both physically and mentally. You must be aware of the ups and downs that come with recovery after an operation like this one.
There are five things that you can do that will make your recovery process quicker and easier. These include the following:
- Remove Trip Hazards
A knee replacement is a massive surgery, and your recovery will take anywhere from six months to a full year. In the time before your operation, you need to ensure that your living space is adequately prepared for post-surgery.
That means you need to clear walkways around your furniture and remove any trip hazards that may slow you down. The very last thing you need during your recovery period is to suffer a fall.
- Arrange a One-Level Living Space
As mentioned in the point above, you are in for a long recovery journey, and you need to make things as easy as possible for yourself. If possible, you should try and arrange to spend your recovery months in one-level living space because knee replacements and stairs are not friends.
If that is not possible, your next best option is to hire a chair lift that you can use to get around both levels of your home.
- Use an Experienced Surgeon
A complete knee replacement surgery can take anywhere from sixty minutes to three hours to complete successfully. Check with your primary care physician and ask them to provide you with a list of trusted orthopedic surgeons who specialize in knee replacement surgeries.
If something does go wrong during your operation, you need to consult your physician as soon as possible because that will affect your recovery journey. Like with the most recent Exactech recalls, you could be able to discuss your legal options with a professional.
- Prepare Mentally
By the time you’re encouraged to go for knee replacement surgery, you’ve probably spent plenty enough time battling and in severe pain. That is the upside to surgeries of this magnitude, because you’re likely at your wit’s end by now.
You need to ensure that you understand the physical and mental toll that this type of surgery will take on your mind and body – that is the only way you can even remotely start to prepare for it. Mental preparation is just as important as physical preparation.
- Learn To Be Patient
With any surgery that has a lengthy recovery time, patience is everything. Do not push your body before it is ready because that will likely end up pushing your healing backward instead of forwards.
Be patient with your mind and your body; there will be days where the frustration will overwhelm you but hang in there – it will get easier; it just needs time.