How To Speed Up Recovery After Surgical Knee Injury Treatment
Meniscectomy, ACL reconstruction, and knee replacement are some of the common surgical procedures for knee injury treatment. Whatever the type, how well you follow the aftercare instructions provided by your doctor will influence how well, and how fast you recover after the surgery.
Here is a look at some easy-to-follow guidelines you can expect from your physician that will speed up your recovery.
Keep your Knee Brace On
If the doctor gives you a knee brace to wear after your surgical knee injury treatment, ensure that you wear it as much as you can. This aid helps with the initial knee immobilisation that is essential for recovery by keeping it straight. Additionally, the brace protects your knee by limiting your knee's range of motion and ensuring you don't strain it.
Some braces come with pockets for accommodating ice packs, and gels for hot/cold therapy. For a post-op knee brace with adjustable hinges, you can control how much you can flex and extend your knee depending on where you are on your recovery journey.
Physical Therapy
Physical therapy plays a big part in promoting faster recovery times after surgical knee injury treatment. The physiotherapist will tailor a program just for you, but the focus is typically on regaining muscle strength and with bending and extending exercises, restoring a full range of motion.
To get the most out of your physical therapy sessions calls for consistency. You should make sure you keep up with all your appointments. Also, ensure that you keep up with the adaptations and techniques recommended to you for at-home exercises.
Appropriate Exercises
Apart from your physiotherapist-guided exercises, you need to stay as active as you possibly can with appropriate exercise. Ensure that you keep moving to strengthen your muscles and avoid muscle atrophy. Moving around will also reduce the risk of developing blood clots.
As soon as you get the green light from your physician, start moving around, but do not forget to pace yourself while you are at it. You can start with bending and extending your knee while seated, and progress to walking around and even swimming. Over time, you should be able to get into more intense exercises such as cycling, but only after consulting with your doctor.
Depending on the type and severity of the injury, surgical intervention may be the recommended, or otherwise necessary option for knee injury treatment. To achieve a speedy and full recovery, you had best follow all the aftercare instructions provided, including those highlighted.
To learn more about knee injury treatment, feel free to reach out to knee surgeons to get more info.