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Today we are sharing with you some helpful knee surgery tips for pre and post op.

I just finished my second knee surgery last month, and it went SO much better pain wise and recovery too.

One of the reasons it was better is I had a planned surgery, my last one for a bucket handle meniscus tear was much harder in just about every way because I had no way to prepare for it. 

Even when I shared my month 5 update, my knee was still in bad shape.

When I found out I had another torn meniscus, I was scared to go through all that again. My orthopedic surgeon told me it shouldn’t be that way.

Here are some things I have done, and did before surgery to make sure things went better this time. 

Helpful Knee Surgery Tips For Pre and Post OP

Whenever I go through an experience with pain or joint problems, I really love to share them with you so it can hopefully help you too.

Many of our readers have gone through this like me, and some are about to. It is helpful to talk with each other on these things.

Here are my helpful knee surgery tips (also things that can help other surgeries like ankle or shoulder):

Also, please follow me on Instagram for tips and videos like this too. 

Strength train before surgery

On the weeks and months leading up to this knee surgery, I increased the amount of pilates I was doing in order to build up as much strength as possible in my legs.  The doctor told me it was important to stay as active as possible before surgery even with the injury. 

So, I did pilates 4 days a week and kept moving despite the pain. I tried walking too although with the torn meniscus pain, I wasn’t able to do that as much as I wanted.

Take collagen and eat a good diet before

I started taking liquid collagen in March, and I have continued that every month since then. I also made sure I was eating good protein and maintaining a healthy diet before surgery. This can help you with just about anything, but my doctor said it was crucial to do this before a knee surgery to make sure your body has less inflammation and in good shape. Taking collagen orally can be useful for tissue and joint support.

Get a shower stool if you don’t have a place to sit

After my last knee surgery, I couldn’t stand very well, but we had just redone our shower. I had a nice bench to sit on while I cleaned up. My new home didn’t have that type of shower, so I purchased this little shower stool. It doesn’t take up much room, but it makes it really helpful to sit down while you shower or even sponge bath. Whatever your directions are, this stool is great!

Consider getting a basic walker

They gave me crutches after my first knee surgery, but I had terrible balance and my home was not very safe. I fell once using crutches, and luckily my husband was right behind me. He went out that same day and bought just a basic walker. I liked this walker because it is light, but it also folds up easily.  It helps with balance and maneuvers great inside the home through doors, over rugs, and in the bathroom. It is much more safe! I use crutches for outside or when I am going somewhere, but the walker is my indoor go to after knee surgery.

Get a nerve blocker before surgery

As I mentioned, my first knee surgery was terrible in every way. One of the worst experiences with it was when I woke up from anesthesia, I was in debilitating pain! My anesthesiologist asked me if I wanted a nerve block. I said YES! They turned me over with that huge brace and inserted it in. I was crying so hard. For this surgery, I told my doctor I wanted it before. He said of course! That is what you should do. There is no sense in not getting one. 

For the second knee surgery, the anesthesiologist came in before surgery and inserted one in the front of my leg. It was painless because he gave me some medicine before. And it worked so well after surgery! I had very little pain for several days while that was still lingering. 

Your recovery will be better when you are in less pain.

Get An Ice Machine

When I had my first surgery, no one mentioned this to me nor did they offer one. For this surgery, they just set me right up with this machine  (shown above) while I was in recovery. I got to take it home too! You use it every few hours to keep swelling down, and is great! I also have an ice wrap I plan to use when I am more recovered, but for now, this one is really the best for post surgery swelling!

I also have the TheraICE knee and TheraICE headache wrap which are very helpful.

Move Your Knee As Soon As Possible

Now, this tip will very much depend on what type of surgery you are having, so ASK your doctor first. My surgeon after my first knee surgery told me not to bend it at all for the 1st week. That was a much more severe injury and the meniscus was completely torn. But due to not moving it around much, the scar tissue was very bad. My second knee surgery and surgeon for this one told me the scar tissue was so thick on my meniscus he almost couldn’t see the tear. He cleaned up all the scar tissue, and he told me to make sure I moved my knee and bent it (not past 90 degrees) even a few hours after surgery. It has made the recovery much better already!

But again, this is something your doctor will tell you for sure one. If they say you can move it, then move it as often as you can.

Ask For Nausea Medicine

I don’t take pain pills very well. After my first knee surgery, I was taking them as prescribed, but ended up throwing up violently for hours and had to go back to the ER the second night. They put me on anti-nausea medicine which helped right away. For this surgery, not only did they prescribe anti-nausea pills to take home, but they also gave me some at the hospital in an IV along with a patch behind my ear. I was able to keep my pain under control while taking the pain medicine and NOT getting sick.

Now that I know how I react to anesthesia and pain medicine, I always make sure to have those anti-nausea meds on hand. I think this is a great tip to ask your doctor about before a surgery! The problem with my first knee surgery was also not having any pain management due to getting sick from the medicine. Lesson learned!

If you find yourself needing surgery anytime soon, save this post  on helpful knee surgery tips. These preparations I did before my second knee surgery made it 100% more successful!

 

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