How active can I be after knee replacement?

As the educator for our surgical team, I hear several concerns that prospective patients have regarding knee replacement. The most common of these is:  "I will have to give up my active lifestyle if I have my knee replaced."

The idea that having knee replacement surgery consigns you to a lifestyle of minimal activity is not necessarily true. While there will be a period of intense recovery, the whole idea of knee replacement surgery is to get you back to doing the things you love. These often include activities such as skiing, martial arts and racquet sports. We have several patients that return to high levels of competition in sports such as table tennis, Grand Canyon hiking and mountain biking. We also have patients that work in highly physical jobs like SWAT, firefighting and airline ground crew.  

Our philosophy is to improve your lifestyle and activity level with knee replacement. All aspects of you, as the patient, are considered when making the decision for surgery. We are here to guide you along the way and will be there to answer any questions you may have. Our definition of recovery is "I can do anything I desire and I don't think about my knee." This does take some time after knee replacement, but rest assured, we are here to help you attain your post operative goals.

Having your knee replaced does not "put you out to pasture"; quite the contrary, it gives you the opportunity to keep pursuing your goals in life.