Depending on the type of procedure you received, you may be asked to avoid fully bearing weight on the affected knee for up to six weeks. You may be able to climb stairs a few days after surgery, but it's important to be careful and go slowly. You should use handrails for support and take one step at a time.
You can walk up and down stairs. Just remember to hold onto the hand rail. You do not need crutches when walking (unless your surgeon has told you to use them). If your surgeon has told you to use crutches, follow your surgeon's instructions.
Guidelines after Total Knee Replacement surgery
By the time you have left the hospital/rehab facility, you should be able to get in-out of bed by yourself, walk with the cane, and go up and down stairs. The biggest challenge in the early recovery of a TKR (up to 3 months postoperative) is the regaining of knee motion.
Immediately after surgery you will learn to climb stairs safely using crutches. As recovery continues and you work on flexion and extension of the new knee, you will be able to climb without crutches. With the help of physical therapy and building up the quadriceps muscles, stair climbing will be a breeze.
Sometimes even activities of daily living such as going up and down stairs or getting in and out of cars may produce pain in a knee with a torn meniscus.
Do not engage in prolonged periods of standing or walking during the first 7-10 days after surgery. Avoid long periods of sitting (without leg elevated) or long distance traveling for 2 weeks. The first two days after surgery you can expect a small amount of red-tinged drainage on your dressings.
You may be able to return to most of your regular activities within a few weeks. But it will be several months before you have complete use of your knee. It may take as long as 6 months before your knee is strong enough for hard physical work or certain sports.
To drive you must no longer be taking narcotic pain pills (plain Tylenol is allowed). Also, you must feel strong and alert. Most people are able to start driving 1-2 weeks after surgery, but use your judgment as to when you feel ready and safe to drive. Crutches are required following surgery.
Most patients are off crutches at or around the time of the first follow-up visit after surgery (2 weeks), but some may still require them at that time. Don't worry if you need crutches longer than 2 weeks- remember that everyone's recovery is different.
Goal for first 2 weeks after surgery is to make sure your knee fully straightens and bends to 90 degrees. After 2 weeks, goal is to increase knee bending and initiate muscle strengthening.
If your torn meniscus was repaired with suture, you will be wearing a knee immobilizer to keep your knee straight. You should keep the knee straight in the immobilizer anytime Page 3 you are putting your weight on your leg, but may bend your knee up to 90 degrees when you are not putting any weight on your leg.
So unfortunately, having a meniscal tear which requires surgery may raise your risk of getting arthritis later in life. It has also been shown that a knee that has undergone meniscus surgery has weaker thigh muscles and poorer quality of cartilage 4 years after the surgery [3].
Motion is typically restricted for first 4 to 6 weeks to allow the meniscus to heal.
It's important to have support when you climb and descend stairs, especially immediately after surgery. If your home has stairs and doesn't already have a guardrail or bannister installed, ask someone to complete this task before you have surgery.
“Climbing stairs causes more force to go through the leg than walking does,” says occupational therapist Julie Dorsey, OTD, OTR/L, an Associate Professor of Occupational Therapy at Ithaca College in Ithaca, New York. “That can irritate already inflamed joints.”
When a true meniscus repair is performed, your surgeon is likely to recommend a period of limited weight-bearing (using crutches or walker for walking) and limited motion. They may also recommend using a knee brace. These measures are taken in order to protect the repair and give it a chance to heal.
Crutches will be necessary for 2-7 days after surgery. Rehabilitation to gain full ROM should occur within 1-2 weeks. Heavy work or sports may be restricted for the first 4-6 weeks. Complicated arthroscopic repair of a meniscus tear requires that the patient's knee be completely immobilized for 2 weeks after surgery.
You will recover more quickly if you carefully follow all your doctor's instructions. In your first days after surgery, you will need apply ice frequently and elevate your knee above your heart to help relieve swelling. Be sure to get plenty of sleep, to help your body heal.
Burn more calories
First, walking up and down stairs burns more calories than walking on a flat surface at a moderate pace. How many calories you burn depends on your weight, but going down stairs burns between 175 and 275 calories per hour and going up stairs burns 530 to 835 calories per hour.
In addition to runner's knee and osteoarthritis, another common reason your knee may hurt when going upstairs is a ligament injury. The knee joint is held together by strong bands of tissue called ligaments. There are four main ligaments in the knee joint, which include: The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL)