Post-Operative

• Shortly after surgery, you will be asked to perform simple exercises in your recovery room. While you may feel tentative in performing these, you will reduce your pain and recovery time by doing so. These exercises are not weight-bearing and can be done right in your bed.
  
  Contract your quadricep (thigh) muscle and hold it for five seconds and repeat 10 times over two minutes. If you can hold this for 10 seconds, that will strengthen the knee sooner. This is an isometric exercise that develops stability when you do move it.
  
  Move into ankle pumps. This is a simple exercise where you knee is extended and you pull your toes up to the sky and then point them out toward the wall. Do this for several minutes at a time several times every hour.
  
  Those build stability. Now you will begin to move the knee by bending it by sliding your foot to your buttocks. Don't lift your foot up; this may cause too much strain on the knee.
  
  From a sitting position with your feet on the floor, extend your foot up as far as you can by using your other foot to guide it up from behind the ankle. This is called a sitting-supported kneebend. When you feel strong enough, you can do this without using the other foot in an unsupported kneebend.
  
  

Activity

• There are many reasons for you to get up and around after knee replacement surgery. The first is to maintain activity levels and general health. But in knee replacement surgery in particular, you want to begin taking the knee through movements it will need to relearn for daily activities such as walking, stair-climbing and sitting down.
  
  Start with walking aided by a walker. Stand erect and don't lean over the walker. This will strain your back and possibly the knee. Use the walker to make small advances forward, putting only as much weight as you can. When walking, lift the toe first and remember to place the heal down before the toe makes contact with the floor. There is no rush when walking -- just moving and relearning the basics of stepping with your new knee.
  
  When going up or down stairs, you need a strong and flexible knee. Use a handrail when you start ascending and descending stairs to support your knee that won't be strong enough to handle the incline. When going up, lead with your good leg to provide support and utilize the strength it has in climbing. When you come down, lead with the weaker new knee to prevent yourself from falling due to lack of strength.
  
  

Advanced Exercises

• As you develop more strength in your knee, you will begin to do more intense activities that challenge your knee's range of motion and strength. You will be doing kneebends while standing, using a walker or rail to support you. You can also use a towel around your ankle to gently pull and guide your knee into a bent position by bringing your ankle toward your buttocks.
  
  Use an exercise cycle to gain fluid motion with your knee. Start with the seat very high so that your legs are nearly straight, reducing the bend required. Go backward with little resistance until you are comfortable with the motion. Increase the bend and change the direction of the pedaling as you get stronger.