Wearing Support Stockings After Knee Replacement Surgery

Knee replacement surgery is an invasive procedure that involves removing the damaged joint and inserting an artificial knee joint in its place. Afterwards, most patients undergoing total knee replacement surgery are told by their doctors to wear compression stockings. Compression garments are meant to improve blood flow in the part of the body where they're worn. When it comes to knee replacement surgery, thigh-high support stockings are worn daily during recovery to assist in improved circulation.

Purpose
After knee replacement surgery, patients must stay off their feet for a few days, although foot, ankle and leg motion exercises are recommended to assist in stimulating blood flow. The compression stockings are used to improve blood circulation and minimize the risks of blood clots. They also help to keep swelling down. The patient's orthopedist or surgeon can recommend the proper size and type of support socks, including how long and how often they should be worn. Incisions may run about six inches to a foot long and will be sutured or stapled shut. The patient wears a dressing over the wound until it heals. The compression stockings can be worn over the wound dressing.

Duration
Recovery from knee replacement surgery lasts several weeks to several months. Within a few days of surgery, patients will learn from a physical therapist how to move their new joint and begin a program for standing and walking. Most patients are released from the hospital once they are able to get in and out of bed and walk with the assistance of crutches. The stockings should be worn for longer periods of time in the beginning, with the patient following the doctor's recommendations on how long to take them off and when to keep them on. After a time, they will only be worn during the daytime, and eventually may not be needed, depending on the individual.

Style
Support Stockings after knee replacement surgery typically pull up to the thigh. There are support knee-highs and waist-high styles also available, but due to the location of the surgical site, the blood flow is not normal at the knee and must be stimulated.

Changes in Time
The early days of compression hosiery began with thick white stockings with bold seams running down the back of the legs. They were often toeless, made of a rubber blend and smelled funny. Today's compression stockings come in white, beige and black. The seams and toes are optional and the material is more likely made of a nylon blend. While some brands still use rubber components, it is more likely a small percentage of silicone rubber in a weave with nylon and other stretchy fabrics. While some patients find their feet smell funny, it is often when they are cooped up in shoes or slippers that don't breathe. Lotion on the feet or powder in the shoes will help to alleviate foot odor.

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Physical Therapy for Knee Replacement - What Patients Should Expect

When you have had a knee replacement, you have not only experienced major surgery, you have completely redone an important part of your physical make up, replacing what is natural with plastic and metal. You should expect this to require many months of recovery and up to a year before your new knee feels completely comfortable. Physical therapy will begin in the hospital on the very day you have surgery. Your leg may be placed in a continuous passive motion machine which will gently move the leg for 4 to 6 hours a day, each day that you are in the hospital. Physical therapy will start on the day after your surgery.

By the time you are released from the hospital, depending on how well you are coping post-surgically, you should be able to walk with the assistance of a walker or crutches, as long as the surface is even, go up 2 or 3 stairs, be able to extend your knee full and be able to bend it at a 90 degree angle. Your physical therapist will teach you to go upstairs leading off with your unaffected leg and go down stairs by leading off with the leg you had surgery on. Remember during the time that you are having physical therapy for knee replacement, it is important that while you do the exercises to improve your knee daily, it is just as important that you do not try to rush the return of your daily routine.

It's important to remember that during healing you not use a pillow under your knee while laying down or sitting to avoid the knee staying in that bent position. Swelling will be common and can be treated by elevating your ankle and knee above your heart and using ice packs. Creams like Ben Gay which are used as analgesics should not be used on your knee. The greatest physical therapy for knee replacement patients is walking. When appropriate, biking and swimming are also encouraged, usually 4-6 weeks after surgery, making sure to take care how you enter and exit a pool or use the bike. Stationary bikes should have no resistance on the pedals.

While physical therapy for knee replacement recover may continue on for several months, other activities can be slowly added back into your schedule. After six weeks, normal physical relations with your partner may resume. If you play golf, this may be resumed after 12 weeks, but activities that cause excessive stress and can wear out a replaced knee quickly include football, jogging, jumping, and other jarring activities that may loosen the hardware. As each knee may only be operated on twice with this type of surgery, it's very important to follow the instructions of your doctors and physical therapists carefully.

Jerry Seaman is a two-time knee replacement patient and former state wrestling champion. He knows about knee replacements and the challenges you face. At age 65, just 8 weeks after his second knee replacement surgery Jerry is able to squat 205 lbs for 20 reps, stand and balance on a basketball, hang upside down on a bar 12 feet off the ground, and has a full 135 degrees of flexion in his knee. He has developed a complete recovery plan which includes exercises for flexibility and strengthening, a diet program to support weight loss and improved muscle tone, and his unique and powerful Success Mind-set program. It's all available on one simple CD. Find it on his site http://www.knee-replacement-video.com/