Most patients can do most things by 6 weeks after surgery.
The most common “allergy” to metals is skin sensitivity to nickel. While most of the scientific data suggests little relationship between skin sensitivity and a true allergy, if you have a skin sensitivity to nickel please let us know and we can avoid nickel containing implants (although the amount of nickel in these components is very small).
Most patients are comfortable returning to work 6-8 weeks after surgery. We can provide a maximum recovery time of 12 weeks.
Journal Article: Do patients return to work after total knee arthroplasty?
Research shows that at one year after surgery, there is no difference in the range of motion or flexibility of patients who use a CPM or bending machine after surgery compared to patients who did not use one. Hence, we do not use these routinely and only use them in patients who are having a re-do or revision surgery specifically for a stiff knee or in patients who are having trouble with their range of motion after surgery.
We recommend that you use a walker, crutches or a cane for the first week after surgery. If you feel that you can walk safely without something after a week you may do so.
We would recommend that you work on exercises that focus on knee flexion/extension and also hip strengthening. Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush now has six physical therapy locations (https://www.rushortho.com/clinical-staff/physical-therapists) and we highly recommend these facilities as we know the physical therapists there and they will call us directly if you are having any type of an issue or problem that we need to be aware of. You may chose to do exercises on your own with the guidance of our texting service.
