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- Congratulations! You’ve completed your total knee replacement. The first 12 weeks after surgery are critical to ensuring you get the best function possible with your new knee. This video series will take you through the activities and exercises you need to do to make that happen.

First, a little reminder. Your surgery was done in a minimally invasive fashion to help you make a rapid recovery. In addition, robotic guidance with artificial intelligence was used to create a model of your knee joint that was used to pick the perfect implants to give you the best possible range of motion. In the bad old days when legacy surgeons took down muscles and the implants were not the perfect fit recovery required extensive physical therapy and strengthening for six to twelve months. Times have changed. You may choose to engage in physical therapy; but many of our patients have achieved excellent recoveries without it. You should expect to make a complete recovery from surgery in 1-2 weeks, and fully strengthen and “on board” your new knee within 8-12 weeks after the day of surgery.

This video series is led by Dr. Amy Cannatta, DC and Ashley Baratko. Dr. Amy received her Bachelor of Science and Doctor of Chiropractic degrees at the University of Bridgeport College of Chiropractic in 2005. She was specialty certified in Neurodiagnostics at the Palmer College of Chiropractics in Port Orange, Florida in 2018. Dr. Amy has practiced chiropractic medicine in Connecticut as well as Arizona. She joined Phoenix Spine and Joint in 2017. Ashley Baratko has worked for five years as a physical therapy assistant and is applying to enter physical therapy college to study for her doctorate.

You have three goals for the first week of recovery after your minimally invasive robotic assisted knee replacement surgery. The first goal is to walk one hundred feet without a walker. You were given a walker when you left Phoenix Spine Surgery Center. The purpose of the walker is to ensure that you do not fall! Most people feel stable walking without the walker after the first day or two; some require the walk through the first week. Regardless, by the end of the week, you should be able to walk 100 feet.

The second goal is to regain 80 degrees range of motion in your new knee. This is best done sitting and standing out of a chair. In the video Dr. Amy and Ashley will coach you on how to safely reach your goal.

The third and final goal is to regain extension (straightening) of your knee. When standing the knee bends forward beyond straight up and down. The exercises in the video will enable you to reach the –10 degrees (ten beyond straight) needed for proper gait.

The first exercise is done on a chair. Sit down comfortably, then scoot yourself forward on the chair so that your knee is at a 90-degree angle to the ground. Hold this position for two minutes. Some discomfort is normal, and this should decrease as you progress through the week as your recovery progresses. Release your knee by straightening your leg, then repeat. You should do this exercise for at least two hours throughout the day.

The second exercise for your total knee recovery ensures you regain full extension of your new knee. This is crucial to having walking normally without any limp after your full recovery. The second exercise is also done sitting on a chair. Place your heel on a second chair in front of you with your toes pointed to the ceiling. Take care not to let your hip rotate inward or outward.

Complications such as blood clots, infection (urinary tract, pneumonia, surgical site), heart problems or dislocation almost never happen; however, we are always on the lookout for them. It is always better to be safe than sorry. Let your surgeon know if you experience any of the following:

bleeding or drainage from your incision site

Skin redness around the incision that is getting larger

Painful urination

Cough

Chest pain

Shortness of breath

Swelling that does not respond to elevation and compression

Temperature greater than 100.4 sustained over 24 hours

In addition, let your surgeon know if you are unable to do the exercises shown in the video.

At Phoenix Spine and Joint we’ve seen how minimally invasive robotic assisted total knee replacement changes lives. We’re excited for you as you begin your journey and get BACK IN THE GAME!