After Total Knee Replacement: Your First Days at Home

By Dr. Shayne Kelly, DO — Fellowship-Trained Sports Medicine Surgeon · Tri-City Orthopedics, Kennewick, WA

The early exercises Dr. Kelly gives his patients for the first weeks after surgery, until physical therapy takes over.

Educational information, not medical advice. This is not a substitute for the specific instructions Dr. Kelly and your physical therapist give you. Your timeline depends on your surgery, your body, and your progress. Follow your own care team’s directions. In an emergency, call 911.

Precautions — read first

Walk with your walker or crutches, putting weight on the leg as tolerated. Ice 20 minutes of every hour and elevate the leg for swelling and pain. Your outpatient physical therapy starts within days of surgery — these exercises fill the gap and continue alongside PT.

Ankle Pumps (leg elevated) 10-15 times, every hour while awake

With the leg elevated, pull your toes up toward you, then point them down.

Quad Sets 10-15 times. 2-3 sets, 2-3 times a day

With the leg straight, tighten the muscles on the front of your thigh, pressing the back of the knee down. Hold 5 seconds. Relax.

Knee Extension with Gentle Overpressure Hold 30-60 seconds. 5 times, 2-3 times a day

Sitting with your heel propped on a stool or rolled towel, let the knee straighten, then press gently downward on the thigh with your hands to encourage it fully straight.

Heel Slides 10-15 times, 2-3 times a day

Lying on your back, slowly slide your heel toward your buttock to gently bend the knee. Slide back out straight.

When to call

Call Dr. Kelly’s office at (509) 460-5588 for fever over 101°F, increasing redness or drainage at incisions, pain that is worsening instead of improving, or new numbness or tingling. For chest pain or trouble breathing, call 911.

Questions about your recovery?

Dr. Kelly sees patients at Tri-City Orthopedics in Kennewick.

Request an Appointment