Any kind of surgery comes with some kind of risk factor and should not be taken lightly. Knee surgery is necessary for some people, though, and can give your knees an entire new life. If you are experiencing any kind of knee pain, especially if it is severe, you need to contact a knee surgeon, like someone from Premier Osteoarthritis Centers of Pennsylvania, as soon as possible to be evaluated. Your knee surgeon will be able to go over what the best options for you personally would be and how to move forward with less pain in the long run.
You Will Need Time to Recover
If you decide to move forward with getting surgery, you need to realize that there is a recovery time involved with any kind of surgery. Since you use your knees for virtually anything you do, it is important to be able to take a good amount of time to rest and let them heal after going under the knife. The RICE protocol will be important to follow after getting knee surgery. Broken down, this means:
- Rest: You need to take time to rest your knees after surgery and should absolutely not partake in any vigorous activity. You should plan it during a time you are able to relax.
- Ice: It is important to keep ice on your knees to promote healing after surgery. This will reduce swelling and help ease some of the pain you may be feeling.
- Compression: Using compression after surgery should be done with care. Your knee surgeon will be able to tell you if this is a good idea for your case or not and how to do it safely, if so.
- Elevate: You need to elevate your legs after surgery to promote healing. You can do this by using pillows in bed or putting your legs up on a couch armrest while you are relaxing and healing. This will be good for your blood flow and help reduce swelling in your knees.
It is not realistic to think that you will be able to do everything after getting a serious surgery. This is why it is important to weigh all of your options and decide what the best thing for you to do will be.
Many People Get Knee Surgery Every Day
Although the decision to get surgery should never be taken lightly, so many Americans get knee surgery each and every day. Whether they were injured in an accident or have a chronic condition like arthritis, knee surgery can help a wide range of ailments. If you decide to move forward with knee surgery, you can rest assured that many people find that it gives them a new lease on life. This means that surgeons have also had a lot of practice on making knees better and scientists have come up with great ways to make your knees stronger and fix any common issues that people complain about. There has been enough research that you should feel comfortable going through with it if your medical professionals recommend surgery.