Knee replacement

Here is my story

After surgery I still had complications/troubles with:

  • Pain on the inside of my knee
  • Bending my knee properly
  • Tying my shoe laces
  • Intermittent back spasms
  • Walking for longer than 1 hour – my knee still swells up.
  • Going up or down stairs still feels difficult

Their assessment

  • My glute muscles were not firing at all – even though I was doing the correct exercises
  • My left leg also tested very weak – I didn’t isolate the left knee with training as I did most exercises with both legs. So my right leg dominated the movements.
  • I had a “block” in my left lower back – the same side as my knee pain
  • A restriction in tissue in the left calf prevented my knee from bending to its full capacity (for a replaced knee).

Their plan of action for me

  • I was given foam rolling exercises to release the left side of my back and my left calf – this was followed by specific stretches to improve these areas only
  • I had to do various glute strengthening exercises
  • I was instructed to only train the left leg to reduce the deficit between the two sides
  • I did many functional exercises to improve quality of movement in my everyday activities
  • I am walking much better with greater range in my knee, no more pain and I no longer experience swelling