Rehabilitation after knee arthroscopy

Active joints are often injured, among which the knee joint is the most vulnerable, because the knee is the most frequently active joint and is also a part that is very easy to be injured. Once the knee joint is injured, the best treatment is knee arthroscopy. Although knee arthroscopy is a very common orthopedic minimally invasive surgery, postoperative rehabilitation is also very important. How to perform functional exercises after knee arthroscopy.

1. After 6 hours after the operation, when the anesthesia disappears, the patient can be asked to perform ankle exercises. Method: The patient sits or lies down, straightens the knees, and flexes and dorsiflexes the ankle joint to the maximum extent, holds for 3 to 5 seconds, repeats 15 times, 8 to 12 times a day.

2. After 24 hours, perform isometric and isotonic contraction of the quadriceps femoris, lasting for 5 seconds and then relaxing once, 300 times/day, divided into 4 to 5 times. Through muscle contraction and relaxation, blood circulation in the affected limb is promoted, limb swelling is reduced, and preparation for leg lifting exercises is prepared.

3. On the second day after surgery, instruct the patient to do straight leg raise hamstring contraction exercises. Straight leg raising method: The patient lies on his back with both legs straight, and the lower leg is straightened, lifted and lowered. Start by assisting the patient to raise it about 10°, then slowly lower it, from passive to active, gradually raising it to 35°, not exceeding 45°. If it exceeds 45°, the quadriceps will lose its tension strength and become a force to exercise the hip flexors. Stay for 3 to 5 seconds, then slowly lower it. Practice this exercise every 2 to 3 hours, each time for 5 to 10 minutes. The hamstring contraction exercise method is: the patient sits or lies flat, flexes the knee joint 10°, pushes the heel down on the bed, holds for 5 seconds, and repeats 10 times.

4. 3 to 5 days after surgery, patients are encouraged to get out of bed with the help of crutches and start joint range of motion exercises under the guidance of a doctor, but they are not encouraged to walk too much. The purpose is to relieve pain and swelling, prevent deep vein thrombosis in the lower limbs, and restore normal joint movement. Patients are guided in a planned manner to adopt the principle of active exercise as the main and passive exercise as the auxiliary, and gradually increase the exercise time. Generally start with knee flexion 30 degrees, twice a day, 60 minutes each time. According to the patient's tolerance, the angle was increased by 10 to 15 degrees every day. One week after surgery, the passive knee flexion reached 90 degrees, and in the second week it reached 100 to 110 degrees.