Note: Once again, this is only my personal experience. Everyone has a different healing trajectory; for every person you heard of who climbed Mt. Everest the day after surgery, there is someone still in a walker after a month (me; that was me) and still having issues months afterward. Do not take my surgery/recovery story as gospel for how your experience will go. Even my experiences between the two surgeries were vastly different. Talk to your own doctor/surgeon/physical therapist to determine what you need to do for YOUR best outcome.
I had my left knee replaced (LTKR) in December 2025. It began hurting back in February, after years of being pain-free. I woke up one morning and was in pain, just like that. I hadn’t done anything out of the ordinary the day before, didn’t step wrong, hit it against anything, etc. I gave it some time, and extra physical therapy, thinking maybe I had slept on it wrong. But after weeks—then months—of no improvement, it was time to see my doctor, who ordered x-rays and CT scans and all to refer me for surgery.
I had joined a gym, and per my doctor’s advice, began what is called “pre-hab” for surgery. The stronger you go into knee replacement surgery, the better you are equipped for the physical therapy and healing when you come out. I’ve always loved lifting, so I worked on leg-intensive routines—leg press, calf raise, leg extension, hamstring curl, hip abduction and adduction. As per my surgeon’s practice, I was also sent to a physical therapy session pre-op to take initial measurements to see exactly how much my mobility was affected.
The average person with healthy, functioning knees has a range of motion (ROM) of 0–140 or thereabouts. My ROM was 10–92. Meaning, I was unable to straighten my leg completely, nor was I able to bend it very far. The 10 degree bend in my knee was the main issue with my mobility; this puts a lot of strain on the quadslink, exhausting me after 5–10 minutes of being on my feet even just standing still. My physical therapist taught me the exercises I would be expected to do post-op and had me start on them right away.
My surgeon offered me the option of general anesthesia—just like you’d have with most other surgeries—or a spinal with a nerve block. The anesthesiologist explained both to me in detail, and said that my particular surgeon suggested the spinal/block; so that’s what I chose. (If you don’t trust your surgeon, why aren’t you finding someone else? I trust mine 100%.)
I was hooked up to an IV of course almost as soon as I checked in, and they pushed a tranquilizer (not sure exactly what?) and I started drifting off. I don’t remember much about the spinal; I was already blacked out, but I do remember the sensation of being sat up, hearing “feel a little pinch,” then the sensation of the injection. I don’t remember anything else until I woke up post-op.
Usually, between the spinal and the nerve block, you can go 24–48 hours before everything completely wears off and you get to spend that time relatively pain-free. Mine wore off in the recovery room. The nurse noticed I was getting uncomfortable and I told her that my leg was starting to hurt, BAD. She quickly pushed something through my IV and the pain was instantaneously gone.
Then the physical therapy team had me get up and walk (with a walker) to the restroom. Yes, you will be up and walking immediately once you’re awake enough. It was amazing because for once, nothing hurt. My surgery was at 8 am; I was home and in my own bed before 2 pm. My daughter sorted my meds for me for the week (oh, there will be many, many meds for at least a month).
I live alone, and from Day 1 I was able to care for the critters (letting the dogs in and out, cleaning the litter box, feeding everyone), walk around the house (with a walker for 4 weeks, then a cane for a few weeks), prepare meals (i.e., microwave the meals I had already prepped in advance), and even do some light housework. I credit my pre-hab: a good gym workout routine plus religiously doing my physical therapy. As per the surgeon’s/physical therapist’s instructions, I started my in-home PT on Day 2, and started in-person on Day 5.
I was cleared to drive (no longer taking opioids, very little pain, plus my car is an automatic and the surgery was on my left knee) after about 4 weeks. I was able to go back to the gym after about 3 months—to start pre-habbing for Surgery #2.