A physical therapist can be helpful if you have microfracture surgery on the knee. Your rehabilitation program for knee microfracture must be built on exercises. Active and passive exercises will ensure that your knee muscles are functioning properly. Your physical therapist will work closely with you after knee surgery to improve your knee range and strength. They may also offer other strategies to reduce pain and swelling to help you return to your normal life as quickly as possible.
Physical therapy may be beneficial for you after microfracture surgery. After knee microfracture surgery, your physical therapist (PT), will work with you to improve your knee range, strength, and function. Your PT will be able to provide you with strategies to reduce pain and swelling and to help you get back to your normal running and walking. Some of these exercises include
Motion range
After knee microsurgery, maintaining a healthy knee range of motion should be a priority. After microfracture surgery, the motion of the knee joint is important to prevent the joints from sliding and gliding on each other. A gentle motion helps keep the joint surface smooth and stimulates healing cartilage. Your physical therapist might recommend using a continuous passive movement machine to maintain your knee range of motion. This machine will rhythmically straighten and bend your knee while lying on your back.
The CPM will bend your knee for the first few weeks. After four weeks, it should bend 90 degrees. Your physical therapist may recommend the heel slide exercise to increase range of motion. Here is how to do it.
- Place a towel underneath your heel and lie on your back.
- Slowly bring your heel towards your hips, and then bend your knee.
- When you feel a slight stretch, stop.
- Do not push yourself beyond the point where it becomes painful
- Now hold this position for a second, then straighten your leg.
- If you feel severe pain, consult your physical therapist immediately.
While improving range of motion is a key component of microfracture surgery, many other important exercises can also be done. We will discuss these later.
