Have you heard that arthroscopic knee surgery can be excruciatingly painful? Is this preventing you from having knee surgery?
(ACL) Arthroscopic knee surgery can be painful after the event, but for 48 hours, the pain will subside with pain management. You will experience a fair amount of swelling and stiffness, so sleep with your leg elevated to reduce pain and swelling.
How can I sleep comfortably after ACL surgery?
You will need to take your pain meds before going to bed; you must keep your knee straight.
ACL surgery can be excruciating once the anesthetic wears off. The use of pain medication is a must for at least the first 48 hours.
You will need to learn how to sleep after ACL surgery, but it’s straightforward. You can sleep on your side or back. Place a pillow between your legs for extra comfort and avoid crossing your legs that can place undue strain on tendons.
ACL tears are painful and debilitating, to say the least. If you are a sports person, an ACL tear can be the start of the end of your career.
However, to have the best chance of recovering fully, you need to sleep. Sleep is as vital as any other part of the recovery process, so don’t neglect sleep.
After a short time, you will find that the pain will subside, and you will be able to place some weight on your leg again.
Due to the severe nature of an ACL tear, you should follow the guidance of your physiotherapist to the letter.
How should you sleep after arthroscopic knee surgery?
With pain medication for the first 48 hours. Let’s not imagine that arthroscopic knee surgery can cause a fair amount of pain despite just having a few small puncture wounds.
You need to know the precise way of how to sleep after knee arthroscopy to prevent causing further pain and discomfort.
Initially, sleep on your back with a pillow between your knees. The pillow prevents you from inadvertently crossing your surgical leg over the centerline of your body.
After a few days, you should be able to sleep on your side with a pillow between your legs supporting your knee.
It’s surprising how quickly the initial pain subsides, and you limp around your home with just a swollen, stiff knee.
You may also experience aching in your thigh, and this is from the fluid that fills your knee to allow the surgery slowly creeps up your leg, causing discomfort.
Do I sleep with a knee brace after meniscus surgery?
Yes, you will sleep with a knee brace to keep your leg straight. It’s essential to keep your leg elevated above your heart to reduce swelling.
Possibly the best way to elevate your leg is by placing a pillow under your ankle.
After a couple of weeks and with your doctor’s say-so, you can sleep without the knee brace if you wish, but its best to wear it as long as you can during the recovery process.
What is the fastest way to recover from meniscus surgery?
Follow your doctor’s instructions to the letter. Use ice whenever you can to help reduce the swelling around the knee joint.
People are surprised when they hear that sleep is a major factor in the recovery process. Sleep as much as you can through the night avoid napping during the day. This will disrupt your nighttime sleep.
Ditch alcohol during the recovery period and try to avoid drinking coffee after midday and tea. Caffeine takes around 8 hours to get out of your system.
Sleep is the key to fast recovery.
How to sleep comfortably after patella tendon surgery
For the first two weeks, your brace will be locked at zero degrees to keep your leg straight, place your ankle on a pillow and elevate your leg above your heart to reduce swelling.
After two weeks, you may unlock the brace when you sleep, subject to approval from your doctor.
Quadriceps or patellar tendon surgery has a long recovery time, so you must understand how to sleep after patellar tendon surgery.
How long does a ruptured patellar tendon take to heal?
From 3 to 12 months, a ruptured patellar tendon is a serious injury with an ample recovery time. During the recovery period, you must take things easy to recover fully. Overdoing things could extend the recovery period further.
After surgery, you will not be able to ambulate without the assistance of crutches; when can you discard the crutches? When you can walk without a limp.
Will a patellar rupture end your sports career?
Without divine intervention, the ruptured patellar can be life-changing. The patellar tendon anchors the quadriceps muscle to your shinbone and the tibia.
Without a 100% healed tendon which rarely happens, the tendon will always have a weakness.
How can I sleep comfortably after PCL knee surgery?
Another devastating injury to the knee takes a long time to recover from. To recover fully, you will need to learn how to sleep after PCL surgery.
You will sleep with your leg straight in a knee brace locked at zero degrees to prevent the knee from moving.
You will need to sleep on your back with your leg elevated above your heart to reduce swelling and increase the recovery speed.
Things that will aid your sleep are icing the knee frequently throughout the day for the first few days after surgery.
Take your pain meds as prescribed and at the frequency prescribed. Your doctor may prescribe something like Ambien for a few nights to help you sleep through the pain.
How long is recovery from PCL surgery?
9 months to 1 year. It’s a serious injury, and PCL reconstruction takes a long time to get over. The importance of sleep during the recovery period should not be underestimated. Sleep encourages the body to heal more than most things.
How high should your bed be after knee surgery?
More than the height, you will need a firm, comfortable mattress. There are recommendations that the bed should be at knee height. But, it is not a requirement to buy a new bed before surgery if the bed is higher.
In fact, a higher mattress will make it easier for you to get in and out of bed. For the next month, your leg that has not been operated on will bear most of your weight.
Sleeping position after knee surgery
Front
It is generally not recommended to sleep on your stomach after ACL surgery. This is because sleeping on your stomach can put strain on your knees and hips, which can be painful and potentially damaging to the healing tissues in your knee.
It is usually recommended to sleep on your back or on your side after ACL surgery, with a pillow placed between your legs to help keep your hip and knee joints aligned. It is also important to follow any specific instructions provided by your doctor or physical therapist regarding sleep positions and any other post-surgery care recommendations.
Side
Can you sleep on your side after knee surgery? Wait for at least a week before you try to sleep on your side. Keep in mind that your leg will be straight for 6 weeks, so sleeping on your side will be a challenge for two reasons. First, you need to keep your leg straight, and most side sleepers bend their knees.
The second reason is you can place a lot of pressure on your knee from side sleeping, making the pain levels unbearable. However, if this is your thing, place a pillow between your knees and see how it goes.
Of course, sleep on the opposite side to the knee that has had the surgical procedure.
Back
Sleeping on your back is usually a safe and comfortable position after ACL surgery, as long as you use a pillow to support your knee and keep it in a comfortable position.
You may also find it helpful to use a body pillow to support your hips and knees and help keep your body in proper alignment while you sleep.
It’s important to follow any specific instructions provided by your doctor or physical therapist regarding sleep positions and any other post-surgery care recommendations.
It is also a good idea to listen to your body and choose a position that feels comfortable and allows you to sleep soundly.
How do you shower after ACL surgery?
Carefully! Your leg will be bandaged, and you will need to keep it dry to protect the incision. You can buy waterproof leg protectors from Amazon relatively cheaply. They have a tight neoprene waterproof band that will seal most thighs and keep the dressing dry.
If you find it difficult to stand in the shower on one leg, you can use a plastic shower stool to make showering easy. It’s not recommended to sit in the bath.
If your doctor asks you to wait a little longer before showering, your option is a sponge bath.
Why does my thigh hurt after ACL surgery?
If the surgeon has used a camera before surgery, the fluid in your leg creeps into your thigh, which can be painful. Pain in the thigh is a normal experience, particularly if you are active.
When muscles start to waste, they can become painful. You can combat this by doing some static quadricep exercises to retain some muscle mass.
Is it OK to bend your knee after ACL surgery?
Yes, you will need to start bending the knee as soon as possible. In the past, the physiotherapist would have had your knee on a continuous movement machine (CPM), but they are not so common these days as surgeons move away from old techniques.
You must follow your doctor’s instructions as not all ACL repairs are the same. You must be careful of hyperextending the knee, which could cause some damage to the ACL.
Is walking good after ACL surgery?
You can walk two days after surgery. Sounds great? You will only be allowed to walk for a few minutes every day just to keep circulation moving, that will help to disperse the swelling around the knee joint.
These few minutes each day will also help with the atrophy of your quadriceps.
Do you have screws in your knee after ACL surgery?
It’s possible. The surgeon may need to screw into the femur and the tibia during ACL reconstruction to graft bone. If this is your case, stee
