Regaining Knee Extension After Surgery

Regaining full terminal knee extension is paramount following any knee surgery. The ability to fully extend the knee equal to the other side is usually one of the most important early goals in knee rehab. While there are a ton of knee extension exercises you can do, the most important variable for regaining full terminal knee extension is the amount of volume and time spent working on knee extension. That is undeniably the most important concept to grasp. 3 sets of 1 min of stretches for a total of 3 minutes (out of 1440 minutes in a day aka 0.2% of the day) it just not enough end range stretching to regain full knee extension! Aim for a total of 10 minutes of knee extension exercises at first, then slowly keep adding time until you're spending at least 30 minutes a day working on terminal knee extension.

Knee extension exercises, especially after surgery, are not going to be comfortable. If they are comfortable, it probably means you're not doing them correctly! Regardless of the surgery, there will be joint swelling, or effusion, in the knee that will not only cause more pain and discomfort but also limit the amount of motion available at the knee joint. Furthermore, the muscles around the knee will most likely be tense and guarded, meaning soft tissue work and stretching are also warranted.

The 2 keys for improving knee extension are:
Low load long duration passive knee extension stretching
Active knee extension exercises that work one on engaging the quadriceps at end range

Follow along in the video for more detailed tips and tricks.

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[beckyw]

If your patient had natural knee hyperextension prior to surgery do you train TKEs to that hyperextension or 0deg ext.

[karlherrmann]

Thank you for this video! I have had 2 knee surgeries and both need to be replaced. I wish someone had showed me these methods . I figured terminal extensions out on my own, but all of these will help me so much as I prep for and recover from replacement surgery in June.

[cathyf]

Very good video with great information and easy to understand with the visual technique and going over substitutionary patterns. Thanks guys!

[jakesmith]

Dr Michael just needing help and advice. It's been 6+ months post keyhole surgery and I still cant bend ir fully extend my knee. Just asking for pointers or a 1v1 if possible

[virajansurkar]

Hello brother ik it's been two long years since you posted this video hopefully you read this
I unfortunately had to face stroke few years back which made my hamstring muscle cause spasticity so looking the issue last year i under went i hamstring lengthening surgery which was successful but still i haven't got my hypertension of the knee it feels like quadracipes muscle locks the extension of knee (left leg only)
Can you help me with this to solve it????

[ambers]

Wish I seen this in the beginning lmao