3 Things You Can Do Before Knee Replacement Surgery

Preparing Your Whole Body for Knee Replacement

If you're considering knee replacement someday, you may already be thinking about the things you can do to prepare your knee.

But here's a different way to think about it:

Don't just prepare your knee. Prepare your whole body.

A knee replacement is a major event for your body. Your muscles, nutrition, sleep, mobility, cardiovascular system, and overall health all play a role in how well you handle surgery and the recovery afterwards.

Here are three areas worth thinking about before surgery.

1. Know Your Numbers

Before surgery, your healthcare team may order bloodwork to look for health issues that could affect your preparation or recovery.

Depending on your individual health and medical history, this may include looking at things such as blood counts, blood sugar, kidney function, nutritional status, and other markers your healthcare provider considers appropriate.

Why does this matter?

Because if something needs attention, knowing about it before surgery gives you and your healthcare team an opportunity to address it.

You don't want your first thought about your overall health to be the day you arrive at the hospital for surgery.

Want to learn more?

We've written an entire article about why preoperative lab work can be an important part of preparing for knee replacement:

👉 Why Lab work Before Knee Replacement Surgery Matters

2. Fuel Your Recovery

Don't wait until after knee replacement to think about nutrition. Start preparing your body before surgery.

Your body needs the right building blocks to heal and maintain muscle after knee replacement.

So what does the research say about nutrition?

A 2024 systematic review found that amino acid supplementation may help:

• Protect muscle

• Reduce quadriceps loss

• Improve knee-extension strength

• Support functional recovery

What's especially interesting is that some of the research began nutritional supplementation 1 to 2 weeks before surgery, suggesting that preparing your body before the operation may be an important part of the process.

The research is encouraging, although more studies are needed to determine exactly which nutrients, doses, and timing are most effective.

The takeaway? Nutrition deserves a place in your knee replacement preparation plan.

Talk with your physician, surgeon, or dietitian about your individual nutritional needs. The goal isn't simply to take a supplement.

It's to make sure your body has the resources it needs to do the hard work of healing.

Want to know whether you're getting enough protein and key nutrients to support muscle health?

👉Try the free Muscle-Centric Calculator →

Orthopedic surgeon Dr. Reza Jazayeri has emphasized that nutrition is an important part of preparing for joint replacement but is often overlooked during the surgical journey.

His team created a free Muscle-Centric Calculator that estimates whether you’re getting enough protein and other key nutrients to support muscle health before and after surgery.

Think of it as another tool you can put in your pre-surgery toolbox.

3. Build Your Strength Before Surgery

There's one more piece of the puzzle: prehabilitation, or "prehab."

If you're already struggling with knee pain, exercising may not be easy. But the goal isn't necessarily to become stronger than you've ever been.

The goal is to go into surgery as strong and prepared as your knee allows.

Building strength before surgery can help you enter rehabilitation with a better starting point. And the muscles you work on before surgery are the same muscles you'll need after surgery.

This is where a good physical therapist can be incredibly valuable.

Your prehab program should be appropriate for your current abilities, your knee condition, and your overall health. You don't need to "push through" significant pain to prepare your body.

The Bigger Picture

A successful knee replacement recovery doesn’t happen by accident and there is no single strategy that guarantees an easy recovery.

It starts with preparation.

Know your numbers.
Fuel your body.
Build your strength.

The surgery replaces the damaged joint.
Your preparation helps prepare the person who has to recover from it.

Bottom Line: Your recovery doesn't begin the day after surgery. It begins with the choices you make before surgery.

Want to Dig Deeper?

Here are three resources to help you prepare:

1. 📖Read Our Blog

Why Lab work Before Knee Replacement Surgery Matters

2. 💪Free Pre-Surgery Resource

Try the Muscle-Centric Calculator

3. 🔬 Explore The Research

If you'd like to explore the research behind the nutrition section, here are two studies worth reading:

2024 Systematic Review

Effects of amino acid supplementation on muscle mass, muscle performance and functional capacity in subjects undergoing total knee arthroplasty

2020 Randomized Controlled Trial

Perioperative essential amino acid supplementation suppresses rectus femoris muscle atrophy and accelerates early functional recovery following total knee arthroplasty

HELP A KNEE OUT

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