Kinetec; mobilising after surgery

As you may know (or have experienced), a knee becomes thick after surgery. In doing so, we often say that there is fluid (hydrops) in the knee. In reality, it is a reaction of the knee's mucous membrane causing excess fluid to accumulate in the knee. It may feel annoying that the knee is thick because it can cause an oppressive feeling, or the feeling that you are limited in movement. However, the thickening of the knee has a hugely useful function. This is because the presence of fluid in the knee and the accompanying heat after surgery attracts certain cells that are important during the process of connective tissue repair. It also attracts cells responsible for clearing tissue such as that of the wound. So it is not bad at all that the knee swells up after surgery. However, we do want to make sure that this swelling should preferably subside and remain stable within not too long a time. This is because this means we have managed to get the knee into a calm state. One in which we can rehabilitate well.

Draining fluid in the knee is done by alternating exercise and rest in good doses. We therefore always advise you to really rest a lot after surgery and put your leg up. In doing so, we would like you to perform various exercises. These aim to reduce the loss of muscle mass, be helpful in draining fluid and stimulate blood circulation in the leg. The idea behind this is that during exercise, the pumping function of the blood and lymph vessels is activated so we can stimulate the removal of unnecessary fluid. Draining fluid reduces pressure around the joint, allowing it to move more easily. This in turn is helpful in being able to perform exercises properly, allowing you to regain mobility over the joint faster. Being able to move better in turn prevents the joint from stiffening up.

Regardless of whether we have had surgery or not, our bodies are made to function as efficiently as possible. That is, with as little resistance as possible and as energy-efficient as possible. This makes the body use what we call the 'use it or lose it' principle. A principle in which we see that tissue whose function is no longer required is cleared. Just think of the diminishing muscle mass in a leg that you can no longer use, or the stiffening of a joint that is used less in movement. The longer someone is subject to inactivity and thus decline in function, the more work needs to be done to undo it. To limit the decline in function, we coach you intensively and from the first moment after your surgery!

Together, we ensure that muscle strength and muscle mass are maintained and regained as much as possible, and pay attention to proper range of motion for the joint. We can do the latter by using a device known as Kinetic, Artromot or CPM (continuous passive motion). This is a device that motorised the leg (hip/knee) can mobilise. It is a method that is very safe because little pressure is put on the knee and we can adjust to the degree how far we want to mobilise. In addition, many people can relax better in the arthromot and the speed of movement is also more constant than when mobilising by hand.

We call mobilisation in the Artromot a form of unloaded mobilisation (i.e. there is no pressure in or on the joint). The Artromot allows us to start improving mobility immediately after surgery in a well-dosed and responsible way. It also gives the therapist space to deal with all kinds of other important matters, such as explaining the rehabilitation process.