Having knee replacement surgery can dramatically improve your quality of life by eliminating the pain that you've been enduring for a prolonged period of time. Before you're back to living in a pain-free manner, however, you'll have an extended amount of recovery to go through. Your post-surgery recovery team will tell you exactly what you need to do to recover from the knee replacement surgery, and you'll often meet with your surgeon to ensure that you're healing in the proper manner. If you're someone who has been physically active, you may be eager to get back to an active lifestyle. Provided that your body is ready, and your rehab team says these activities are OK, here are three things that can help you to recover.

Riding A Stationary Bike

Riding a stationary bicycle can be a valuable part of your recovery from having knee replacement surgery. This activity is effective because it will help to strengthen the muscles in your legs — especially your quadriceps muscles — which will likely have suffered some degree of atrophy as a result of your inactivity after the surgery. Riding a stationary bike is also ideal because you're bending and straightening your leg constantly, which strengthens the ligaments around your new knee joint.

Using An Elliptical Trainer

An elliptical trainer can also be a valuable tool that you use in your recovery from knee replacement surgery. This activity is more advanced than using a stationary bike because you're in the standing position. This means that your body's weight is on your knees, including the new one. Although you don't want to hop onto an elliptical trainer before your recovery team advises you that doing so is safe, this activity can also be ideal for strengthening your legs and rebuilding lost muscle mass.

Walking On A Treadmill

The next step in your post-surgery recovery can be to walk on a treadmill. Walking anywhere can be useful, but the treadmill is handy because you always have hand supports within reach. This means that if you get tired or begin to notice knee pain that makes you feel unsteady, you won't risk a fall that could be detrimental to the health of your new knee joint. Using a treadmill is also ideal because you can start off by walking extremely slowly, and then gradually increase your pace to a brisk walk or, eventually, a light jog, as your knee and leg feel stronger.