Knee Surgery Recovery Tips

Knee surgery recovery time is long and boring. Instructions for knee surgery recovery will be outlined by the doctor before the patient goes home. What the doctor doesn't tell you is how to deal with the teenage post-op boredom and grouchiness.

As the mother of an active, athletic teenager that's had knee surgery to repair an ACL tear, I learned to cope with post-op boredom in my teen on a daily basis. Here's what we did.

Save Your Money.

Since knee surgery recovery time is so long I assumed I should find alternative activities for my teen that didn't include a need for mobility. Don't bother. There aren't enough Crayola Crayons, coloring books, white boards, Sharpie Markers, jewelry making junk, puzzles, DVDs or UNO cards in the world that will satisfy. No matter how much they normally like those things.

When an athletic teen is told they can't jump, hop, skip, dance, bob, run, walk, juke and jive all hell breaks loose. They won't give one iota about doing anything other than jumping, hopping, skipping, dancing, bobbing, running, walking, juking and jiving.

Call in the Reinforcements.

It may not sound like a good idea to let your teen's friends hang out at your house after they've had surgery but it really is a good idea! Your teen's knee surgery recovery time will be more pleasant (for you) if they forget they are bored.

Would You Like Some Wine with that Cheese?

Ignore the whining. It's going to happen. Depending on what type of knee surgery your teen has, your teen may be laid flat on their back for several weeks and out of all activities for months.

Try giving your teen a digital voice recorder or old tape recorder and tell them to whine into that about how sucky it is that they "can't do anything! You'd be surprised to find that a lot of teens get a kick out this. My daughter's friends all joined in and now she has a knee surgery recovery recording of her friends posted on her MySpace page and as the ringtone on her cellphone.

Daydreams and Night Things.

A couple of things happen right after knee surgery. 1. There's a lot of sleeping during the day and 2. There's a lot of waking during the night.

The day of the knee surgery the patient comes home and sleeps because of the anesthesia and pain medications. The first couple of days is spent in blissful slumber. This is when they are the easiest to care for.

Then they wake up; usually early in the evening or late at night. Then they sleep some more out of boredom. Then boredom gets boring. Before you know it they have their days and nights mixed up. Avoid this at all costs.

Do everything you can to keep your teen from sleeping out of boredom. If that means dripping water droplets on their forehead every five minutes then so be it.

Take a Journey.

Your teen will remember their knee surgery experience for the rest of their lives. Go with the flow and document it. Make home videos; take pictures and journal some mementos. Put them together in a keepsake box or album.

Make them Laugh.

Laughter truly is the best medicine; especially during knee surgery recovery at home. Have a joke off and challenge each other to see who can make the other laugh hardest. A good hard laugh session is uplifting enough to make your teen feel as if they've been just a bit active. It takes the edge off a little.

There really is no cure for the boredom that comes after knee surgery. It goes with the territory. Know that the miserable, whining, grouchy, little terd you are tending to won't be this way forever. (You hope!) Best of luck in recovering.