What I Did Completely Different for Knee Number Two
For years, my first knee was degenerating right under me.
And I knew it. I just wasn't ready to do anything about it. I started taking elevators everywhere I went. I made accommodations. I worked around it. I told myself I was fine.
I was not fine. I was just not ready to face it.
When I finally decided to move forward with my first knee replacement, I went in blind. I didn't know what to expect. I thought a knee replacement was just about the knee. What I learned was something else entirely.
This does not just affect your knee.
My hip. My lower back. My sciatica. My gait. My other leg — which had to compensate and carry more load while the surgical leg recovered. When you replace a joint that is fundamental to the way you walk, your entire body feels it. Everything shifts. Everything adjusts. Everything has something to say about it.
I didn't know that going into knee number one. I know it now.
So, for knee number two, I did things differently.
I looked at my whole body before I ever got on that table.
I did three weeks of pre-rehab — specifically targeting my quads, glutes, and hamstrings, because I knew those were the muscles that were going to carry the load through recovery. I wanted to go in as strong as possible, so I had something to come back to.
I paid attention to my hydration. My protein intake. The vitamins, minerals, and supplementation my body would need to support its own healing process. I started thinking about inflammation differently — understanding that when inflammation is out of control, your body is spending its own reserves fighting it instead of healing. If I could get ahead of inflammation, my body could do its job faster and better. That test-don't-guess approach to inflammation is something I talk about in the Hub — because I wish someone had told me about it before knee number one.
I prioritized sleep. I slept with a pillow under my leg. Did it slow down my extension? Yes. Did I make that choice intentionally because I knew sleep was non-negotiable for healing? Also, yes. That was my decision to make for myself, and I made it with open eyes.
And then there was the mindset piece. Which changed everything.
For knee number two I became aware — really aware — of the stories I was telling myself.
Because here is what your brain does postop. It feels the pain and it says: this is familiar. This feels like before. And you start to spiral because before was bad. Before it was degenerating. Before, it felt like it was never going to end.
But here is the thing nobody tells you.
Preop pain and postop pain are not the same thing.
Preop pain is degenerating pain. It doesn't have an end point. It just gets worse.
Postop pain is healing pain. And the healing pain ends.
That one perspective shift changed everything for me. When people asked how I was feeling I started saying — it hurts, but it's a healing pain. And I meant it. Because I never had my preop pain show up postop. Not once. Not in either knee.
Your body starts healing the moment that incision closes. It goes to work immediately. Your brain just hasn't gotten the memo yet.
This is why the Knee Replacement Hub exists.
Because this is a whole-body procedure. Your nervous system. Your mindset. Your emotions. Your hydration, your protein, your sleep, your pre-rehab. All of it matters just as much as the physical recovery protocol your PT gives you.
I didn't know any of this for knee number one. I figured it out by going through it and then going through it again with everything I'd learned.
You don't have to figure it out alone.
The Hub is everything I know. Everything I did. Everything I wish someone had handed me before I ever got on that table.
If you want to grab my Seven Small Prayers e-book — the faith piece that helped me turn toward the decision when I was scared — you can find it here.
And if you want the whole-body approach to knee replacement recovery, the Hub is waiting for you. Join the Hub
Now it's my mission to help others through this and get to their best life. 🤍
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