What if your biggest setback isn’t your knee — it’s your thoughts about your recovery?That realization changed everything for me.
I remember the day it hit me. I was about six weeks out from my second knee replacement and realized I still wasn’t consistently hitting zero on my extension. Some days I’d get to 3 degrees, maybe 5 — but never zero. And that tiny number became a massive mental storm.
My calf hurt constantly. My foot and ankle were cranky. But the calf pain? It was brutal.
And I remember thinking something must be wrong. Something dire.
The first time I went through knee replacement, the extension came back so easily that I barely thought about it. My focus then was all on my bend and range of motion. So, this time, when things didn’t match up, I spun out. I built stories in my head that weren’t even true.
That’s what happens when your thoughts run the show — they’ll take you down a rabbit hole so fast you’ll swear something’s broken when it’s really not.
The Truth That Shifted Everything
Once I realized how defeated I felt, I knew I had to do something different. And honestly, it started with going back to truth.
The only truth in that moment was this: I wasn’t hitting zero consistently.
Not that something was “wrong.” Not that I’d “never recover.”
Just that one simple fact.
When you go back to what’s actually true, you can start creating a new story.
That’s when I got curious instead of panicked.
Why wasn’t I hitting zero?
Turns out, I’d been sleeping with a pillow under my knee since surgery 🙈.
That tiny habit was holding me back — not my body failing me.
So I started doing a little more work outside of PT. More extension work, less “babying” the knee.
That shift changed everything. Not because the problem disappeared overnight, but because my mindset did.
Your Mindset Shapes Your Recovery
A lot of what we feel during knee replacement recovery comes from what we think about what’s happening.
Two people can have the same experience — one feels defeated, the other feels determined. The difference? Their thoughts.
When you catch yourself thinking, “I’m behind” or “This isn’t working,” your emotions follow. Frustration, anger, even sadness — they’re all byproducts of the thoughts you attach to your recovery.
Managing your mind means paying attention to both your thoughts and your feelings, because the emotion always shows up first. Once you notice it, pause and ask yourself: “What am I thinking that’s creating this feeling?”
That simple question is how you begin to take your power back. It’s the same process I use now — in recovery, in life, in faith.
For me, truth and faith go hand in hand. Truth steadies me when fear tries to take over. Faith reminds me I’m never walking through this alone.
If you’re ready to start noticing the thoughts that sneak in and shape your recovery, I’ve got something for you. Download my free “Thoughts Are Things” worksheet — it walks you through catching those sneaky thoughts, naming them, and replacing them with truth.
It’s one of the most powerful tools you can use to manage your knee replacement recovery mindset and stay grounded when progress feels slow.
Three Quick Reframes for Knee Replacement Recovery
- Old Thought: “I’m behind.”
Reframe: “I’m exactly where my body needs to be today.” - Old Thought: “Something must be wrong.”
Reframe: “My body’s adjusting to something new, not broken.” - Old Thought: “I’ll never get back to normal.”
Reframe: “Normal is being rewritten, and that’s okay.”
If I could tell you one thing about feeling defeated after physical therapy, it’s this:
Nothing is absolute. Everything can change — and often, it starts with your thoughts.
You are in control of what you think, how you feel, and how you show up in your recovery. When you shift your thoughts in a faith-filled direction, your recovery follows.
If you’d like a little more encouragement each week, subscribe to my newsletter — I’ll keep showing up to remind you that your thoughts matter, your healing is happening, and you’re never alone in this process.
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