100620 Normal knee range of motion or the lack thereof and the link with osteoarthritis 1/4
A number of sources state the typical knee flexes anywhere from 130° up to, in rare cases, 160° and extends from 0° to 120°. It is my personal opinion that if your knee only extends 120° then you are going to have a noticeable limp.
Unless something unusual happened in your surgery, limitations on your range of motion (ROM) should no longer be present. Granted, some devices limit how far your knee will bend but your doctor probably told you this before you went into it. If this is the case, you are going to be limited as to how much ROM you will get back simply because of the artificial joints inherent characteristics.
Contractures and why you should make every effort to avoid them.
Joint contractures are common in those with muscular dystrophy, victims of burns, nerve damage, and possibly in this case, self-imposed immobilization due to a failure on your part to effectively work on regaining your range of motion.
One thing that you don’t want to have happen after your surgery is over and you’ve been in a rehabilitation phase for 3 to 4 to 5 months is to find out that due to your inability to actively work the joints ROM, the normally elastic or stretchable type of connective tissues have been replaced by non-stretchable, inelastic fibers. I know that was a long sentence but reread it, especially the last portion about the stretchable and non-stretchable inelastic fibers.
If you find yourself in this position because you have not seriously worked on regaining your range of motion, then you only have yourself to blame for any future limitations and potential problems such as osteoarthritis.
ActivelyFitSeniors 