Have you been told that you are not a surgical candidate yet?
Without clear direction, being told you aren’t a surgical candidate can feel like a dead-end or that you have to put life on the back burner while you wait until you become eligible for surgery.
This waiting period doesn’t have to be wasted time, there is a lot you can do in the meantime to manage pain, maintain function, and even improve your eventual surgical outcomes.
Stay Active (the Right Way)
While it can feel counterintuitive, movement is one of the best things you can do for your chronic knee pain. Avoiding activity all together often leads to stiffness, muscle weakness, and worsening pain over time.
Helpful activities can include:
Walking on flat, even surfaces – avoiding uneven surfaces can help reduce the risk of putting your knee through positions that could lead to further damage and injury
Stationary Biking – cycling can help you improve cardio without putting too much load through your knee and you can adapt how much range of motion your knee is going through
Swimming or Water-Based Exercise – the water can help decrease the amount of body weight your knee has to support
Low-Impact Strength and Mobility Exercises
The key is consistency without flare-ups. Pain that settles within 24 hours is generally acceptable; pain that lingers or escalates may mean the activity needs to be adjusted.
Not confident in what activities are right for you, working with a physiotherapist or athletic therapist can help you identify safe exercises tailored to your knee, your goals, and your medical history.
Build Strength Around the Knee
Strong muscles act like natural shock absorbers for your knee and can help offload your knee with every step you take. Even when the joint itself has degenerative changes, improving muscular support can significantly reduce symptoms.
Key muscle groups include:
Quadriceps
Hamstrings
Glutes and Hip Muscles
Calf Muscles
Strengthening doesn’t have to be aggressive to be effective. Controlled, well-aligned movements performed regularly often make a noticeable difference in pain and function.
Manage Swelling and Inflammation
Chronic knee pain often comes with swelling and inflammation, which can increase stiffness and pain.
Strategies to address swelling include:
Activity pacing – balancing activity and rest
Ice or heat – both are great at decreasing swelling, but the choice is based on what feels best for you. If you prefer ice, the Polar Care Wave by BREG can provide both cold and compression to address swelling and keep your pain levels down.
Elevation after longer periods on your feet
Compression sleeves or compression stockings – AICC offers many options for both that provide medical grade compression and a custom fit for you.
Swelling management is not about eliminating all activity – it’s about recovering between activities.
Bracing for Support and Pain Relief
Knee braces can be a valuable tool while waiting for surgery, especially when pain limits daily activities or exercise tolerance.
AICC offers lots of options for knee bracing including:
Hinged Braces – To increase stability through movement
Unloader-Style Braces – designed to reduce the stress and load going through your knee
A properly fitted brace can allow you to walk further, exercise more comfortably, and stay active longer, which is critical while awaiting surgery.
Curious if there is a brace for you, visit one of our Orthopaedic Bracing Specialists to discuss both off-the-shelf and custom bracing to see what brace is right for you.
Optimizing Body Weight and Overall Health
Even small reductions in body weight can significantly reduce the load on your knee. Research shows that every pound of weight loss can reduce the stress on your knee by several pounds.
In addition to weight management, this waiting period is an ideal time to:
Improve blood sugar control
Manage blood pressure
Quit smoking
Improve cardiovascular fitness
These changes don’t just help your knee – they also reduce surgical risks and improve recovery outcomes if/when surgery occurs.
Learn Pain-Coping and Activity Pacing Strategies
Living with knee pain often requires learning how to balance activity and rest without giving up the things you enjoy.
Helpful strategies include:
Breaking tasks into smaller chunks
Alternating heavier and lighter activity days
Using supportive footwear
Planning recovery time after demanding activities
Education and coaching from a healthcare professional can empower you to stay active without constantly flaring symptoms.
Prepare for the Future – Even If Surgery Is Months or Years Away
Ironically, the steps that help you cope now are the same steps that improve surgical outcomes later. Better strength, mobility, cardiovascular health, and pain management skills all translate to:
Shorter hospital stays
Faster rehabilitation
Better long-term function
Some patients even find that using these steps to manage their pain and mobility allows them to delay surgery longer than expected – or avoid it all together.
Waiting to become a surgical candidate doesn’t have to mean waiting helplessly. At Arthritis and Injury Care Centre, we strive to empower our patients with the education and tools to continue living their active life and put the waiting for surgery in the passenger seat. With the right combination of movement, strength training, bracing, and lifestyle strategies, you can regain confidence, reduce pain, and stay active while protecting your knee.
Your knee journey doesn’t begin in the operating room – it begins with what you do today.
