JoanneY: As a Physical Therapist with 38 years experience I had many clients that had a total knee. When asked similar questions concerning what were their limitations, this was before fitbit and step counts, my answer was always the same, Listen to your body! Never train through pain, so if you experience pain after 5-6K steps that is your limit now. Also measure the circumference of your knee before walking and then again after walking, if there is increased swelling you have done too much. Swelling inhibits all the muscles that that control your knee, so if the swelling increases you are defeating the purpose of increasing your step count. Also if you are still limping, your walking is not improving the muscle strength in that leg. Every person is different, every total knee is different, I have heard of no such rule that states it takes 6-12 months to get back to your original functional level since every case is different. Walk on the softest surface most even surface you can, avoid walking down hills, inclines and a lot of steps since this puts a lot of stress on the patellar/ femoral joint surface. Walking up hills , inclines or steps is much easier on the knee than going down. I would also ice your knee after walking, use a 2 pound package of frozen peas or corn and place it around your knee for 20 minutes, than put it back in the freezer to use again, also limit the use of NSAIDS( non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) they reduce pain but also decrease inflammation which slows down healing since inflammation is the first stage of healing. Good luck and have a wonderful Holiday Season!
