Christopher EllisCEO Dynamic Physio Therapy

Swelling Is Normal After Knee Replacement

17 Oct 2026 · 1 min

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In this segment of his YouTube video, Christopher Ellis explains that post‑knee‑replacement swelling and pain naturally fluctuate over the first two to three months of recovery. He emphasizes that while certain activities can trigger a temporary increase in swelling, patients are not at fault for these episodes. Ellis advises viewers not to become preoccupied with trying to pinpoint the cause of each swelling episode, as this can lead to unnecessary worry. He highlights the role of physical therapists in guiding patients through the swelling‑pain cycle and reassures that intermittent pain and swelling are expected parts of the normal healing process, even up to three months after surgery.

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Doing a little more, and then you get an increase in swelling and therefore an increase in pain. And it's just going to kind of ping pong back and forth, and it's going to swell, and it's going to mess with how you think about it. And you're going to start to worry and drive yourself crazy over, what did I do to cause this? Just know that this is going to do that regardless. You're going to have periods of swelling and pain, then periods of relief despite what you do. Sure, you can trigger a little more swelling, But it's not your fault. So keep that in mind that that is the normal part of the recovery process. Unfortunately, you're just going to have to work through some of this pain. You have to work through that swelling. That's part of what PT's job is to do is to kind of guide you through that process. But it's easy to get caught up on the why. Just don't worry about that part. It's a normal part of the process. Even 2 to 3 months in, you may be still dealing with that.