The Total Knee Success Podcast: Your Essential Resource for Navigating Total Knee Replacement
Have you recently had a total knee replacement, or are you preparing for surgery and wondering what recovery will really be like? Welcome to the Total Knee Success Podcast, your resource for total knee replacement recovery and life after surgery. Hosted by Michelle Losurdo, a trusted doctor of physical therapy and board-certified orthopedic clinical specialist, this show is designed for anyone considering, preparing for, or recovering from knee replacement surgery. In about the time it takes to put a cold pack on your knee, each episode shares practical total knee surgery tips, evidence-based guidance, and clear strategies to help you manage pain, improve mobility, and thrive through the healing process. You’ll learn about post-operative knee rehab exercises, approaches to knee replacement physical therapy, and real-world tools for building confidence, improving sleep, maintaining a healthy diet, and regaining natural movement. From time to time, you’ll also hear patient perspectives and success stories that encourage you along the way. Michelle also highlights the mindset and motivation strategies that make a lasting difference in recovery—helping you stay positive, focused, and resilient. And if you’re a family member, friend, or caregiver supporting someone through a knee replacement, you’ll find valuable insights here, too. Please remember: Michelle is not your personal therapist and does not know you. This podcast provides general education and opinion only. Always consult your healthcare provider before making changes to your recovery plan. This podcast is not related to her clinical or teaching roles. If you’re ready to feel stronger and more confident on your journey—or if you’re supporting someone you care about—this is the total knee replacement podcast that will help you succeed—one step at a time
Episodes
In Episode 106, Michelle explains why balance can still require more care even as strength improves after knee replacement. Through James’s story, she describes turning, uneven ground, dim lighting, age-related changes in vision, the additional attention balance may require with age, and fatigue.
Read Episode 106 article & resources
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She also explains what details to share with a phy...
In Episode 105, Michelle explains what to assess after a fall before trying to stand. Marilyn’s story shows why dizziness, wrist pain, and a possible head impact call for help. Michelle uses guidance from the National Institute on Aging and CDC to explain when to remain down, what the published floor-rise sequence includes, and why people with a knee replacement should practice their individual strategy under supervision.
In Episode 104, Michelle explains how to progress from stationary cycling to outdoor riding after knee replacement. Through David’s story, she covers the first full pedal revolution, saddle height, cadence, resistance, spinning versus grinding, upright and recumbent bikes, trainers, flat and clipless pedals, mounting, starting, braking, turning, gears, hills, e-bikes, and choosing a first outdoor route.
In Episode 103, Michelle explains how to prepare for hiking after knee replacement. She shows how distance, elevation gain, terrain, recent trail reports, weather, and route type can help you understand what a hike will require.
Read Episode 103 article & resources - including hiking tools
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Michelle also covers uphill and downhill demands, uneven ground, footwear, trekking poles, monitorin...
In Episode 102, Michelle explains what to consider when flying after knee replacement, including the parts of the travel day that can be more demanding than the flight itself. She discusses when to talk with your surgeon about flying, blood-clot precautions, airport walking and assistance, security, seating, luggage, movement, hydration, and planning for what happens after you land.
Episode 101 follows Dave, a fictional traveler whose story is based on situations people face after knee replacement. Eight weeks after a left total knee replacement, he and his wife take a multi-day summer road trip from Indiana to national parks out west.
Read Episode 101 article & resources
Product ideas for easier travel after knee replacement
Michelle covers driving readiness, prolonged sitting, movement stops, swelling, medi...
Episode 100 is for golfers who want to return to the game after total knee replacement. Michelle reviews typical return timelines and explains why surgeon clearance, strength, weight shifting, balance, endurance, and rotational movement all influence readiness.
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Thank you for listening to 100 episodes! Have a question we can answer on the podcast? Click here for Ask Michelle
The Episode follows ...
Episode 99 explains how to move from formal physical therapy into independent gym training after knee replacement. Michelle discusses cardiovascular equipment, machines, free weights, leg strengthening, balance work, and how load, range, and speed change an exercise.
Read Episode 99 article & resources
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The Episode also explains how to begin with a small program, monitor swelling and stiff...
Episode 98 explains how carrying and playing with grandchildren combines lifting, balance, walking, turning, floor transfers, and reacting to unpredictable movement.
Read Episode 98 article & resources
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Michelle discusses safer starting positions, keeping a child close, modifying floor play, and deciding when stairs or heavier lifting require more preparation. The Episode also off...
Episode 97 opens the four-part Returning to Meaningful Activities series with a practical guide to gardening after knee replacement. Michelle explains how kneeling, bending, lifting, carrying, balance, uneven ground, and time in one position can be reintroduced in stages. The Episode also covers raised beds, stable supports, long-handled tools, smaller loads, position changes, and signs that a gardening session may have exceeded yo...
Episode 96 explains why getting down to the floor and standing again can remain difficult after knee replacement. Michelle discusses the roles of knee motion, lower-body strength, balance, arm support, and movement sequencing, then describes several general floor-transfer methods that can be adapted to different abilities. The Episode also explains how task-specific practice and backward chaining may be used to build the skill in s...
Episode 95 explains why getting into and out of a low car can feel awkward after knee replacement. Michelle discusses seat height, hip and knee mechanics, vehicle design, and a practical sit-first transfer approach. The episode also covers differences among sedans, crossovers, SUVs, and minivans, along with how clinicians may break the transfer into smaller skills to improve control and reduce unnecessary twisting.
Episode 94 explains why going down stairs is often more difficult than going up after knee replacement. Michelle discusses the role of quadriceps strength, eccentric control, balance, and coordination in stair descent, and outlines examples of approaches used in rehabilitation settings. The episode also highlights general considerations related to readiness for stair practice and emphasizes the importance of guidance from a physica...
Episode 93 explains why kneeling can remain difficult after knee replacement even when walking and other activities are improving. Michelle separates pain from surface pressure, incision numbness, stiffness, and fear of damaging the implant. She reviews the published five-week graded kneeling protocol by Wallace and Berger and explains how to progress from soft to firmer surfaces after receiving surgeon or physical therapist cleara...
Episode 92 explores why many people describe themselves as “ninety percent better” after knee replacement while still feeling that something is unfinished. Michelle explains the differences between pain relief, strength, endurance, movement quality, participation, and the expectation that an artificial knee should feel completely natural. The Episode offers a practical way to identify whether the remaining limitation ne...
In Episode 91 of the Total Knee Success Podcast, Michelle explains why progress after knee replacement is rarely a straight line. Many people experience good days followed by days when the knee suddenly feels stiffer, more swollen, or more painful, leaving them worried they've gone backward. Michelle discusses the most common reasons these temporary setbacks occur, how to respond without overreacting or pushing too hard, and why lo...
In Episode 90 of the Total Knee Success Podcast, Michelle discusses what may still change between months four and twelve after knee replacement. Formal physical therapy may be over and daily life may look more familiar, while strength, endurance, balance, stairs, work, and longer activities can still be limited. She explains how to identify the abilities that may need focused work, why walking can improve before higher-demand tasks...
In Episode 89 of the Total Knee Success Podcast, Michelle discusses six common myths people believe after knee replacement that can create confusion, frustration, and unrealistic expectations. She explains why surgery is only the beginning of the process, why pain and stiffness do not automatically mean something is wrong, why progress does not follow a perfect timeline, and why comparing your experience to someone else’s can...
Episode 88 explores why progress after knee replacement can sometimes feel as though it has stalled, even when meaningful improvements are still taking place. Michelle explains why plateaus are common, how to distinguish a temporary slowdown from symptoms that deserve medical attention, and why looking at progress over weeks instead of days provides a much clearer picture. Episode 88 helps listeners understand that slower progress ...
Episode 87 explores five practical signs that you're making meaningful progress after knee replacement, even when the calendar leaves you questioning how you're doing. Michelle explains why improvements in walking, stair climbing, sleep, everyday activities, and growing independence provide a much clearer picture of functional progress than simply counting weeks after surgery. You'll come away with a practical way to recognize the ...
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