What you do in the weeks before surgery shapes the six weeks after it.
Three things, in order: get the swelling down, reach full extension, and wake up your quad. Surgeons consistently see easier early recoveries in knees that arrive calm and straight.
Build a recovery station before surgery day: a spot to elevate, ice within reach, and the things you use daily moved to counter height. Future-you, on crutches, will be grateful.
These actions arrive with appointments and plans.
Guides educate, your care team decides. Bring the questions, not the printout.