Swelling Management After Total Knee Arthroplasty

Immediately following surgery, in the operating room, the compression garment will be donned on the surgical limb. The garment is set to the following pressures to facilitate gradient compression: 40mm Hg (lower leg), 30mm Hg (knee), 20 mm Hg (thigh) utilizing a standardized garment tensioning tool. Subjects will wear the garment during all waking hours (target wear time of 12 hours daily) for the first 3 weeks after surgery. Additionally, subjects will be instructed to perform a therapeutic exercise program designed to manage swelling by targeting major lower extremity musculature (gastrocnemius, soleus, quadriceps, hamstrings, and gluteal musculature) and promoting venous and lymphatic return. These exercises will be performed five times daily during the first three weeks after surgery. Subjects will receive standard of care rehabilitation following surgery as directed and coordinated by the surgeon and participant. This rehabilitation is not part of this research study.