Does Your Nutrition Affect Your Knee Replacement Recovery?

If you’re planning for a knee replacement, or recovering from one, there’s something important that often gets overlooked: your nutritional status. A recent study looked at patients undergoing total knee replacement (both traditional and robotic-assisted techniques) and examined how their nutritional health before surgery impacted their recovery afterward.

What Did the Study Find?

Patients who went into surgery with better overall nutrition tended to:

• Recover function more effectively
• Have better post-operative outcomes
• Experience fewer complications

On the flip side, patients considered at nutritional risk had a more difficult recovery process.

What Does "Nutritional Risk" Mean?

The study used something called the Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index (GNRI). While that sounds complex, it’s simply a way of assessing whether your body has the resources it needs to heal—based on things like:

• Body weight
• Protein levels in the blood

In short: it’s a snapshot of how well your body is prepared for recovery.

Why Does this Matter For Your Knee?

After a knee replacement, your body must:

• Heal tissue
• Manage inflammation
• Rebuild strength and muscle

All of that requires adequate nutrition, especially protein and calories. Without it, recovery can be slower and more challenging.

What Can You Do to Prepare?

If you’re planning for surgery (or currently recovering), here are a few simple steps:

• Prioritize protein intake (lean meats, eggs, dairy, beans, protein supplements if needed)
• Eat regularly and enough calories to support healing
• Stay hydrated

Talk to your care team if you’ve had recent weight loss or appetite changes and/or if you are in need of more in-depth guidance to support your post-operative nutrition

Your recovery doesn’t just depend on the surgery, it depends on how well your body is prepared to heal. Taking care of your nutrition before and after surgery can make a meaningful difference in your outcome!