Recovery after orthopedic surgery, week by week
Post Op Physio Recovery After a knee replacement, sleep on your back with the leg straight and pillows under the ankle, never under the knee, or on your good side with a pillow between your knees. Nights are hardest for the first six weeks and usually improve by about three months.
In children who are still growing, more than half of stable osteochondritis dissecans lesions in the knee heal without surgery after a few months off running and jumping. Unstable lesions usually need surgery, with return to sport after about 4 to 6 months.
You can usually walk and exercise in a pool within a few weeks of rotator cuff surgery, once the wounds have healed, but swimming itself starts from about 4 months. Breaststroke comes first, then freestyle and backstroke, and butterfly last.
Most people start on a stationary bike within the first few weeks after a knee or hip replacement and ride outdoors from around 12 weeks, once their surgeon clears them. How to set up the bike, when to go outside, e-bikes and avoiding falls.
Deep heel pain that feels like walking on bone is often a thinning heel fat pad, not plantar fasciitis. The pad doesn’t grow back, but heel cups, cushioned shoes and less barefoot walking bring most people real relief, and cortisone shots can make it worse.
Constipation after surgery is very common, mostly because opioid painkillers slow the gut. Start early with fluids, short walks, fiber from food and a laxative plan, and know the signs that need a call today.
A mild or moderate LCL sprain on its own usually heals without surgery in about 3 to 12 weeks. A complete tear of the posterolateral corner, often with an ACL or PCL tear, usually needs surgery within 2 to 3 weeks, so get an early diagnosis.
After a simple fall, most pelvic fractures in older adults are stable cracks at the front of the pelvis that heal in about 6 to 8 weeks with walking and pain relief, not surgery. High-energy pelvic fractures from crashes are a different injury that often needs surgery and months of rehab.
A surgical scar keeps changing for 12 to 18 months. Start massage once the wound is fully closed and your team agrees, wear silicone gel or sheets for at least 12 hours a day for two months or more, and protect the scar from the sun for at least a year.
After a hip replacement, most people sleep on their back or good side with a firm pillow between the knees. Sleeping on the operated side usually waits until about six weeks, and your surgical approach decides how strict you need to be.