Recovery after orthopedic surgery, week by week
Post Op Physio Recovery Radiofrequency ablation uses heat to switch off the small nerves carrying pain from a spinal or knee joint. It needs a test block first, relief usually lasts 6 to 12 months, and it can be repeated if it helped.
Gel (hyaluronic acid) injections help some people with knee arthritis a little, but much of the relief also happens after salt water injections, and guideline groups disagree. If they work, relief builds over weeks and can last several months.
Scoliosis in adults is common, especially after 60, and most people never need surgery. Pain usually comes from worn joints and squeezed nerves rather than the curve, so exercise, pain relief and injections help most people.
Haglund’s deformity is a bony bump on the back of the heel that irritates the Achilles and the bursa beside it. The bump stays without surgery, but the pain usually settles with open or soft-backed shoes, a heel lift and calf exercises on flat ground.
Cervical myelopathy is pressure on the spinal cord in the neck, and its early signs are subtle: poor balance, clumsy or numb arms and stiff legs. Unlike a pinched nerve it tends to worsen slowly, which is why surgery is often recommended when it’s moderate or progressing.
A hammer toe or claw toe that still straightens by hand usually does well with roomier shoes, padding and toe exercises. Once the toe is rigid and painful, surgery is the reliable fix.
A high ankle sprain usually takes about twice as long as a normal sprain, often 6 to 8 weeks or more. If the two lower leg bones have separated, surgery with a screw or tightrope is usually needed.
A revision knee replacement redoes a knee replacement that has loosened, worn, become infected, unstable or stiff. It is a bigger operation than the first, and recovery usually takes 3 months to a year.
Ankle fusion and ankle replacement both relieve most of the pain of ankle arthritis, with similar walking ability a year later. Fusion has a longer, stricter recovery but is permanent; replacement keeps movement and gets you moving sooner, but can wear out.
After a hip replacement, most people do simple home exercises two to three times a day plus several short walks, building to 20 to 30 minute walks by around six weeks. Here is the program by phase, what changes after posterior or anterior surgery, and how much pain is OK.