Recovery after orthopedic surgery, week by week
After surgery, week by week: what to work on, what is normal, and the warning signs that mean you call your surgeon.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Most broken shoulder blades heal without surgery, in a sling with early movement, and the bone usually knits in 3 to 4 months. Surgery is kept mainly for breaks into the shoulder socket, and the first priority is checking the chest and lungs.
Some people do run after a knee replacement, but most surgeons advise against regular running and the long-term evidence on wear is thin. What surgeons say, partial vs total, and a walk-to-jog plan with criteria if your surgeon clears you.
You can usually stop using crutches once your surgeon allows full weight and you can walk without a limp. Step down from two crutches to one crutch or a cane, held on the side opposite your operated leg, then to nothing.