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.
A complete quadriceps or patellar tendon tear almost always needs surgery, and it works best done soon after the injury. After a few weeks locked straight in a brace, the bend is opened up gradually, and full recovery often takes about a year.
After a broken heel bone, most people keep weight off the heel for 6 weeks to 3 months. Simple breaks allow everyday activities in 3 to 4 months, but full recovery from a bad break can take 1 to 2 years.
After knee cartilage repair, most people spend about 6 to 8 weeks on crutches with little or no weight on the leg. Return to pivoting sport takes roughly 4 to 18 months, depending on whether you had microfracture, a graft or a cell-based repair.
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.
A clot in the leg after surgery usually shows up as throbbing pain, swelling and warmth in one calf or thigh, and needs checking the same day. Sudden breathlessness or chest pain means call emergency services. Here’s how to tell a clot from normal swelling and how to lower your risk.
Weight bearing after surgery runs from none at all to full, and your surgeon sets your level to protect the repair. Here’s what each level means, how to use crutches or a frame on the flat and on stairs, and why using all the weight you’re allowed matters.
The core home exercises after knee replacement, phase by phase: get the knee straight and the thigh working in the first two weeks, win back bend from weeks 2 to 6, then build strength and balance to week 12. Some discomfort is fine if it settles within an hour or two and the knee isn’t worse the next morning.
After a Bankart repair or Latarjet, expect a sling for 3 to 6 weeks, driving from about 6 to 10 weeks and contact sport at around six months. The week-by-week timeline, what you can’t do early, and how the two operations differ.
Swelling after knee replacement usually lasts about 3 to 6 months and often peaks around four to six weeks. Swelling that rises and falls with your day is normal; swelling that keeps climbing, or comes with a painful calf, a red wound or a fever, needs a call to your surgeon.
After MPFL reconstruction most people use a brace and crutches for the first few weeks, reach about 90 degrees of bend by 4 to 6 weeks and start jogging around 3 to 4 months. Return to sport takes about 6 to 9 months, once strength and hop tests are close to the other leg.