Physical Therapy After Knee Surgery: What to Know

Your physiotherapist assesses swelling, pain, walking pattern, knee motion and the strength of the muscles around the hip, thigh and lower leg. Early work may focus on comfortable movement, activating the thigh muscles, managing swelling and transferring safely between sitting and standing. Later sessions can add stair practice, balance, resistance and task-specific training. The plan depends on the operation, healing progress, general health and the surgeon's instructions; a replacement, ligament repair and meniscus procedure do not share the same restrictions.

Follow the prescribed home programme and use pain or swelling as feedback rather than trying to force a range of motion. Keep dressings and the incision protected as instructed, use crutches or a walker in the advised way, and make space at home for clear walking routes. Tell the therapist if an exercise causes sharp pain, new instability, unusual clicking or swelling that remains worse afterward. Do not add running, deep squats, kneeling or heavy lifting until your care team has cleared those activities.

Contact the surgical team promptly for increasing redness, warmth or drainage at the incision, fever, worsening pain, or swelling that is not settling. Seek urgent help for sudden chest pain, difficulty breathing, fainting, or a new painful swollen calf. A knee that suddenly gives way, becomes locked, or loses movement after an injury also needs prompt assessment rather than extra exercises.

Ask which movements are restricted, how much weight you may place through the leg, how to manage swelling, and what change should prompt a call. Clarify how to use walking aids, when driving or work may be considered, and how progress will be checked.