Prehabilitation

Prehabilitation prepares your body and routine for surgery through personalised exercise, education, and planning for the early recovery period.

A physiotherapist or surgical team may assess strength, joint movement, walking, balance, breathing, and confidence with daily tasks. The programme is adjusted to the operation, your symptoms, and what you can safely do before surgery. It may also cover crutches, stairs, transfers, and arranging help at home.

Some changes, such as learning a safe exercise or becoming more confident with a walking aid, can happen quickly. Strength, conditioning, and movement tolerance usually require repeated practice. Even when the operation date is close, a clinician can often focus on achievable preparation rather than trying to solve every limitation beforehand.

Exercise may cause temporary muscle soreness or fatigue. It should not create unexplained chest pain, fainting, severe breathlessness, new neurological symptoms, or a sudden major increase in joint swelling. Report concerning symptoms and follow the surgical team’s instructions about exercises, medication, and activity limits.

Prehabilitation may begin several weeks before surgery, but the schedule varies with the diagnosis, operation date, and your starting function. Some people need a focused programme; others benefit from continuing conditioning until surgery and then transitioning directly into postoperative rehabilitation.

The plan is not a fitness test and should match your medical instructions. Useful targets can include maintaining joint range, improving muscle activation, practising safe transfers, building walking tolerance, preparing nutrition and sleep routines, and understanding the first exercises after surgery. Prehabilitation supports readiness; it does not replace the surgical consultation.

It may be offered before joint replacement, ligament surgery, or other orthopaedic procedures. For example, people preparing for [Total Hip Replacement](/treatments/joint-replacement/total-hip-replacement/), [Total Knee Replacement](/treatments/joint-replacement/total-knee-replacement/), or [ACL Reconstruction](/treatments/sports-and-arthroscopic-surgery/acl-reconstruction/) may receive operation-specific preparation. People with an [ACL Tear](/conditions/acl-tear/) should follow the orthopaedic team’s advice about swelling, instability, and sport.

First, the clinician reviews the planned procedure, medical history, symptoms, and home demands. Next, they set suitable exercises and practise movement strategies or equipment use. Finally, you receive a home plan and warning signs, with review appointments when the surgical schedule or symptoms require adjustment.

The prehabilitation plan usually changes after the operation. Early goals may involve swelling management, safe transfers, breathing, walking, or protected movement. Later work can progress strength, balance, endurance, and task-specific confidence. The surgeon’s restrictions take priority when they differ from general exercise advice.

Doing too much before surgery can increase pain, swelling, or fatigue and may be unsuitable for some medical conditions. Use the agreed load, stop for concerning symptoms, and tell the team if the joint gives way or function changes suddenly. A programme should be modified around flare-ups rather than treated as a pass-or-fail challenge.

Depending on the operation, preparation may include education alone, home-based exercise, supervised physiotherapy, occupational therapy, or a coordinated medical review. Your team can prioritise the elements most likely to make transfers, walking, and self-care manageable after surgery.

Look for a licensed physiotherapist familiar with your planned procedure and able to communicate with the surgical team. Ask what to practise, which symptoms should prompt a call, how the plan fits your operation date, and when postoperative rehabilitation will begin.