Recovery from a joint replacement is measured in weeks and months, not days — but it starts on day one, and most of it happens at home. The timelines below are typical for a straightforward total hip or knee replacement. Yours will be tailored to you, and the written program you receive after surgery takes precedence over this page.
The first days (in hospital)
You will be helped out of bed and onto the new joint on the day of surgery or the morning after. This is not bravado — early walking is the single best protection against blood clots and chest complications, and the new joint is designed to take your weight immediately.
Physiotherapists will teach you to walk with a frame or crutches, get in and out of bed and a chair, and manage stairs. Most people go home within one to three days, once they are safe on their feet. Some go to a rehabilitation unit first, particularly if home has many stairs or little support.
Expect swelling, bruising and soreness. You will have pain medicines, usually a blood thinner for some weeks, and clear wound-care instructions.
Weeks 1–2
- Walking short distances at home, several times a day, with crutches or a frame
- Doing your exercise program — little and often beats one heroic session
- Swelling and disturbed sleep are normal; ice and elevation help
- Knees: bending is work. The exercises that restore bend matter more than any other part of knee rehabilitation
Weeks 2–6
- Progressing from frame to crutches to a stick as your balance and strength allow
- Walking further outdoors; many people are down to one stick or none by six weeks
- Most of the sharp surgical pain settles; what remains is muscle soreness and stiffness that responds to exercise
Weeks 6–12
- Most people are walking without aids, back at the shops, and largely independent
- Strength keeps building; low-impact exercise — walking, exercise bike, hydrotherapy — is encouraged
- A knee can remain warm and a little swollen for months; this on its own is not a concern
Three months to a year
By three months most people have most of their result. Improvement continues quietly for a full year — the last of the swelling settles, strength returns, and the joint stops announcing itself. It is common to forget the joint by the end of the first year, which is the real goal.
Red flags — call rather than wait
Contact the rooms, your GP, or the hospital promptly if you notice:
- Fever, or chills and feeling unwell
- Increasing pain in the joint after the early pain had been settling
- Redness, or discharge or leaking from the wound
- A hot, swollen calf — possible blood clot
- Chest pain or sudden shortness of breath — call 000. This can signal a clot in the lungs
- A fall onto the new joint, or a sudden change in what it can do
None of these should be watched overnight to see how they go. Early treatment of a wound problem or a clot is simple; late treatment is not.
Driving, work and sport
- Driving. You must be off strong pain medicines, able to make an emergency stop without hesitation, and confident controlling the car. For most people this is somewhere between four and six weeks — sooner for a left-side joint with an automatic car. Your surgeon will confirm when it is safe for you; your insurer expects that conversation to have happened.
- Work. Desk-based work is often possible from two to six weeks, depending on comfort and travel. Physical work takes longer — usually closer to three months, sometimes with modified duties in between.
- Sport. Low-impact activity is encouraged for life: walking, swimming, cycling, golf, bowls, doubles tennis. Skiing and hiking are realistic for many. High-impact running and jumping sports put wear on the implant, and most surgeons — Dr Broadhead included — advise against them as regular exercise on a replaced joint.
The follow-up
Every joint replacement patient is reviewed after surgery, usually around six weeks, with further reviews as needed. X-rays are repeated periodically over the years to watch the implant. If anything about the joint changes between reviews, do not wait for the next appointment — call.