Pain and Rehabilitation
Physiotherapy After Knee Surgery: Questions to Ask
Post-operative rehabilitation follows your surgeon's protocol. Here is how movement, swelling and strength are usually staged.
Published 2026-01-14 · Updated 2026-01-22 · 6 min read
Written by [THERAPIST NAME] — author credentials are published once verified by the clinic.
Recovery after knee surgery is a staged process. Early on the priority is protecting the repair while restoring gentle movement; later the focus shifts to strength and confident walking.
Your surgeon's protocol comes first
Bring your discharge summary and any written instructions to the first physiotherapy appointment. Weight-bearing status, range limits and brace instructions differ between procedures and surgeons, and rehabilitation must follow them.
Common early goals
- Managing swelling with positioning and rest periods
- Regaining the movement range permitted by your protocol
- Reactivating the thigh muscles
- Walking safely with the aid you have been given
Progression later on
As protocol limits are lifted, strengthening becomes more substantial and stairs, longer walking and functional tasks are added. The pace depends on your response rather than a fixed calendar.
Contact your surgical team promptly if you notice increasing redness, heat or discharge at the wound, fever, calf pain or breathlessness.