Knee Replacement Recovery: What to Expect, Week by Week

A knee replacement can last 20 years or more. Recovery after a partial knee replacement is usually shorter than after a total knee replacement.

After the operation you spend time in a recovery area and are given pain relief; your knee will be sore for the first days.

Nurses and physiotherapists get you walking soon after surgery — at first with a frame or crutches. You can usually go home once the wound is healing well and you can move around safely, which for most people is 1 to 3 days after the operation.

Before you leave, a physiotherapist or occupational therapist goes through daily activities and your home exercise programme. Doing those exercises early matters: they drive the long-term strength and movement in your knee.

Do:

• use crutches or sticks at first, dropping to one crutch and then a stick as you feel confident
• get up and walk around for five minutes every hour to reduce the risk of blood clots
• keep your leg raised when resting to reduce swelling
• follow the exercises your physiotherapist gave you
• try walking without an aid after about six weeks if you feel ready

Don't:

• sit with your legs crossed for the first six weeks
• sleep with a pillow under your knee
• kneel on the new knee until your doctor says you can
• stand for long periods — it makes ankles swell
• do heavy household jobs such as vacuuming for the first three months

Your stitches or clips come out at around day 10, and there is normally a follow-up appointment about six weeks after the operation.

• Driving: wait at least six weeks after a total knee replacement, or three weeks after a partial knee replacement — and check with your doctor that you are fit to drive before you start.
• Work: most people go back after 6 to 12 weeks, depending on the job. Physical work takes longer than desk work.
• Swelling: expect it for some weeks. Raising the leg and moving regularly both help.
• Pain: soreness that slowly improves is normal; pain that suddenly worsens is not — get it checked.

The medical timeline is the same. What changes is the logistics, so plan these before you travel:

• The stay. At our partner hospital in Poland the package includes three nights on the ward and up to seven outpatient physiotherapy sessions after discharge, so you stay nearby for the first part of your recovery.
• The flight home. Your surgeon decides when you are fit to fly — see flying after a hip or knee replacement.
• Physiotherapy at home. Ask your GP before you travel how to access local physiotherapy; waiting times vary, and some patients book private sessions for the first weeks.
• Your records. You come home with your medical records in English and a written rehabilitation plan for your GP and physiotherapist.
• Who to call. Keep your coordinator's number and the hospital's contact details to hand.

Weighing it against staying in the UK? See what a private knee replacement costs in the UK.

Contact NHS 111 or your GP urgently if you have:

• throbbing or cramping pain, swelling, or warm, red or darkened skin in one leg — possible deep vein thrombosis
• increasing redness, heat or discharge from the wound, or a high temperature — possible infection

Call 999 or go to A&E if you become breathless or have chest pain, especially when breathing in.