What we are talking about
After orthopaedic surgery the pathway has two very different phases. The first, in the early weeks, needs physical presence: wound checks, mobilisations, specific precautions set by the surgeon. The second is made of progressive exercise and lasts much longer.
Almost everyone receives a course of sessions covering the first phase and part of the second. Then the sessions end, and the recovery is not finished: strength comes back over months, confidence in movement takes even longer. This is where progress stalls and sometimes goes backwards.
Our place is this: the long part. We do not replace the physiotherapist following you in the immediate post-operative period, we come after — or alongside, if you need continuity between one clinic session and the next.
When it makes sense to get seen
The most frequent situations:
- The rehabilitation course has finished but you do not feel right
- You have the exercises on a sheet and do not know whether you are doing them properly
- The operated knee or hip has not regained the strength of the other side
- You are afraid to load it and that is limiting you more than the pain
- You are due to have surgery and want to arrive in the best possible shape
- You want to go back to a specific activity and nobody has told you how
What can be done remotely, and what cannot
Post-surgery is the area where being honest about the limits matters most, because the first phase needs hands and medical checks.
What can be done remotely
- Following the strengthening and functional recovery phase, which is the longest
- Correcting how you perform the exercises you have been given
- Progressing the load with criteria, instead of staying on the same sheet for months
- Preparing for the operation in the weeks beforehand, which improves recovery afterwards
- Rebuilding confidence in movement, which is often the main brake
What cannot
- The very first weeks after the operation, which require physical presence
- Checking the wound, the scar and any effusion
- Passive mobilisations, drainage and manual therapy
The surgeon's instructions and restrictions come before everything. We work within those limits and do not change them: if something does not add up to us, we tell you to ask them.
Frequently asked questions
Can I do post-operative rehabilitation entirely online?
Not all of it. The first weeks need physical presence and we say so straight away. The following phase — the strengthening one, which lasts months and is where recovery is either completed or lost — follows well at a distance.
How long does recovery after a joint replacement take?
Walking comes back early, strength and confidence much later: you think in months and improvements carry on well beyond the first year. Anyone who stops when the course of sessions ends misses the part where most is gained.
I only have a sheet of exercises. Is that enough?
Enough to start, not to get to the end. A programme that does not progress stops producing adaptations after a few weeks: from there you need someone to raise the bar at the right moment.
Is preparing before surgery really worth it?
Yes, and it is one of the most underrated things. Arriving at the operation with more strength and more mobility translates into a faster recovery afterwards. The weeks of waiting are useful time, not dead time.
