Rehabilitation After Injury or Surgery
Rehabilitation is the part of care that turns a stable bone or graft into a usable limb. It should be specific to the diagnosis.
Principles
Control swelling, restore motion that is allowed, then load the muscle. Skipping to gym machines because the wound looks fine is a common reason grafts and repairs are irritated. Your physiotherapist and surgeon should be working from the same restrictions.
Return to sport
Feeling confident is necessary but not sufficient. Strength compared with the other side, hop tests, and sport-specific drills are used for ligament injuries. There is no universal week-12 clearance for ACL reconstruction.
E-E-A-T
Written for patients, reviewed as medical education
This page is educational. It is not personal medical advice and is not a substitute for examination, imaging review or treatment planned in clinic.
- Author / reviewer
- Dr. Rahul Kumar
- Qualifications
- MBBS, M.S. Orthopedics, MRCS (Edinburgh), FIFA Diploma in Football Medicine
- Last reviewed
- 2026-10-29
- Last updated
- 2026-10-29
Awaiting medical review by Dr. Rahul Kumar