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After surgery, the protocol belongs to your team
People search “physio after surgery” because the hospital discharge pack is short and the weeks at home are long. This page explains the shape of a rehab pathway — protect, restore, reload — without inventing week-by-week rules for a knee replacement, shoulder repair, or spinal operation.
At a glance
- Constraints come from the operation
- Surgeon + physio
- Range, then capacity
- Graded
- We will not publish your weeks
- No public protocol
- Not a hospital outpatient clinic
- Education only
Why post-surgical physio exists
Operations change tissue, pain, and permission to load. Physiotherapy after surgery is usually about:
- honouring precautions (what you must not do yet)
- restoring safe range as allowed
- rebuilding strength and confidence
- solving practical problems: stairs, sleep positions, work sitting, walking distance
None of that is a promise that physiotherapy “makes surgery work”. Surgery outcomes vary. So do rehab outcomes.
The pathway in one paragraph
Early on, the plan is often conservative: swelling, wound awareness (your medical team owns wound care), and permitted movement. Later, load increases if the operation and your response allow it. “Later” is not a date we will name.
What to take to the first community session
- operation name and date (as you understand them)
- written precautions if you have them
- medication list
- questions about work, driving, and sport — knowing the clinician may defer to the surgeon
Honesty about the 2011 archive
The historic brochure on this domain mentioned post-operative orthopaedic conditions. That is a topic, not evidence that this website is a continuation of that practice.
Questions, answers first
What people ask on this topic
Post-surgical physiotherapy is typically a graded plan set with your surgeon and physiotherapist. Timelines belong to your treating team.
Physio after surgery — rehab pathway?
Often some exercise is part of rehab, but after surgery the allowed list is tightly constrained. Ask the team that operated and the physiotherapist they nominated.
Can I exercise while in rehab?
Usually no for private booking; after surgery your hospital or surgeon may already have a preferred pathway.
Do I need a GP referral for physio in Australia?
Bring the operation letter, not a printout of this page
A discharge summary and the surgeon’s precautions beat any education hub. We cannot clear you to drive, work, or swim.