Your surgery is over.
Your recovery starts here.
Gentle, plain guidance for the days and weeks ahead, reviewed against AAOS, MedlinePlus, and the CDC.
You will want a sturdy chair and water nearby.
Gentle movement to start.
Moving a little through the day helps your lungs, your blood, and your strength come back. These are the gentle ones many teams start with. Follow the video, and let your own team tell you when to begin each.
What kind of surgery are you recovering from?
This only changes which gentle move we show first, and adds a note or two. You will see the same set either way. You can skip this.
Deep breathing
Keeps the bottom of your lungs open so they stay clear while you rest more than usual.
Sit up tall. Take a few normal breaths, then one slow, deep breath in. Hold it for about 2 to 5 seconds, then breathe out slowly and gently through your mouth. Repeat 10 to 15 times, or as many as your team tells you.3
Ankle pumps
Keeps the blood moving in your legs while you are sitting or resting.
Sit or lie back with your legs out. Point your toes down, then pull them up toward you, slow and smooth. A gentle rhythm, often through the day.12
Chair stands
The everyday strength you use to get up from any chair, rebuilt a little at a time.
Sit near the front of a sturdy chair with armrests. Push up through your heels to stand tall, then lower back down slowly, and never rush. Start only when your team clears you.6
Soreness that eases with rest is a normal part of moving again. Stop any move that pulls at your incision or feels wrong, and ask your team before you push further.
Check your medicines.
Going home after surgery often means new medicines for pain, clots, or infection. Look each one up, and it goes onto a sheet you print and carry to your visit. We never tell you to stop or change anything. If typing is hard, ask the person helping you, or bring your pill bottles to your next visit.
Never stop or change a medicine on your own. This tool is here to help you talk with your doctor, not to replace them.
FunctionalHealth
My medicine list
Type a few letters and pick your medicine from the list. If it is not there, add it just as it reads on your bottle.
For example: lisinopril.
Search powered by the NIH RxTerms database. Your care team manages dosing.
Saved on this phone only. Nothing is sent to us. Your list stays here for your next visit, and shows up on your other guides too.
No medicines on the list yet.
Your surgery, explained.
See what happened and how it mends, in two calm minutes. Pick what your care team told you, and we walk it through one picture at a time. No hard words.
FunctionalHealth
What did your care team say is going on?
Tap the one that sounds like you. There is no wrong answer. If you are not sure, your discharge papers usually say, or ask your care team.
Care teams use many names, and not every condition is here yet. That is completely OK. Ask your care team what to call what happened, and you can read about most conditions in plain words at MedlinePlus.
MedlinePlus health topics (NIH)What is normal for my incision, and what is not?
A quick look with a mirror or your phone camera works. Most healing looks like the calm side. The other side gathers the changes people often call their surgeon about.
Normal healing
Common in the early days89
- A little clear or blood-tinged drainage in the first days
- A small ring of redness right at the closure line
- Bruising and mild swelling around it
- Itching as it heals
Changes worth a call
The kind teams like to hear about4579
- Redness or warmth spreading out from the incision
- Thick, cloudy, or bad-smelling drainage
- The incision opening, or edges pulling apart
- Shaking chills, or a fever. Ask your team what temperature they want a call about.
Soreness after you walk is a normal part of healing. Sharp calf pain, or one leg swelling much more than the other, is the kind of change care teams like to hear about. When something feels wrong, a call is always welcome.
Rest is part of healing.
Your body is doing quiet work under the surface. Give it room, and let your energy come back on its own timing.
Tiredness is expected. Healing uses real energy. Feeling worn out, even after small things, is a normal part of the early weeks.10
Rest between activities. A short walk, then a sit-down, then a little more. Little and often beats one long push, and your energy returns as you heal.10
If sleep is broken at first. Get comfortable in whatever position eases your soreness. A pillow to support the sore area can help you settle.
What does recovery look like week by week, including after a knee or hip replacement?
Recovery is not a straight line.
Some days you will feel like you took a step back. That is normal, and it does not mean anything has gone wrong. The trend is upward. Most people see big gains within a few months and keep building strength for up to a year.12611
Measure yourself against last week, not yesterday. That is where the progress shows.
Take these questions with you.
Tap the ones you want to ask, then print. Or print them all and pick at the visit.
Print the warning signs and call numbers.
Big type. What teams like to hear about, what is treated as an emergency, and room for your surgeon's number. For you or whoever is helping you.12
Guided daily recovery
Keep your recovery going, day by day.
A free account saves your progress and gives you a guided daily session built around your focus: pain, moving, healing, or sleep. Your questions and printouts stay ready for every appointment.
Create free accountYour next step
Move a little, then rest
Rest is part of the plan, not a break from it.
- 1Hip and joint replacement recovery, ankle pumps to help prevent blood clots, and warning signs for infection, blood clots, and lung problems. AAOS OrthoInfo
- 2Knee replacement recovery, foot and ankle movement to keep blood moving, and warning signs. AAOS OrthoInfo
- 3Deep breathing exercises after surgery, and holding a pillow over a chest or belly incision during deep breathing. MedlinePlus (NIH)
- 4Caring for a closed surgical wound: dressing care, when you can shower, and the changes to call about, including a fever over 100°F for more than 4 hours. MedlinePlus (NIH)
- 5Signs of a surgical site infection: redness and pain around the surgery area, cloudy drainage, and fever. CDC
- 6Knee replacement recovery: a gradual return to your usual activities, with full recovery around a year. Cleveland Clinic
- 7Inguinal hernia repair discharge, an example of lifting limits and fever call guidance after belly surgery. MedlinePlus (NIH)
- 8Gallbladder removal discharge: normal healing signs (bruising, a little redness right at the wound edge, a small amount of watery or bloody fluid in the first days), and pressing a pillow over your incision when you cough or sneeze. MedlinePlus (NIH)
- 9Incision care: itching as an incision heals is normal, plus infection signs like an opening incision line, warmth, and thick or bad-smelling drainage. Cleveland Clinic
- 10Recovery after an operation: feeling very tired is normal, especially after major surgery, and activity builds back up gradually with rest when you need it. NHS
- 11Activities after knee replacement: mild to moderate swelling for about 3 to 6 months, and good days and bad days with gradual improvement over time. AAOS OrthoInfo
- 12Sudden trouble breathing or chest pain is treated as an emergency: do not drive yourself, ask someone to drive you or call an ambulance. NHS
Guidance on this page is educational and reviewed against the sources above.
This page is for information only and does not replace medical advice. Recovery timelines vary from person to person. Always follow your surgeon's specific instructions and call your care team with any concern.
Reviewed against the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, MedlinePlus, the CDC, Cleveland Clinic, and the NHS. See sources above.