Online physiotherapy after knee replacement
After a knee replacement, rehab with us starts once your surgical team has confirmed you have no restrictions. A video session lets your physiotherapist watch how you move, set milestones and progress your exercises at home. Wound checks and complications go back to your surgical team. Pain and swelling in the leg with breathing difficulty or chest pain needs 999.
How online physiotherapy works after knee replacement
Your surgical team decides when rehab with us can begin. Rehab starts once your surgical team has confirmed you have no restrictions. Until then, follow the instructions and exercises you were given in hospital.
The NHS says a physiotherapist or occupational therapist explains a home exercise programme before you leave hospital, and that following those exercises early helps long-term strength and movement. Our video sessions build on that programme. We watch you stand, walk with your aid, bend and straighten the knee, and then adjust what you do at home.
Being at home helps with the practical parts of recovery. We can look at the stairs you actually climb, the chair you sit in and the bathroom you use, and plan exercises and pacing around them. If you are still using crutches or a frame, our service guidance says sessions can be adapted to seated or supported positions.
There are things we cannot do by video. We cannot examine the wound, remove stitches or staples, or check the joint by hand. Our service guidance is clear that wound checks and any complication go straight back to your surgical team, and we will tell you if something we see or hear in a session needs that.
If your knee pain started before surgery, or you are still deciding on an operation, our page on online physiotherapy for knee pain covers that stage instead.
What the video assessment checks
- Confirmation that your surgical team has said you have no restrictions, and any instructions they gave you.
- The date and type of operation, whether it was a total or partial knee replacement, and what your discharge summary or exercise sheet says.
- How the knee bends and straightens, how you stand up from a chair, and how you manage steps or stairs at home, as far as it is safe to try them.
- How you walk, whether you use a stick, crutches or a frame, and how much the knee swells or aches after activity.
- How you are sleeping, what daily tasks and work you want to get back to, and what you are worried about.
- The warning signs listed below, which we check for during your sessions, because they change what the right next step is.
What treatment usually involves
A plan after knee replacement is built from the exercises your hospital team gave you, then progressed in steps as the knee settles. We set milestones with you for movement, strength and walking, and review them at each follow-up. We ask you to follow your surgeon's protocol where it differs from anything we suggest.
The first session is a 60-minute video assessment at £40, and follow-ups are 30 minutes at £30. It depends on your condition; your physiotherapist will give you an estimate after your assessment. We review it with you rather than booking a block in advance.
The NHS gives some typical timings, which depend on you and your surgeon. It says people are usually home 1 to 4 days after the operation, may try walking without an aid after about 6 weeks if ready, usually wait at least 6 weeks to drive after a total replacement (3 weeks after a partial one, checking with your doctor), and return to work after about 6 to 12 weeks depending on the job. It also suggests avoiding heavy household lifting for the first 3 months.
Your follow-up appointment with the surgical team, which the NHS says is usually about 6 weeks after the operation, stays with them. NICE guidance on joint replacement recommends that people doing rehabilitation on their own know their goals and why the exercises matter, and have someone to contact for advice and support. It says nothing about rehab by video, and we do not suggest it does. Keep your GP or specialist team informed about your treatment.
How long recovery usually takes
According to the NHS, it may take several months or longer to fully recover from a knee replacement, and recovery from a partial replacement should be shorter than from a total one. Progress is set mostly by the operation itself. We review how your movement, strength and walking are changing at each session, and we suggest you speak to your surgical team if progress stalls.
When you need to be seen in person instead
A video appointment is not the right route for the situations below, and a home visit is not a substitute for urgent care.
- Call 999 or go to A&E if you have pain and swelling in your leg and difficulty breathing or chest pains. This could be a blood clot in the lungs.
- Do not drive yourself to A&E. Ask someone to drive you, or call 999.
- Call 999 or go to A&E if you have severe difficulty breathing, pain in your chest or upper back, a very fast heartbeat, or you collapse. These can be signs of a blood clot in the lungs. Do not drive yourself.
- Ask for an urgent GP appointment or call NHS 111 if you have had a knee replacement and have throbbing or cramping pain in your leg.
- Ask for an urgent GP appointment or call NHS 111 if you have a high temperature, or feel hot, cold or shivery, or if the wound is oozing or has pus.
- Ask for an urgent GP appointment or call NHS 111 if the redness, tenderness, swelling or pain in your knee is not getting better or is getting worse. The NHS says these can be signs of infection or a blood clot.
- Wound checks, stitch or staple removal and any complication go back to your surgical team, not to an online rehab session.
Exercises and self-checks
Common questions
When can I start online physio after a knee replacement?
Rehab starts once your surgical team has confirmed you have no restrictions. Until then, follow the exercises and advice you were given in hospital. We can talk through where you are at booking, and we will ask you to check with your surgical team if you are unsure.
Can you check my wound or remove stitches?
No. Our service guidance is that wound checks, stitch or staple removal and any complication need in-person review, and they go straight back to your surgical team. If the wound is oozing, you feel feverish or the knee is more red or swollen, use the urgent routes listed on this page.
How long will recovery take?
The NHS says it may take several months or longer to fully recover from a knee replacement, and a partial replacement should be shorter than a total one. We cannot give you a firm date, and we review your progress with you at each session.
Had ACL surgery instead?
We cover that in a separate guide: online physiotherapy after ACL reconstruction. The same rule applies: rehab starts once your surgical team has confirmed you have no restrictions, and complications go back to them.
Further reading
This information is general and not a substitute for an assessment. Don't start a new exercise programme without advice from a physiotherapist or doctor who knows your condition. If an exercise causes pain that doesn't settle, stop and seek advice.
Sources
Book an online assessment
A 60-minute video assessment with an HCPC-registered physiotherapist is £40.
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