Questions patients ask

Common, and worth measuring rather than worrying about. Being behind the milestones has causes that can be identified — stiffness, weakness, swelling, pain-driven guarding, or a technical issue with the joint. The first three respond to therapy; the last needs your surgeon.

Mobilisation within the appropriate range and technique does not damage a replaced joint, and being too gentle in the early weeks is the more common error. It should be uncomfortable and it should be supervised.

Usually whichever is limiting the other, which the assessment determines. In practice the programme works on both, with loading staged so that one does not stall while the other progresses.

Once the wound is fully healed, yes, and aquatic work is part of the programme for exactly that reason. Before the wound is healed, no — and that is one of the things checked on arrival.

By the time a rehabilitation block starts, the clotting risk associated with early post-operative flying has usually passed, but it depends on your surgery date and your own risk factors. Confirm it with the team that operated on you before booking travel.