Home after knee arthroscopy or ACL surgery: your first two weeks

First things first

A note on the evidence

Advice on ice timing, dressings and driving comes from patient leaflets and expert opinion, not trials ^[1]. No trials tell us when to bathe or remove dressings. If this guide and your discharge sheet differ, follow your discharge sheet.

Days 1 to 14

Swelling: raise and ice

• Keep the leg raised when you sit ^[1].
• Use an ice pack, or a packet of frozen peas wrapped in a tea towel or thin cloth, for 20 minutes every 2 to 3 hours ^[1]. Keep the cloth between the ice and your skin.
• What the research shows: in trials after knee replacement (not arthroscopy), cold therapy reduced pain a little at 48 hours (about 1.6 points on a 0 to 10 scale) and reduced swelling on days 2 to 6. The certainty is low, and some people had cold injuries to the skin ^[3]. ACL rehab guidelines say cold therapy “may be used”, depending on the person ^[2]. Ice can help comfort; it is not a treatment on its own.

Moving

Walking and putting weight on the leg

Follow your surgeon’s written plan for weight-bearing (how much body weight you put through the leg). ACL rehab guidelines support moving the knee straight away and starting strength exercises early. Early full weight-bearing may be used, depending on the case ^[2]. One review linked faster weight-bearing after ACL reconstruction with more looseness (laxity) in the knee ^[4]. This is why plans differ, for example if a meniscus was repaired.

The guidelines recommend against continuous passive motion (CPM) machines and functional knee braces after ACL reconstruction ^[2]. If your surgeon has given you a brace, follow their advice on using it.

Wound care

Dressings and stockings

• Keep the dressings as dry as possible until the staff tell you they can come off ^[1].
• If you were given a compression stocking (a tight elastic stocking), wear it as advised ^[1].
• Ask your team when you can bathe, including a bucket bath.

Blood clots

Do I need blood-thinning injections?

A DVT (deep vein thrombosis) is a clot in a leg vein; a PE (pulmonary embolism) is a clot that travels to the lungs. The risk of a serious clot after knee arthroscopy is small. Across 8 trials with 3,818 people, there were 7 lung clots and no deaths ^[5]. In one large trial, routine blood-thinning injections did not lower clots that caused symptoms: 0.7% of people given 8 days of injections had one, against 0.4% of people given none ^[6].

UK NICE guidance says injections are generally not needed after arthroscopic knee surgery if the anaesthetic lasted under 90 minutes and your risk is low. They may be considered for 14 days if it lasted longer or your clot risk outweighs your bleeding risk ^[7]. Things that raise clot risk include age over 60, obesity, smoking, a previous clot, the oestrogen pill or HRT (hormone replacement therapy), and cancer ^[8]. Your surgical team will decide. NICE also advises drinking enough fluids and moving early ^[7].

Getting around

Driving

Usually not for at least 2 weeks, and only once you can do an emergency stop safely ^[1].

Keeping perspective

Complications are uncommon

In a Swedish study of 18,735 people, about 1.1% had a complication within 30 days of knee arthroscopy ^[9].

Talking it through

Questions to ask before you go home

• How much weight can I put on my leg, and for how long?
• When can the dressings come off, and when can I bathe?
• Do I need blood-thinning injections?
• Whom do I call about a warning sign, including at night?

Dr Aditya Aggarwal performs knee arthroscopy and ACL reconstruction at Aggarwal Clinic, Patiala. Your recovery plan depends on what was done during your operation, so ask your surgeon to go through it before you leave.

Sources

References

1. NHS. Arthroscopy. NHS website; accessed 5 Oct 2026. nhs.uk/tests-and-treatments/arthroscopy
2. Andrade R, et al. How should clinicians rehabilitate patients after ACL reconstruction? A systematic review of clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) with a focus on quality appraisal (AGREE II). Br J Sports Med. 2020;54(9):512-519. doi:10.1136/bjsports-2018-100310
3. Aggarwal A, et al. Cryotherapy following total knee replacement. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2025;10(10):CD007911. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD007911.pub4
4. Fan Z, et al. Delayed versus accelerated weight-bearing rehabilitation protocol following anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Rehabil Med. 2022;54:jrm00260. doi:10.2340/jrm.v53.1438
5. Perrotta C, et al. Interventions for preventing venous thromboembolism in adults undergoing knee arthroscopy. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2022;8(8):CD005259. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD005259.pub5
6. van Adrichem RA, et al. Thromboprophylaxis after knee arthroscopy and lower-leg casting. N Engl J Med. 2017;376(6):515-525. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa1613303
7. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. Venous thromboembolism in over 16s: reducing the risk of hospital-acquired deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism (NG89). NICE; 2018, updated 2019. nice.org.uk/guidance/ng89
8. NHS. DVT (deep vein thrombosis). NHS website; reviewed 30 Apr 2026. nhs.uk/conditions/deep-vein-thrombosis-dvt
9. Friberger Pajalic K, et al. Update on the risks of complications after knee arthroscopy. BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 2018;19(1):179. doi:10.1186/s12891-018-2102-y

Evidence checked 5 October 2026.

Next step

WhatsApp your reports to +91 84477 30708, or call +91 98768 24676, to arrange a consultation with Dr Aditya Aggarwal at Aggarwal Clinic, Patiala. No diagnosis or treatment advice is given over WhatsApp.