The care pathway
Recovery timeline and therapy
A general guide to recovery after hand surgery. Your own timeline depends on the operation you had: the precise intervals come from your surgeon and your therapist.
The first two weeks
The priority is to protect the repair, control swelling, and keep supple the joints you are allowed to move.
The rule is simple: move what is not immobilised. A shoulder and elbow left resting in a sling stiffen within days, and that stiffness has nothing to do with the surgery.
- Move the free joints every day: shoulder, elbow, and any fingers not immobilised.
- Wear the splint exactly as instructed — no less, and no “a bit more to be safe”.
- Expect to sleep poorly the first week: it is common and temporary.
Two to six weeks
Therapy steps up. The hand therapist sets a specific exercise programme and, where needed, makes a custom splint.
This work is the single biggest determinant of the result. A technically perfect operation followed by neglected therapy gives a worse result than the reverse. The exercises are done at home, several times a day, between sessions.
- Do the home exercises: the sessions alone are not enough.
- Resume light daily tasks, without straining or lifting.
- Discuss return to work based on what your job actually asks of your hands.
Six weeks to six months
Strengthening begins once the tissues have healed. Strength returns more slowly than movement, and it is usually strength that determines the return to manual work or sport.
It is worth knowing that swelling, morning stiffness and a tender scar often persist for several months. That is not a sign that something is wrong.
- Strengthening starts only when your surgeon or therapist says so.
- Nerve recovery is slow: count in months, not weeks.
- The final result of hand surgery is often judged at six to twelve months.
Urgent
When to call, and who to call
Fingers that are cold, white or bluish, loss of sensation, severe and increasing pain that painkillers do not touch, a dressing that has become too tight, or bleeding that does not stop after ten minutes of pressure: go to the emergency department without waiting for a call back. For a fever, spreading redness or discharge, call the office the same day. If you are unsure, call 811.
Information on this site is general and does not replace a medical consultation. In an emergency, call 911.