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Lincolnshire Knee

ChondroFiller aftercare

ChondroFiller aftercare after a knee injection

Professor Lee gives ChondroFiller as an ultrasound-guided outpatient injection at our Lincolnshire clinics. Recovery is light and mostly a matter of pacing yourself, and it looks nothing like the surgical rehabilitation that comes up first when you search.

The first few hours

  • No brace and no crutches or other walking aids, unless your medical team specifies otherwise. You walk out the same hour.
  • The local anaesthetic wears off after about six hours.
  • Mild soreness, swelling or stiffness in the knee is normal.

Your recovery

From the next morning to the next few months

  1. Next day

    Dressing off, site kept dry

    Take the dressing off the next day and keep the injection site dry for 48 hours.

  2. Days 1 to 3

    Keep it quiet

    Rest the knee as much as daily life allows. Ice for 10 to 15 minutes at a time, always through a cloth. No massage or deep heat on the knee for a week.

  3. Weeks 1 and 2

    About half your usual knee activity

    Short, light walks are fine. Avoid long walks, impact and targeted leg exercises while the gel integrates.

  4. Weeks 3 to 6

    A graded return

    Build activity back up in steps, adding gentle strengthening. Your six-week telephone review, which is free, is the point to check how you are getting on.

  5. Months

    Repair tissue builds

    New repair tissue builds slowly over months, so improvement is gradual rather than immediate. A 12-month MRI is reviewed with Professor Lee.

What the surgical timelines online describe, and why they are not yours

ChondroFiller can also be implanted during keyhole surgery. That operation comes with a 48-hour brace, weight-bearing rebuilt in stages over six to eight weeks and a return to sport at around six months. Most pages that rank for ChondroFiller recovery describe it.

An injection is a different procedure. There is no operation, no brace and no period on crutches, so those timelines do not apply to you. If a page you have read talks about staged weight-bearing, it is describing surgery.

When to contact the clinic

Get in touch if you have any of these.

  • Pain that is severely limiting
  • Swelling or redness that is getting worse
  • Continued bleeding or discharge from the injection site
  • A fever

Call 0330 001 0048 or email [email protected]. Your clinic letter takes priority over anything on this page.

The full guide and leaflet

The complete aftercare guide, with the downloadable patient leaflet, is on our sister clinic's site. Read the full ChondroFiller recovery guide.

Thinking about treatment? Book a discovery call or book a consultation with Professor Lee.

Ready to move again?

Book your knee appointment

Self-referrals welcome. Insured and self-pay accepted.

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