Physiotherapy after surgery · Singapore
Hip Arthroscopy and FAI Recovery Program
Written by Zita Sham, Fairuuz Saleh and Shiv Mohan Banka, Principal Physiotherapists at Phoenix Rehab.Clinically reviewed by Louise Yow, Principal Physiotherapist & Director, AHPC A1300363H.Last reviewed 12 October 2026.
Hip arthroscopy is a short operation with a long rehabilitation. Most of the disappointment comes from that mismatch.
Arthroscopy for femoroacetabular impingement reshapes bone and often repairs the labrum. The joint is protected for weeks, the gluteal muscles switch off, and the rebuilding runs for months rather than weeks. This program is run by our physiotherapy team.
No referral needed. Every first visit is one 45-minute Assessment & Treatment, $230, nett, no GST. Bring your operation note or scan report.
Where are you right now?
Four situations we see
- You are considering surgery. A structured loading program is the usual first line for impingement and a proportion of people do well without an operation.
- Surgery is booked. Crutches, weight bearing limits and movement restrictions vary by what was done. Get them in writing from your surgeon.
- You are in the first six weeks. Range within limits, gluteal activation and gait. Doing too much here is the common error, not doing too little.
- Months on and the hip still catches or the groin still aches. Measurable, and usually a strength and control problem rather than a structural one.
Why this rehabilitation is long
The gluteals stop working long before the surgery and do not restart on their own
By the time most people have hip arthroscopy they have been guarding the hip for a year or more. The gluteus medius and the deep hip rotators lose strength and, more importantly, lose timing, which is the ability to fire at the right moment in a stride. The operation reshapes bone and repairs tissue. It does nothing to that.
Add to that a period on crutches, a capsule that has been opened and needs to heal, and restrictions on rotation and extension in the early weeks, and the muscle situation is worse after surgery than before it. That is why hip arthroscopy rehabilitation runs across months, why the middle stages are the long ones, and why people who return to sport on the surgeon timeline alone often end up back with a sore groin.
Single leg strength and control are measurable. Hop tests, single leg squat depth, side to side strength differences. Those numbers are what return to sport should be based on.
Usually expected, and what is not
Is this normal after hip arthroscopy?
The early weeks feel like a much bigger operation than the scars suggest.
Usually expected
- Groin ache and a deep sore feeling for several weeks.
- Swelling and bruising tracking down the thigh.
- A hip that feels weak and unreliable on stairs for the first month or two.
- Clicking or clunking that gradually settles.
Contact your surgeon or doctor
- Calf pain, swelling or tenderness, or shortness of breath. That is a clot question and needs same day medical review.
- Fever, wound discharge or spreading redness.
- Sudden inability to weight bear when you had been managing.
- Numbness in the foot or a foot that drags.
If you have sudden severe pain with a leg or foot that is cold, white or losing sensation, or you are unwell with fever and a hot swollen wound, that is an emergency department today, not a therapy appointment.
If it is not going to plan
Six months on and you still cannot run without the groin talking back
Running loads the hip several times body weight on one leg, repeatedly, and it exposes any deficit in gluteal strength and control that walking hides. Which is why people pass the walking test, fail the running test, and conclude the surgery did not work.
Side to side strength difference, hop distance and single leg control are numbers. If nobody has taken them, there is no basis for saying whether you are ready to run or simply impatient, and the two need opposite advice.
The Stalled Recovery Review is three appointments over three weeks with the same therapist, because what tissue does under graded work cannot be read in one visit. $690, nett, no GST.
The shape of it
What happens, week by week
Hip arthroscopy is a short operation with a long rehabilitation, often four to six months before sport. The weeks below are the common shape after FAI surgery with a labral repair. The weight-bearing and range limits your surgeon set take precedence.
- Weeks 0 to 4Stage 1 · Calm & ProtectCrutches and weight bearing as your surgeon set, range within the limits (often no deep bending or turning the leg out), swelling down, and gluteal activation from the first days.
- Weeks 4 to 8Stage 2 · Move & MobilizeOff crutches, the walking pattern made normal again, range recovered gradually, and hip and trunk control built.
- Weeks 8 to 16Stage 3 · Rebuild & StrengthenSingle-leg strength loaded and measured side to side. The longest stage, and the one most often cut short.
- Months 4 to 6Stage 4 · Return & PerformRunning progression, change of direction and sport, cleared on test results.
The weeks are typical ranges, not a promise. You move up a stage when you meet its criteria, and your surgeon’s protocol takes precedence over anything on this page.
The program
The four stages, and what moves you up
- Stage 1, Calm & Protect. Weight bearing and range within the limits your surgeon set, swelling down, and gluteal activation started early even at low load.
Move up when: your surgeon allows full weight through the leg and you walk without crutches and without a limp. - Stage 2, Move & Mobilize. Full range recovered, gait normalized off crutches, and hip and trunk control built. Criteria to move up are range and a clean walking pattern, not time since surgery.
Move up when: hip range is recorded and where your surgeon expects it at this point, and you can stand on the operated leg for 30 seconds without the pelvis dropping. - Stage 3, Rebuild & Strengthen. Loaded single leg work, measured side to side. This is the longest stage and the one people cut short.
Move up when: single-leg strength is measured at about 80% of the other side or better, and a single-leg squat is controlled. - Stage 4, Return & Perform. Running progression, change of direction, and the demands of your sport. Cleared on test results rather than on the calendar.
Graduate when: running, hopping and change of direction are tested against the other side, and your surgeon has cleared sport.
Measured at your first appointment and again at graduation: a hip function questionnaire, hip strength measured against the other side, and a single-leg squat, each once it is allowed.
Logistics
When can I…
Your surgeon decides, based on healing and what your job demands. These are typical points, not permissions.
| Activity | Typical point | What has to be true first |
|---|---|---|
| Desk work | 1 to 2 weeks | You can sit comfortably inside the hip positions your surgeon allows. |
| Walking without crutches | 2 to 6 weeks | A walk without a limp, and your surgeon agrees. |
| Driving | 2 to 6 weeks | Off strong painkillers and able to brake hard. Right hip usually takes longer. Check your insurer. |
| Jogging | 3 to 4 months | Stage 3 criteria met, including single-leg strength and control. |
| Sport, deep squats, pivoting | 4 to 6 months or later | Stage 4 criteria met, and your surgeon’s clearance. |
| IPPT (sit-ups, push-ups, 2.4 km run) | The 2.4 km run around 4 to 6 months. Sit-ups, which bend the hip deeply, as your surgeon allows | Jogging without groin pain, hip strength tested against the other side, and your surgeon’s go-ahead. Your unit’s medical officer decides your medical status and when you take IPPT. |
| Medical certificate | Your doctor issues it | Physiotherapists do not issue MCs. We can write a report on your functional limits for your doctor or employer. |
Who you will see
The physiotherapy team that runs this program
This program is run by the physiotherapy team. You are matched to the therapist whose declared clinical interest fits what happened to you and the clinic that suits you, and you stay with the same therapist through the program. Every appointment is one to one with your therapist for the full 45 minutes. All are registered with the Allied Health Professions Council.
Principal Physiotherapist. Shoulder and knee problems, spinal dysfunction, sports injury.
Orchard, Tampines
Principal Physiotherapist. ACL reconstruction and return to sport, hip and knee rehabilitation.
What our patients say
Google reviews from our clinics in Singapore.
Tampines
Principal Physiotherapist. Achilles tendinopathy, rotator cuff injury and repair, shoulder stiffness.
Orchard, Tampines, Jurong East
Principal Physiotherapist. Knee and hip replacement recovery, neck and shoulder pain, dry needling.
Tanjong Pagar, Jurong East
The program belongs to Phoenix, not to one therapist. Your plan, your measurements and your surgeon’s protocol move with you if you change clinic.
What it costs
$230 per 45 minute appointment
One to one with your therapist for the whole 45 minutes. Nett, no GST. Same price for your first appointment and your last. Stage 3 is measured in months, so the appointments are spread out across it. The Hip Arthroscopy and FAI Recovery Program is 12 appointments, $2,760 in all. You pay for each appointment as you attend it. If you need more, your therapist shows you which stage criteria are still open, and each extra appointment is $230.
This program runs Stages 1 to 4 of the Phoenix Recovery Protocol, and sits under physiotherapy after surgery alongside the rest of our recovery programs.
Prefer to phone? Each of our five clinics has its own number on the clinics page. No referral needed to book.
Timeframes on this page are typical ranges, not promises. Where your surgeon has given you a protocol, that protocol takes precedence over anything written here.
Where we are
Clinics across Singapore
ORCHARD
400 Orchard Road #12-12
Orchard Towers, S238875
NS22 Orchard MRT
Physiotherapy and hand therapy in Orchard →
WhatsApp 8800 1830TAMPINES
9 Tampines Grande #01-20
Asia Green, S528735
EW2DT32 Tampines MRT
Physiotherapy and hand therapy in Tampines →
WhatsApp 8780 9608SERANGOON
265 Serangoon Central Drive #04-269
S550265 · Lift C only
NE12CC13 Serangoon MRT
Physiotherapy and hand therapy in Serangoon →
WhatsApp 8892 4121TANJONG PAGAR
10 Anson Road #02-77A
International Plaza, S079903
EW15 Tanjong Pagar MRT
Physiotherapy and hand therapy in Tanjong Pagar →
WhatsApp 8227 7074JURONG EAST
2 Venture Drive #02-02
Vision Exchange, S608526
NS1EW24 Jurong East MRT
Opening 25 October 2026
Physiotherapy and hand therapy in Jurong East →
WhatsApp 8242 7340