Physiotherapy after surgery · Singapore
Lumbar Microdiscectomy Recovery Program
Written by Zita Sham, Fairuuz Saleh and Shiv Mohan Banka, Principal Physiotherapists at Phoenix Rehab.Clinically reviewed by Louise Yow, Principal Physiotherapist and Director, AHPC A1300363H.Last reviewed 28 September 2026.
The operation takes the pressure off the nerve in under an hour. It does not train the back that let the disc go in the first place.
A microdiscectomy removes the fragment of disc pressing on a nerve root. Leg pain often improves immediately. What happens over the following three months decides whether the back holds. 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
- Surgery is booked and you want to know what the first six weeks look like. Mostly walking, position sense and load management, and less lying down than people expect.
- You are in the first fortnight. Wound, walking distance and sitting tolerance, in that order. Bending, lifting and twisting restrictions come from your surgeon and they differ.
- The leg pain went and the back ache stayed. Extremely common and it is a different problem from the one that was operated on.
- The leg pain has come back. That belongs with your surgeon before it belongs with a therapist, particularly if it is new numbness or weakness.
What the operation did and did not do
Decompressing a nerve is not the same as rehabilitating a spine
The nerve root was compressed, the fragment was removed, and the compression is gone. That is the whole of what the operation was for and it usually does that job well. What it does not touch is the reason the disc was loaded the way it was. The deep trunk muscles have typically switched down, hip and hamstring range has usually shortened, and the pattern of bending through the back rather than the hips is still there afterwards.
This matters because the recurrence rate after discectomy is not trivial, and reherniation happens most often in the first months. The single practical thing that protects the segment in that window is load sharing, which means hips that move, a trunk that braces, and a way of lifting that does not put the whole demand through one level.
New or worsening leg weakness, numbness around the saddle area, or a change in bladder or bowel control after this surgery is an emergency department today. That advice applies whoever you see for rehabilitation.
Usually expected, and what is not
Is this normal after a microdiscectomy?
The first six weeks are more variable than most operations, and this list is the common version.
Usually expected
- Leg pain gone or much reduced immediately, with back soreness at the wound for two to three weeks.
- Pins and needles or a patch of numbness in the leg that fades over weeks to months.
- Sitting being the least comfortable position for the first few weeks.
- Fatigue out of proportion to the size of the operation.
Contact your surgeon or doctor
- New or increasing weakness in the leg or foot.
- Numbness around the groin or saddle area, or any change in bladder or bowel control. Emergency department now.
- Wound discharge, spreading redness or fever.
- A sudden return of the original leg pain, particularly after a bend or a lift.
If you have sudden severe pain with a hand or arm 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
Three months on and you still cannot sit through a meeting
Sitting tolerance is the one people quietly organize their life around. Meetings taken standing, the aisle seat, the drive broken into two. It is rarely the disc at that point and it is usually hip range, trunk endurance and a chair that has never been looked at.
Endurance is measurable. So is hip flexion, hamstring length and how long you can hold a neutral trunk position before it gives. Until those are numbers, sitting badly is a habit rather than a finding.
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 program
The four stages, and what moves you up
- Stage 1, Calm and Protect. Walking built up daily, wound settled, sitting tolerance extended in small increments, and the restrictions your surgeon set followed exactly.
- Stage 2, Move and Mobilize. Hip and thoracic range, nerve mobility where the leg still refers, and the basics of bracing. Criteria to move up are walking distance, sitting tolerance and hip range, recorded.
- Stage 3, Rebuild and Strengthen. Hip hinge patterning, trunk endurance, and loading through the legs. This is the stage that actually reduces the chance of a repeat.
- Stage 4, Return and Perform. Your actual lifting, your actual desk, your actual sport. Tested rather than assumed.
Logistics
When can I…
Your surgeon decides, based on healing and what your job demands. These are typical points, not permissions.
What our patients say
Google reviews from our clinics in Singapore.
| Activity | Typical point | What has to be true first |
|---|---|---|
| Walking | From the first day | Short walks, often, and building up each day. |
| Desk work | 2 to 4 weeks | You can sit for 30 to 45 minutes, with breaks to stand and walk. |
| Driving | 2 to 4 weeks | Off strong painkillers, and able to turn and brake hard. Your surgeon agrees, and check your insurer. |
| Lifting, housework | 6 weeks or later | Your surgeon clears it, lifting close to the body and building up. |
| Gym, running, sport | 6 to 12 weeks | Stage 4 criteria met, and your surgeon’s clearance. |
| 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. |
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. The program is weighted towards Stages 3 and 4, which is the opposite of most post surgical programs, because the first weeks are mostly walking. The Lumbar Microdiscectomy 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
SERANGOON
265 Serangoon Central Drive #04-269
S550265 · Lift C only
NE12CC13 Serangoon MRT
WhatsApp 8892 4121TANJONG PAGAR
10 Anson Road #02-77A
International Plaza, S079903
EW15 Tanjong Pagar MRT
WhatsApp 8227 7074JURONG EAST
2 Venture Drive #02-02
Vision Exchange, S608526
NS1EW24 Jurong East MRT
Opening 20 October 2026
WhatsApp 8242 7340