It needs to vary from person to person and the doctor will take into account the patient’s wishes, symptom relief and a combination of factors such as muscle strength and joint function. In general, the affected limb should function at 90% or more of the healthy side before movement can be resumed. For patients who do ambulatory work or do not engage in strenuous activities, they can return to work once the symptoms of pain, swelling and restricted movement have sufficiently subsided, usually for 2-4 weeks.
The doctor will determine whether the patient can return to work and sport by using a combination of isometric muscle strength tests, single-leg stand tests, single-leg hopping to measure distance, folding runs and single-leg hopping to measure height to determine how well the patient’s knee function has recovered.