LA Sports Teams Surgeon Says Post-Surgery Recovery Takes Full Year Despite Athletes Playing at Six Months

What was said

"When you take care of a professional athlete, they're back playing sometimes at 6 months, but when do you feel like you were back? Like, when did you feel like you were explosive as you were before you got injured? And a lot of them say a year. Many of them say a year because it takes that long for those fast-twitch fibers in your muscles and the explosiveness of your body to be able to do that."

Dr. Snibbe, assistant team physician for the LA Clippers, Lakers, Sparks, Kings, Angels, and other professional teams, revealed that athletes consistently report needing a full year to regain explosive performance after joint surgery despite returning to play at six months. This insider knowledge contradicts public timelines and highlights the gap between functional recovery and true athletic restoration.