You know the drill – after having chronic pain for months, you consult with your doctor and book a surgery for your injury. You are anxious and spend a lot of time preparing leading up to your surgery. While a surgeon is highly skilled to perform the surgical procedure, what many patients don’t realize is that the operation is only the beginning of their journey to recovery. Physiotherapy rehabilitation post-operation is a vital step to achieving this goal. Physiotherapists are highly skilled healthcare professionals that can help you get back to your normal self by working with you to create and walk you through an individualized after surgery rehabilitation treatment plan.
Physiotherapy services can be prescribed to you by your doctor for and/or after an operation. Orthopaedic surgeries almost certainly require exercise progression to help regain strength, flexibility and function. Consulting with a physiotherapist experienced in post-operation rehab will provide you with the quickest, safest, and easiest way to return to daily activities.
Physiotherapy for surgery rehabilitation
Physiotherapy is a key step to help you in get back to your daily life activities, but you need to put in work in the form of exercises to achieve optimal results. Physiotherapists are musculoskeletal experts who are here to help you improve the way you feel and function. If you are wondering why you should see a physiotherapist, here are some reasons:
- Promote healing: seeing a physiotherapist will ensure proper healing following a surgery, minimize scar tissues, retain muscle after a major surgery, and more. Each patient has unique needs and a physiotherapist will create a customized treatment plan just for you.
- Regain mobility: surgeries in the lower extremities, such as knees and hips, require physiotherapy services to help you improve your mobility. This is important to get back to activities such as gardening, walking, jogging and running. Physiotherapists are trained in the stages of healing and will ensure to create a program to prevent injuries and to promote the fastest recovery time. In addition, the physiotherapist will check for any injury in the joints and muscles near the trouble area.
- Faster recovery: a physiotherapist will help you recover much more quickly than leaving the body to heal on its own. In fact, it has been shown that patients who begin physiotherapy immediately after waking from anesthesia following a joint replacement surgery experience a shorter hospital stay and a faster recovery.
- You are involved in your own rehab: physiotherapy allows you to actively engage in your own recovery which in turn improves your experiences in rehab. With a physiotherapist, you will determine the best strategies for recovery and how to lead a healthier, more active life. Your physiotherapist can approximate the length of rehab required and the levels of pain to expect in recovery.
Common surgeries requiring post-operative care
Some examples of common surgeries that require physiotherapy services include:
- Shoulder: Shoulder Reconstruction, Shoulder Stabilisation, Rotator Cuff Repair, Acromioplasty, Manipulation, Capsulotomy, Fracture
- Elbow: Tennis Elbow Release, Golfers Elbow Release, Fracture
- Wrist & Hand: Carpal Tunnel Release, Fracture, Tendon Repairs
- Hip: Hip Replacements/Resurfacing, Hip labral repairs, Hip Arthroscope, Fracture
- Knee: Knee Replacements, ACL and Ligament Reconstruction, Arthroscope, Meniscal Repairs, Chondroplasty, Lateral Release, Patella Tendon Transfer, Fracture
- Calf: Achilles Tendon Repairs, Fasciotomy
- Ankle & Foot: Ankle Reconstruction, Ligament Repairs, Arthroscope, Fracture, Spur Removal, Bunionectomy
- Spine (Neck & Back): Discectomy, Micro-discectomy, Laminectomy, Spinal Fusion/Stabilisation
To get back to your normal healthy self faster, speak with one of our physiotherapists today!