People who have undergone surgical procedures often have a long journey to recovery in front of them. They can benefit from post-surgery rehabilitation physiotherapy, which can help them regain strength and function.
Our Stittsville physiotherapists are familiar with post-op recovery guidelines commonly prescribed by doctors. We can also tailor your physiotherapy program to meet your specific needs following your surgery.
In this post, we'll share some facts about post-surgical rehabilitation and the types of physiotherapy you might consider as treatment options.
Post-Surgical Rehabilitation
After your surgery, you'll need to regain and optimize your bodily functions. Your muscles may have begun to weaken and stiffen as you awaited your procedure.
While you may be understandably concerned and even feeling fearful of moving post-surgery - sometimes to the point of avoiding physical activity - it's important to get back to being physically active. Your physiotherapist can also create a pre-surgery physiotherapy program to help strengthen your muscles before surgery.
Our registered physiotherapists can determine your requirements and abilities, and construct a treatment plan to help you recover from your surgery, regain your mobility and strength and speed the healing process.
Here are a few surgeries that we can help our clients recover from:
- Acromioplasty
- ACL Reconstruction
- Knee Surgeries
- Dislocations
- Hand Surgeries
- MCL Repairs
- Meniscal Surgery
- Rotator Cuff Repairs
- Shoulder Replacements
- Spinal Surgeries
- Surgical Repairs of Various Fractures
- Total Hip Replacement
- Total Knee Replacement
Phases of Post-Operative Rehabilitation Physiotherapy
The three phases of post-operative rehabilitation physiotherapy, including Early Recovery (after your discharge from surgery), Strength & Range of Motion and Functional Restoration.
1. Early Recovery
Alleviating pain and swelling will be the primary focus of this phase. Your physiotherapist may recommend gentle manual therapy to encourage early walking and restore motion in your joints.
He or she may prescribe mobility aids such as canes or walkers with instructions on how to use them. You may also do some simple exercises to reclaim muscle function without disturbing the healing process.
2. Physiotherapy in Strength & Range of Motion
In this phase, the main goal is to normalize your body's mechanisms and strengths. Your physiotherapist may recommend balance and proprioception tasks in addition to manual therapy to help you regain full range of motion in your joints. Soft tissue treatment can help you regain mobility.
3. Physiotherapy in Functional Restoration
The third stage of post-operative care starts after your strength and independent movement are restored in phase 2. In this final phase, your physiotherapist will develop an exercise plan for you.
While this program will be tailored to your lifestyle, goals and physical abilities, your physiotherapist may begin by helping you engage in more challenging, balance and proprioception tasks specifically designed to help you accomplish a complex functional goal.
Who can benefit from post-operative rehabilitation?
Anyone who has had surgery or is experiencing pain, muscle weakness, reduced mobility and stiffness - and consequently, low exercise tolerance and reduced independence - can benefit from post-surgery rehabilitation physiotherapy.
What are the benefits of post-surgical physiotherapy?
While surgery can certainly treat health conditions that can't be addressed with more non-invasive methods, it may also affect you physically and psychologically, potentially causing frustration and anxiety.
Many people experience pain and inflammation post-surgery, which can be treated with physiotherapy.
Seeing a physiotherapist can help you:
- Return to physical and recreational activities and sports
- Reduce stress and anxiety
- Build confidence
- Prevent boredom from setting in
- Find relief from pain and stiffness by exercising the muscles
- Achieve short and long-term health goals
- Heal and maximize your potential as you recover
Post-Surgery Rehabilitation Physiotherapy at Motion Works Physiotherapy & Sports Injury Centre
Our registered physiotherapists in Stittsville work with clients of all ages to develop comprehensive post-operative and accident rehabilitation programs.
We offer an Early Intervention Program, which begins with home visits for clients whose mobility is significantly restricted and who are living in the Stittsville area.
After this early stage of treatment, we move to intensive active rehabilitation at our facility. In our Medical Exercise Therapy Gym at our physiotherapy clinic, you'll find the ideal setting to help you safely progress through intensive and active post-operative rehabilitation. Our specialized equipment allows for safe and effective mobility, strength and functional retraining after surgery.
During your rehabilitation program, we maintain a close working relationship with your orthopedic surgeon and provide progress reports at each follow-up visit.