Preparation for Post-Surgery Rehabilitation: Setting the Right Goals
Do you have a knee, hip or other joint surgery coming up soon? Do you know what the plan is for your rehabilitation afterward? Here at PhysioPoint, we believe it is vital to regain your full range of motion as quickly as possible post-surgery. And we’re guessing you think that’s important too!
Redefining Post-Surgery Priorities: Emphasizing Early Mobility
One place where we see a little bit of a misstep post-surgery is what other physical therapists prioritize. Well-intentioned treatments often prioritize strengthening exercises or functional mobility—getting in and out of the car or getting up and down the stairs—after a total joint replacement. Initially, their goal is to reduce the pain and swelling of a total hip or a total knee. At PhysioPoint, that is our number one goal on day two or three
Promoting Comfortable Progress: The PhysioPoint Difference in Rehabilitation
Why? Collagen (a protein found in muscles, bones, and other tissues) forms scar tissue. After an injury or surgery, your body lays down collagen that will become normal healthy tissue. Collagen that develops under normal circumstances aligns to give your tissue strength. However, the collagen that forms in response to an injury or surgery does so randomly. This sporadic layering leads to the buildup of scar tissue, often like a tangled ball of yarn. However, if the joint that was operated on is being gently stressed as the scar is forming, it will form linear patterns (under a microscope), which is what you want. So, if we stress, for example, the bending of the knee, or the moving of the hip joint soon after surgery, it will then force the scar into a linear pattern and will give you greater mobility faster.
Pain-Free Progress: The Gentle Approach to Post-Surgery Mobility
This doesn’t necessarily need to be painful. In fact, what we use at PhysioPoint is a low-load, long-duration stretch, which stretches that scar and soft tissue with a very comfortable amount of stretch for a long period of time. When you do that, you’ll be much better off early on in the stages of your rehab after a total joint or even shoulder surgery. So the key after surgery, no matter what anyone tells you, is to get that joint moving as much, as quickly, and as comfortably as possible.
That’s the approach that we use at PhysioPoint that gives you the Physio Difference. If you’re scheduled to have joint surgery soon, give us a call. Let us help you back to living your life as quickly as possible!
