PRE AND POST SURGICAL REHAB
Pre and Post Surgical Rehabilitation means preparing your body to undergo surgery and then reconditioning your body to return to normal levels of activity with the help of Physiotherapists and Kinesiologists.
What is Pre-Surgical/Operative Rehabilitation?
Pre-surgical/operative rehabilitation means preparing your body to undergo surgery and offer a stronger starting point for post-operative recovery. This consists of looking at maintaining levels of functional activity safely prior to surgery and in many cases addressing possible compensations that can be affecting other joints and regions of the body that may not be loading well themselves. It will also involve maintaining general conditioning including areas that may be called on to take on more work after the surgery.
What is Post-Surgical/Operative Rehabilitation?
Post-surgical/operative rehabilitation involves assisting with the process of returning to normal levels of activities. This is done by addressing specific goals by targeted exercises and progressive reloading of the repaired area. It also includes reconditioning of the specifically injured area and the rest of the body to increase tolerance to activity safely and efficiently.
What is surgical rehabilitation?
Surgical rehabilitation is generally the process of recovery after surgery that should include management of the effects of surgery (swelling, reduced mobility, decreased strength) as well as focusing on returning to “normal” levels of function and activity.
This process can vary significantly depending on the type of surgery involved as well as what level of health and function you were in prior to the surgery.
How can I get stronger for surgery?
You can get stronger for surgery with targeted planning to safely load the joint or area undergoing surgery that can increase supporting structures.
Oftentimes, just maintaining muscle or joint health and activity as well as blood flow to the affected region can have a major impact on how well surgery and post-surgery rehabilitation will proceed.
This can include cardiovascular exercises that can improve blood flow and as such help with circulation of nutrients and other supplies required during the healing and recovery process.
How long is rehab after surgery?
This is very dependent on the surgery you have undergone as well as the level of health and strength that you were at prior to getting the surgery done.
Ultimately the outcomes in post-surgical/operative care and rehabilitation can vary greatly, but the ability to commit to the process of rehabilitation including exercise-specific progressions will have a major impact on your recovery time.
Why is rehab important after surgery?
Rehab after surgery is important because generally, after surgery there is likely to be some swelling, changes in range of motion and possibly changes to both strength and stability in and around the area affected.
To manage these issues effectively and safely it is important to follow guidelines and protocols that you may have been provided by the surgeon and furthermore, follow up with a team of practitioners that can assist with the possible issues noted above.
The goal will be to return to levels prior to the injury or issues that you received surgery to address and in some cases it is even possible to use the rehabilitation process as a stepping stone to greater health and physical goals.
What happens if you don’t do PT after surgery?
If no rehabilitation is performed after surgery, the positive effects from the surgery will typically be severely compromised.
How can I speed up recovery from surgery?
Speeding up recovery is a bit of a tricky question as the main outcome goal should be to achieve the target goals of recovery to the best of our ability, not just quickly.
However, committing to a regular program with the assistance of a team of practitioners to guide and progress your recovery will go a long way.
Secondly, planning and prioritizing time on a daily basis to continue your rehabilitation independently will make the process much more efficient than relying solely on sessions with your team of practitioners.