Why Do We Need Rehabilitation After Surgery?

Whether you have been in a car accident and had to be operated on or just had a routine operation, it wouldn’t be easy to return immediately to your normal life post-surgery. No matter how much you may want to, you will need to make efforts to get back on your feet and perform as you used to before the surgery. This is about the need for surgical rehabilitation.

What is post-surgery rehabilitation?

The program is specially designed to re-establish muscle and joint strength and function, prevent respiratory and vascular complications and is referred to as post surgery rehabilitation. This program also helps increase mobility and gives you new confidence to live life fully again.

Physical therapy after surgery (PT or Physiotherapy) is an important part of the post-rehabilitation process. It can speed up your recovery to a great extent and ensure the success of the treatment and the operation. It can help you regain strength, confidence, and mobility. Various techniques, such as hands-on therapy, stretches, and exercises, are included in the therapy.  

Whether it’s about physical therapy after knee replacement, or physical therapy after hip replacement, the rehabilitation takes place in the hospital.

After being discharged from the hospital, the rehabilitation should continue. It’s either that you find a physiotherapist on your own, or you get a referral to one.

The physiotherapist and other health specialists in your medical team will create a treatment plan to help you recover your strength, range of motion, and coordination. The purpose of this treatment plan is for you to get back to your usual functions.

Some treatment modalities included in physical therapy after surgery may include:

• guided and at-home exercises
• hands-on mobilisation and massage
• hot and cold therapy
• laser and light therapy
• electrical stimulation and TENS (or transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation)

Why Is Rehabilitation After Surgery Necessary?  

Many surgical patients believe that the rehabilitation guidance given to them while at the hospital is enough for them to recover. It’s unlucky that this is not the case because you must bind yourself to post-surgery rehabilitation to recover quickly and surely.

The rehabilitation treatments can help the affected joints and muscles strengthen again, providing better circulation and breathing. 

In detail, post-surgical rehabilitation aids in the following:

• Regaining your independence
• Managing your discomfort and pain
• Improving your circulation and range of motion
• Strengthening and stretching muscles
• Returning to your usual activities of day to day
• Improving lung volume and preventing chest infections
• Reducing anxiety, regaining confidence
• Reducing pressure sores on some areas of the skin

Summary: 

Surgical rehabilitation is a slow and long process that may last several weeks, months, or a year.

Physical therapy after surgery plays a big part in the rehabilitation process. Treatments such as special exercises, stretching, and hands-on therapy may be recommended. The rehab process begins at the hospital and should be continued at the therapist’s office or your own home.

Aside from physiotherapists, you are advised to consult with other medical professionals, like a psychologist, nutritionist, speech therapist, and others, to help you recover.

At Mission Walk Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation Centre, we can help you do the right thing, think positively about your rehabilitation, and begin your journey to a pain-free life. Talk to our customer care representatives, who’ll patiently answer umpteen questions you may have without getting bored. They’ll never ridicule you either for asking such questions too. Contact us today and schedule a free no-obligation consultation with our physical therapist in person or by phone. We can arrange your appointment when you are ready to begin your post-surgery rehabilitation.