Pre-Surgical-Rehab

It is natural to feel a bit worried about an upcoming surgical procedure. You may wonder how the surgery will go or how long the recovery period will be.

Recover Faster With Pre-Surgical Rehabilitation

A recovery plan will most likely require physical therapy treatments following surgery, in order to relieve your pain and regain your function. However, many people are not aware that you can complete pre-surgical rehabilitation (or “pre-hab”) treatments to help your body prepare for the upcoming surgery.

What is Pre-Surgical Physical Therapy?

Pre-surgical rehab, which is often is a simple concept Instead of waiting until after you have gone through surgery to start rehab, why not do some before as well? It may not seem terribly innovative, but pre-hab has been gaining a lot of popularity with surgeons, patients, and physical therapists—because it delivers serious results.

Studies have shown that beginning physical therapy a month or so before undergoing a surgical procedure can greatly decrease your recovery time.

Preparing for surgery can be anxiety-ridden – but a pre-hab program may be able to put your mind at ease. Pre-hab treatment plans provide you with everything you need to be as physically and mentally prepared as possible for your procedure.

Comparing Post-Surgical and Pre-Surgical Physical Therapy

Pre-Surgical Physical Therapy

It has been known for a long time that patients who are in better physical condition prior to surgery tend to recover more quickly. However, it has only been fairly recently that doctors and physical therapists have discovered how beneficial even just a few sessions of physical therapy can be before surgery.

You do not have to be an athlete to benefit from a little exercise before surgery—especially if the exercise is targeted to your specific needs. A physical therapist is a perfect person to help you find and perform the right exercises prior to your surgery.

Post-Surgical Physical Therapy

Many people often connect physical therapy with post-surgical procedures. Surgery should always be avoided if possible, but sometimes surgery is the only option available to improve your health and your life.

Physical therapy after surgery is designed to make you stronger and more flexible. It is intended to repair your body as much as possible so you can get back to leading a normal life. Everyone’s results are different, but you can guarantee that physical therapy will lead to better outcomes than going without it. It will help with mobility, strength, pain management, and more.

There are six essential keys to pre-surgical rehabilitation and how it can help improve your recovery:

1. Reduced pain. Pre-hab can greatly reduce your pain following surgery. This can be done through a variety of methods, including ice and heat therapies, exercise, or massage.
2. Shortened recovery. Pre-hab allows for a much smoother surgical process. Having strong and toned muscles before surgery helps you get back to your regular routine much easier and quicker than it would without.
3. Improved outcomes. The American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) states that pre-hab can improve the overall outcomes of surgery and it can even help in saving money if everything goes smoothly. If your muscles are strengthened prior to surgery, it is more likely that the surgery will be successful and the recovery time will be shorter.
4. Reduced complications. Pre-hab incorporates targeted exercises to help increase your strength and endurance. As a result, this can improve your immunity, meaning that the chance of infection after surgery is much lower.
5. Increased stamina. It is no secret that any surgical procedure will result in a loss of strength as your body is recovering. However, pre-hab can help in reducing how much strength is lost by increasing your stamina before the operation. In turn, this will make the recovery process much smoother since there will be less strength lost.
6. The possibility of avoiding surgery. Sometimes, pre-hab treatments can even eliminate the need for surgery altogether. While this is not always the case, some patients have actually found that their pre-hab treatments were sufficient enough in reducing their pain that they canceled their procedure. If your pre-hab treatments are successful in decreasing your pain and improving your function, you may save yourself from an invasive surgery. If your condition begins to improve considerably after starting your treatments, you’ll want to consult with your physician regarding future treatment options and the possibility of avoiding the unnecessary procedure.

Pre-hab prepares you for surgery in several ways. It helps you to get stronger and more flexible, but it also helps improve your mindset.

Doing a little work to prepare for surgery allows you to feel more involved in the process. The exercises your physical therapist takes you through in pre-hab will also be similar if not the same as the exercises you will do after surgery—so you will be able to train them when you are in good health.

This training will make doing the exercises after surgery easier.

Don’t worry if your surgery is coming up soon. Even a few sessions of pre-hab can make a noticeable difference in your recovery.