Physical therapy is an important part of the rehab process after a total joint replacement. Your physical therapist will craft a specialized program to help reduce pain, restore range of motion, and increase your strength and function. Physical therapy is also a great benefit prior to your surgery.
Pre-rehab, can improve the outcomes of a total joint replacement. Prehab will focus on education of how to use equipment, learning new exercises, and making sure you go into surgery with better strength and range of motion, leading to a smoother recovery process. Your treatment plan will be created by a skilled therapist who will help guide you through this process. Early on the treatment is focused on reducing swelling and gaining back range of motion. This can be done with manual therapy, gentle exercises, and other modalities.
Then the process focused on gradually regaining strength and improving your functional movements in order to return you to normal everyday activities. You will also be educated in exercises that you can perform at home to help make the recovery process as quick and smooth as possible. The main goal of physical therapy is to improve your function and return you to all the activities you need and love to do.