The Essential Benefits of Physical Therapy After Surgery: A Comprehensive Guide
on Thursday, September 26, 2024
The Importance of Post-Surgery Recovery
When your doctor recommends surgery, you’ll likely receive a wealth of information about the procedure itself—what it entails, how long it will take, and the potential risks or complications. While this information is crucial, understanding what happens after the surgery is just as important. The recovery and rehabilitation process plays a vital role in your overall healing and long-term outcomes. Physical therapy is a cornerstone of this recovery, offering numerous benefits that can significantly enhance your post-surgical journey.
How Physical Therapy Supports Post-Surgical Recovery
Physical therapy is integral to a successful recovery after surgery. It helps restore normal function, manage pain, and prevent complications, ensuring that you return to your daily activities as safely and quickly as possible. Here are five primary ways physical therapy can benefit you after surgery:
1. Restoring Normal Movement
After surgery, it’s common to experience a loss of muscle strength and flexibility, both of which are essential for normal movement and range of motion. Physical therapy is designed to identify the specific muscles and joints that need attention. Through targeted exercises, physical therapy helps you regain—and sometimes even improve—your mobility. Whether you’ve had joint replacement surgery, spinal surgery, or another procedure, physical therapy can help you move better than you did before the surgery.
2. Easing Pain and Swelling
Post-operative pain is often exacerbated by swelling and inflammation. While inflammation is a natural and necessary part of the healing process, it can become problematic if it persists beyond the initial stages of recovery. Prolonged inflammation can hinder healing and lead to chronic pain. Physical therapy helps manage swelling by promoting fluid movement and circulation, which reduces inflammation and alleviates pain. Techniques such as manual therapy, compression, and specific exercises can significantly reduce post-surgical discomfort.
3. Preventing Blood Clots and Increasing Circulation
After surgery, your risk of developing blood clots increases, particularly in the deep veins of your body—a condition known as deep vein thrombosis (DVT). These clots can be dangerous if they break off and travel to critical organs such as the heart, lungs, or brain. Physical therapy plays a crucial role in preventing blood clots by encouraging movement and improving circulation. Gentle exercises and activities prescribed by your physical therapist can reduce the risk of clot formation and promote overall vascular health.
4. Enhancing Strength and Flexibility
Surgery can lead to muscle atrophy and joint stiffness due to inactivity during the recovery period. Physical therapy helps counteract these effects by focusing on exercises that rebuild strength and improve flexibility. By gradually reintroducing movement and resistance, your physical therapist can help you regain muscle tone and joint function, making it easier for you to return to your normal activities without the risk of injury.
5. Promoting Faster and Safer Recovery
One of the most significant benefits of physical therapy after surgery is that it promotes a faster and safer recovery. By following a structured rehabilitation program, you can reduce the risk of complications, such as infections, scar tissue formation, and re-injury. Physical therapy also provides education on how to move safely, use assistive devices correctly, and avoid movements that could compromise your recovery. This proactive approach helps ensure that you regain full function as quickly as possible, while minimizing the risk of setbacks.
How Renew Physical Therapy Can Help You Recover
At Renew Physical Therapy, we specialize in post-operative rehabilitation tailored to the specific needs of each patient. Our team is highly trained in the protocols and precautions necessary for various surgical procedures, ensuring that your recovery is both safe and effective. Here’s how we can support your post-surgery recovery:
1. Customized Rehabilitation Programs
We work closely with your surgeon’s post-operative rehabilitation protocol to create a customized recovery plan that addresses your specific surgery and individual needs. Whether you’ve had orthopedic surgery, spinal surgery, or another procedure, our goal is to restore normal biomechanical function as quickly and safely as possible.
2. Expertise in Post-Operative Care
Our team is well-versed in post-operative care, including understanding contraindications, necessary precautions, and appropriate progressions for rehabilitation. We monitor your recovery closely, adjusting your treatment plan as needed to ensure optimal healing and return to function.
3. Focus on Long-Term Success
Beyond just helping you recover from surgery, we aim to set you up for long-term success. This includes educating you on exercises and lifestyle modifications that can prevent future injuries and maintain your improved function.
Why Choose Renew Physical Therapy?
Renew Physical Therapy is committed to providing the highest quality of care to our patients. Located at 11010 SE Division Street in Portland, Oregon, our clinic offers personalized post-operative rehabilitation services designed to help you recover quickly and effectively. Our experienced team is dedicated to ensuring that you regain full function and return to your daily activities with confidence.
Renew Your Body at Renew Physical Therapy
Renew Physical Therapy is an independent manual physical therapy clinic that was established in December 2015 by Michael and Heidi Cantwell. Our facility features three private treatment rooms and an open gym area to treat all our patients’ needs. If you’ve suffered from chronic pain, an auto or work–related injury, or any other issues allow us to help. See our full list of services to see the types of physical therapy we offer. You can find us at 11010 SE Division Street in Portland, Oregon.
Visit our About Us page to learn more about our practice, clinic, and staff. Call us at 503.928.4914 to schedule an appointment.
