Surgery is often a treatment of last resort for many joint issues and soft tissue injuries. However, certain surgeries are becoming increasingly common: There are an estimated 100,000 anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstructions annually. Additionally, researchers estimate that total knee replacements will increase by 171% by 2030. Medical studies are also predicting a 189% increase in total hip replacements by 2030.
If you’re having surgery, the days and weeks immediately following it are crucial to your recovery. During this time frame, short-term post-surgical rehab can offer a number of benefits.
What benefits can short-term rehab after surgery offer?
Short-term rehab after surgery is typically performed by licensed and experienced physical therapists. These specialists can develop a rehab plan for you that’s designed to get you moving again as soon as possible after surgery. Some of the other benefits your short-term rehab plan could provide include:
- Increasing range of motion (ROM) — ROM is the extent to which you can normally move a part of your body. Surgeries on the knees, shoulders and hips often lead to decreased ROM. One study reports that post-surgical rehab can help improve your ROM. Participants in this study were asked to do specific therapeutic exercises after ACL surgery. These exercises helped increase ROM by 38%.
- Improving function — Patients’ ability to function normally and perform normal daily tasks can be reduced by surgery. One goal of physical therapy is to restore your normal level of function after surgery. A medical study reports that physical therapy helped to significantly improve the functional tests of patients after a total knee replacement. Some of these tests included climbing stairs and walking.
- Returning to normal strength — Surgery has been shown to weaken the muscles in the area operated on. Improving the strength of such muscles is vital to a quick recovery after surgery. A medical study reports that physical therapy can help patients achieve normal strength levels after surgery. This study reveals that post-ACL surgery therapy led to the majority of participants regaining 80% to 100% of their knee strength.
Panther Physical Therapy can help make your short-term rehab after surgery more beneficial
You won’t have to look far to get beneficial short-term rehab after your surgery. Our team at Panther Physical Therapy is ready to help you recover from many surgical procedures. We offer free screenings that allow us to evaluate your therapy needs after surgery. Our team can also build you a post-surgical rehab plan that fits these needs. We even offer pre-surgical rehab that can help better prepare your body for surgery. It can help reduce your recovery time after surgery as well.
Contact our team today for more information or to schedule a free screening.