The Importance Of Post-Operative Rehabilitation Recovery

What is Post-Operative Rehabilitation Recovery?

Post-Operative Rehabilitation is a recovery process facilitated by a physiotherapist to maximize a patient’s healing. The first goal of post-operative recovery is to minimize swelling, pain, inflammation, bruising and bleeding after surgery. Your physiotherapists will teach you the management techniques to attain this and help you through it. They will then design special exercises for you to practices over a period time in order to speed up your recovery.

Why is it Important?
Following surgery, many people experience muscle weakness, adaptive muscular shortening and posture changes that have to be attended to. Some people may have to learn how to walk all over again. Others require help in relearning how to carry out their daily tasks, participate in leisurely activities or play sports. Thus, post-operative rehabilitation, facilitated by physiotherapists, is important in helping these people regain their full range of movement and muscle strength to enable them to function normally again.

Other than assisting their patients in their physical recovery, physiotherapists are also a great help in motivating, encouraging and advising patients throughout their recovery process. They are important in ensuring a smooth and fast recovery with no complications.

What exactly do Physiotherapists Do?
Physiotherapists are trained professionals who are highly knowledgeable about helping people recover from surgery. They are dedicated to helping you achieve a smooth recovery. In the first phase of post-operative recovery, your physiotherapist will see you in the hospital and give you guidelines on exercises you can do as well as assist you with using slings or braces if you need them. In this period, they will work closely with you to minimize any swelling, pain, inflammation, bruising and bleeding from your surgery and help you to regain more movement.

In the second phase of post-operative recovery, your physiotherapist communicates with your surgeon to find out the activities that you are allowed to do after the operation and when you will be allowed to do them. They will then ensure that you follow your surgeon’s recommendations to prevent any complications in your recovery. In the event that there is an issue, they will alert your Specialist and GP promptly to manage the problem.

Your physiotherapist will find out what the physical movements and exercises that you can do without discomfort after the surgery and come up with a daily exercise schedule for you. At the same time, they will work closely with your surgeon to ensure that the exercises are suitable for you and that you are responding well to them. Thus, this period will consist of many consultations with your surgeon to ensure that you are recovering at a good pace.

There are a wide variety of different healing and rehabilitative exercises that your physiotherapist can recommend to you. The exercises that they assign to you will be personally tailored to your specific needs as well as based on your progress in the recovery. They will only commence your exercise regime several days after your surgery to allow your body to undergo the first stage of healing without the risk of messing up any sutures or surgical work.

By the end of your post-operative rehabilitation, you will have regained your muscle strength as well as your full range of movement.