Post & Pre-Op Rehabilitation
Pre-hab: (Rehab done before surgery to significantly shorten your recovery time after surgery.)
You’ve done everything you could do, but it turns out you are going to need to have surgery.
At Cardin & Miller Physical Therapy, we are believers of proper movement and function. Naturally, we think this applies to every aspect of your health! And before going in for surgery is NO DIFFERENT!
Pre-Surgical Rehabilitation is the perfect opportunity to get your muscles strengthened, your flexibility increased, and your pain minimized as much as possible before you go in for your procedure.
We will take this time to teach you some tips and tricks that we’ve discovered along the way – like how to properly use your crutches (if needed) to not cause further damage, or stretches that help relieve pain of the muscles that have been compensating for the injured part of your body.
We’ve found that by coming in for Pre- Surgical Rehabilitation that the Post- Surgical Rehabilitation tends to be much shorter and easier.
We here at Cardin & Miller Physical Therapy like to say that instead of climbing up the whole surgical mountain yourself, with pre-hab, we get you to the mid-point rest stop, and the surgery will help you get closer to the top.
**The stronger, more flexible, and most pain-free you can be going into surgery allows for a much quicker, easier and more complete recovery. **
Post – Op:
After all else fails - you’ve had surgery.
Here at Cardin & Miller Physical Therapy, we offer a wide range of post-op rehabilitation for orthopedic surgeries.
With Post-operative rehab, we already know what the problem is, which most times is half the battle.
While we are treating a post-op injury we will work to increase your range of motion and increase your strength and stability. All of our expert clinicians are equipped with hands-on techniques to help get rid of pain and swelling with hands-on soft tissue work. They know exactly how to get the joints moving the way they are supposed to move to minimize pain and get you back to doing the things you need, want and love to do, as quickly and pain-free as possible!
You’ve been off the top of the mountain long enough! Cardin & Miller Physical Therapy will help you get back there!
FAQs About Post & Pre-Rehabilitation
Absolutely, ALL of our Physical Therapists specialize in the restoration of joint mobility, muscle flexibility, and strength that are needed after ankle, shoulder, knee and hip replacement. It is very important to get the joints working properly again and to ensure that you are walking properly (if the surgery you had affects your lower extremity).
Especially with these surgeries, getting rehab BEFORE surgery is beneficial beyond belief; as many times, there is joint stiffness and restriction due to pain and compensation of having the issue for months or years without help. Getting joint mobility, muscle flexibility and strength back as much as possible, as well as reducing pain and inflammation levels prior to surgery, allows for a much quicker, easier and more complete return to action.
Of course, we don’t stop there… our main goal is to get you back to doing the things you need, want and love to do.
This really depends on your status after surgery. If you present with significant restriction of mobility upon the surgical area and if you have a lot of swelling, we will likely have you come for treatment 3 times a week, so that we can quickly ensure that you are on the right track. Then as you improve, we will likely decrease your visits per week to 2. If after surgery, you present with mild to moderate joint stiffness, pain and swelling, we may opt to just have you begin with 2 visits per week.
This is determined but the severity of your surgery and how your body responds after the surgery. In addition, if you do your “homework” exercises we give you to do at home that work on your flexibility and strength, you will recover faster and need to come less time overall for our services. Typically, you will at least be coming to see us for 4-6 wks, at which time we will re-evaluate you and decide how much more time you need with us.
This really depends on how stiff the surgically repaired joint is after surgery. There will always be some level of discomfort to work through after surgery, but this lessens as you improve and heal. Often with joint replacements, there is some discomfort when we stretch your joints; but this is safe and required in order to help you re-gain all of your range of motion and strength, so that your joint functions properly again. Also, this is temporary; once the joint begins to loosen up, the discomfort will decrease. No worries though, we will never push you past what you can handle!
By coming to therapy before your operation, it allows us to get baseline measurements of your strength, range of motion, joint mobility, and flexibility that we will use as goals following your surgery. We will also be able to identify areas of weakness that we can work to strengthen before your operation which can help to decrease your recovery time. Just remember, the stronger you go into surgery, the stronger you come out, which ultimately means a better recovery process.
We can generally get you back to doing most things you were able to prior to the surgery. However, there are several variables that may impact you. We have to look at how long ago you were involved in the activity, the strength and range of motion the activity will require.
