Pre Surgery Physical Therapy
Pre-surgery physical therapy is a powerful way to prepare your body for a smoother surgery and a faster, more effective recovery.
Preoperative or Prehab Physical Therapy
Everyone has heard of physical therapy after surgery, but what about before? Preoperative physical therapy, also known as prehab, is a proactive approach to your recovery. By preparing your body for surgery ahead of time, you can significantly reduce your overall recovery time and improve your post-operative outcome.
Prehab works by strengthening the area of your body that will be affected by surgery. Just as an athlete prepares for a big event to prevent injury, prehab helps you build strength, flexibility, and range of motion. This allows you to go into surgery in the best possible condition, helping you to recover faster and with less pain.
What is Preoperative Physical Therapy or Prehab?
Prehabilitation, or prehab, is a proactive approach to your surgical recovery. The core idea is simple: the stronger and more mobile you are before surgery, the faster and more complete your recovery will be afterward. Think of it like training for a marathon, but instead of preparing for a race, you’re preparing your body for a major medical event. This focused training addresses any existing weakness, stiffness, or pain that could complicate your post-surgery healing.
A typical prehab program begins six weeks before your scheduled procedure, as this time frame offers a significant advantage. However, even a two-week program can provide notable benefits. We start with a thorough evaluation to understand your specific condition and your personal goals. This helps us create a customized plan tailored to your needs. This plan will not only focus on physical exercises to strengthen key muscle groups but also on educating you about what to expect after your surgery. By preparing both your body and your mind, you enter the operating room in the best possible condition, which directly leads to a smoother, faster, and more effective recovery.
Goals of Prehab Physical Therapy
Prehabilitation, or prehab, is designed to prepare your body for surgery and improve your recovery. The primary goals of a prehab program are to:
Improve Strength and Range of Motion: Strengthen the muscles and joints in and around the surgical site to ensure they are in the best possible condition to handle the stress of surgery and the recovery process.
Reduce Pain Before and After Surgery: By addressing existing weaknesses, prehab can help manage pre-surgery pain. A stronger body also leads to less pain during post-operative recovery.
Speed Up Recovery Time: Patients who complete a prehab program often have a faster and more complete recovery because their body is already primed for healing.
Increase Confidence and Reduce Anxiety: Understanding the recovery process and taking an active role in your own care can significantly reduce the fear and uncertainty often associated with surgery.
Potentially Avoid Surgery: In some cases, a structured physical therapy program can improve symptoms to the point where surgery is no longer necessary.
Benefits of Prehab or Preoperative Physical Therapy
Prehab isn’t just about preparing your body; it’s also about preparing your mind. A prehab plan can provide you with a sense of control and confidence, knowing you’ve taken an active role in your own healing.
Benefits of completing a prehab plan at Optimal Therapy include:
Faster and more complete recovery: By building strength beforehand, your body is better prepared to heal.
Reduced pain and discomfort: Stronger muscles can lead to less post-operative pain.
Shorter hospital stays: Patients who undergo prehab often require less time in the hospital.
Improved mobility: Regain strength and range of motion more quickly after surgery.
Potential for avoiding surgery: In some cases, physical therapy can be an effective alternative to surgery.
No matter your upcoming surgery, prehab can give you a significant advantage in your recovery journey.
Did You Know?
Research has shown that attending as little as one pre-operative physical therapy session can help reduce the amount of post-operative care and lead to faster and more efficient recoveries. For example, it’s been found that back surgery patients who have undergone physical therapy have actually had a quicker recovery time than those who hadn’t gone through postoperative rehabilitation.