So you are having surgery and know you are in for physical therapy after, but have you ever considered physical therapy before having your procedure? Studies have shown that preoperative physical therapy can reduce postoperative care use. For example, patients undergoing hip or knee replacement, preoperative therapy can reduce postoperative care use by 29 percent. In addition to thoracic, abdominal, and major joint replacement surgery, preoperative training also benefits cardiovascular surgery. “There is high quality evidence that preoperative exercise in patients scheduled for cardiovascular surgery is well tolerated and effective.”
“Researchers believe that the benefit of preoperative physical therapy was derived mostly from the way it prepared patients for postoperative rehabilitation.” The preoperative training only needs to be mild to render positive results. It does not to include intensive training sessions. Benefits include pain relief, a reduction of complications of surgery, shortened hospital stays, and a faster restoration of the patient’s range of motion. This can add up to thousands of dollars in savings. Of course, patients should participate in postoperative exercise as soon as possible after surgery to get back to full strength as quickly as possible.
Ideally, you should try to start a preoperative program six weeks in advance. But sometimes patients are not given that much time before their operative date. Any preoperative therapy is beneficial. No matter what kind of surgery you are going to have, recovery can be a tremendous challenge. Starting preoperative therapy will give your body the added edge it needs to recover faster and more efficiently. The healthier you are and the better you feel will make a great difference. We at Quincy Physical Therapy wish you luck in your upcoming opreation!
References:
https://www.apta.org/PTinMotion/News/2014/10/2/PreOperativePT/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4072442/
https://www.bonejoint.net/blog/physical-therapy-before-surgery/