How Can Rehab Help After Orthopedic Surgery?

After you’ve had orthopedic surgery, your mind may be telling you it’s time to get back to normal, but your body may be saying otherwise. The truth is, in order to get back to a normal daily routine you are likely going to need some rehabilitation to regain your balance and strength.

With the assistance of occupational and physical therapists and other medical specialists, you will learn the best, and safest, way to get back to normal daily activities like walking, getting dressed, bathing, and tending other personal needs while in a transitional rehab facility. You will also learn physical exercises that help improve movement in the area of your body where you had surgery and improve muscle strength.

Why do you need rehab?

Transitional rehabilitation helps speed recovery time regardless of the type of orthopedic surgery you have had. Your rehab will likely begin in the hospital. A therapist will help you get safely out of bed and teach you how to walk again, as well as teach you other exercises to help prepare you for discharge from the hospital.

Once you have been released from the hospital, finishing your recovery at a transitional rehabilitation center is a good option to allow your body to properly heal in a quicker amount of time. The type of surgery you had will determine how long you need to stay, which could be a few weeks to a few months.

Successful recovery will take time and effort, but it’s very much worth it in the end. Some of the key goals of a short term rehabilitation program include:

• Regaining muscle strength.
• Reducing pain.
• Improve range of motion and movement in the part of the body where you had surgery.
• Helping you learn to safely walk again.
• Relearning to do daily activities like getting up from a chair or bed, climbing stairs, getting dressed and bathing, and getting in and out of the car.

During transitional rehabilitation you will have a team of various experts helping you along your journey to recovery. These may include:

• A Physiatrist, who is a doctor that specializes in short term rehabilitation. They will design a rehabilitation plan tailored to your individual needs and oversee the program to ensure your progress is going as it should.
• Physical therapists who will work with you and teach you exercises that improve your strength and range of motion in whatever area you had the surgery on.
• Occupational therapists who help you regain the skills needed to perform basic everyday activities like bathing, using the toilet, getting dressed and cooking. They will also teach you how to use special gadgets that make these activities easier, like elastic shoelaces or a dressing stick.
• A dietician who will ensure you are properly planning (or eating while in rehab) nutritional, healthy and balanced meals. The dietician will help you find better choices if your doctor has recommended avoiding sugar, salt, and certain other foods after surgery.
• A speech therapist who will help relearn skills like swallowing and talking. Speech therapy is helpful if surgery has affected the brain.
• Nurses, who will care for you during your transitional rehab stay.
• A counselor or Psychologist who will help you manage any stress, anxiety, or depression you may experience after surgery.

Successful recovery can take time, maybe even months, so it’s important to be patient as your body works to heal. Recovery time will depend on the type of surgery you had and your overall health. Follow the instructions of the rehab team carefully, and your hard work will pay off.

Margate is a leader in returning patients to their homes as quickly as possible. With rehabilitation services available 7 days a week, patients get the intensive treatment they need to return to their prior level of independence as quickly as possible. Our focus is providing each patient with a positive rehab experience. Because of these positive experiences, a significant number of our patients return to Margate for future rehabilitation needs. We partner with local hospitals, physicians and insurance companies to support our patients’ goals in their desire to return home to the resumption of a healthy, active lifestyle. Contact us today to learn more.