Post Surgical Therapy

November 23, 2021

Physical therapy after a surgery is a very important step in the process of becoming pain free and getting back to all the activities that a patient possibly can. Post-surgical therapy can start the same day of the surgery or several days after. The start date of the therapy is often determined by the type of surgery and the physician that performs it. After an evaluation and a plan of care that is set up per the individual patient’s needs the real work can begin! Therapy after surgery initially consists of decreasing the pain and swelling, improving tissue healing and recovery, and improving the patient’s range of motion and mobility. As these things improve, we work on improving strength, stability, and overall function. The speed and prognosis of therapy depends on the type of surgery that was performed. Several research studies have shown that after a surgery physical therapy helps to improve the speed of the initial recovery and the overall prognosis of the recovery process.