Physiotherapy for Hip Replacement Surgery
Physiotherapy is a major aspect of your recovery process after hip replacement surgery. A physiotherapist is a health professional trained to examine the physical components of your muscles, joints, etc., and prescribe exercises among other treatment methods.
Your physiotherapist will advise you on how to prevent some complications of hip replacement such as hip dislocation. Your physiotherapist will also teach you ways to move safely around the home, especially in the early stages of recovery. The main essence of physical therapy is to rehabilitate you safely and speedily.
Physiotherapists play different roles at different stages of hip replacement surgery.
1. Before Surgery
Studies have not shown that preoperative physiotherapy has a positive effect on the outcome of surgery. However, a physiotherapist can teach some exercises that need to be done after surgery. This will facilitate postoperative exercise.
The physiotherapist can also teach you to use assistive devices such as crutches, canes, and walking aids to prepare for walking after surgery.
In addition, a physiotherapist can help you learn how to get in and out of bed safely.
Some physiotherapists also prefer to collect data from preoperative assessments of a range of motion, strength, and overall mobility and function.
In addition, many patients have to wait a long time before the actual replacement takes place. Physical therapy at this stage helps relieve the pain caused by hip disease. Physical therapy makes the waiting time a little more tolerable.
2. After Surgery
The main essence of post-surgery physiotherapy is to improve mobility, strength, flexibility, and overall functional independence. Another important role of physiotherapy is pain relief.
Due to various underlying medical conditions, you may have already lost a lot of muscle mass, tension, and strength before surgery. Surgery aims to solve joint problems, but weakness and loss of muscle mass persist.
The physiotherapist puts together a personally targeted strengthening program to improve muscle strength and reduce tension and volume loss.
Immediately after surgery, physiotherapy focuses on education and counseling, muscle relaxation, and bed exercise. You will also learn how to get in and out of bed safely, how to get up from a sitting position with support, and how to properly position your feet inside and outside the bed.
On the first day of recovery, you can sit in a chair for up to an hour. Depending on your doctor's advice and tolerance, your physiotherapist may start walking with a mobility aid from day one. As the recovery progresses, the intensity of physiotherapy increases. Exercises become more difficult as support is gradually withdrawn.
Your physiotherapist will continue to revise precautions and contraindications while you recover. Depending on progress, safety, and tolerance more intense exercises such as climbing stairs and strengthening exercises will be integrated.
The physiotherapist may also suggest a home change to improve safety. Such changes include attaching handrails to the shower, lifting the toilet seat, using long-handled sponges, removing loose and unstable carpets, and many other changes. It is important to follow the physiotherapist's precautions, guidelines, and exercise therapy.
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