Knowing What To Expect When You Undergo Total Joint Replacement Rehab
When you undergo an operation to replace a damaged or broken joint, you may require supplement medical care before you can get back to your normal routine. You must learn to walk and bear weight on your new joint properly and safely.
Your surgeon may recommend you undergo rehabilitative services before you resume your regular life after your operation. You can prepare for these services by knowing what to anticipate as you go through total joint replacement rehab.
Progressive Weight Bearing
When you undergo total joint replacement rehab, you will learn how to put weight progressively on your new joint. After your surgery, you might have been required to get up and walk around the hospital corridor. However, your nurses might have assisted you with walking or allowed you to use a mobility device like a walker or crutches.
Your total joint replacement rehab, however, will guide you toward standing and bearing weight on your new knee, hip, or ankle without hanging onto a mobility device or nurse for assistance. Your therapists will teach you to put weight gently on the new joint and help you build up resistance and weight tolerance until you can use the joint normally.
Variety of Exercises
Further, your therapists may offer you a variety of exercises to perform to help build up strength and endurance in your new joint. You might walk while hanging on to two balance bars so you can learn to walk on your new joint properly. You also might climb up and down a set of stairs so you can learn to bend the joint confidently.
You also might lift weights with your arms or legs to build up muscle strength around the new joint. These exercises can help you heal faster so you can exit the total joint replacement rehab program and get back to your regular life.
Overcoming Fear
Finally, your therapists in the total joint replacement rehab program will help you overcome any fear you have about experiencing pain from the new joint. You might be afraid to put weight on your new hip, ankle, or knee. However, your therapists will devise a rehab plan to minimize pain and help you gain confidence in using your new joint.
Your total joint replacement rehab can involve a number of components. You may learn to walk and bear weight on the new joint so you can use it normally. You also may engage in a variety of exercises and learn to overcome any fear you have about experiencing pain as you recover.