Physical therapy is an essential part of the recovery process for patients who have undergone orthopedic surgery. During this time, the body may experience a reduced range of motion, atrophy of muscles, and weakness. However, physical therapists can help increase the strength of muscles and prevent this weakness from occurring in the first place. They can also help improve blood flow and circulation in the area, reducing healing times and preventing infection.
Pain Management
Pain management is essential to the orthopedic recovery San Diego, CA, process. It helps manage the pain that may arise after surgery or during recovery from injury, and it can also help relieve symptoms of chronic conditions like arthritis or diabetes. A good pain management doctor will take your concerns seriously and listen to you with compassion. They will customize a plan that is right for you. Your provider will ask questions about your pain, including when it hurts and how long it lasts, on a scale of 0 to 10. They may also want to know what makes the pain better or worse, and they’ll be ready to adjust your plan as needed to help you feel better. Besides medication, physical therapy is one of the most effective treatment strategies for pain. It focuses on treating the root cause of pain rather than covering it with drugs for a short period.
Strengthening
When a joint replacement surgery is performed, the surrounding muscles can weaken. This can affect movement in the future if they are not rehabilitated. In physical therapy, strengthening exercises can increase strength in these surrounding muscles and help you return to normal activities with less pain. They also help you learn better techniques and movement patterns that will be useful for injury prevention. For many people, gaining strength is an essential part of the recovery process following an orthopedic injury or surgery.
Flexibility
Aside from strengthening, flexibility also plays a role in orthopedic recovery. Muscles that are not flexible tire more quickly, and this can lead to fatigue-induced soft tissue shortening. A physical therapist can help patients develop a stretching routine to improve flexibility. Typically, dynamic stretching (in which the muscles are stretched by movement) is more efficient than static stretching, in which you hold the positions for extended periods. While a physical therapist can help patients develop their stretching routine, a consistent exercise program is the best way to increase flexibility. This includes both strength training and endurance-based activities.
Stability
A good physical therapist will work with you to develop a treatment plan that helps you achieve your goals. These goals include movement, strength, coordination, and pain relief. They may also recommend exercises to help improve your mobility and strengthen the muscles around your joint. These exercises can help you feel better and move more freely, reducing pain. Stability plays a vital role in fracture healing. It is a necessary condition for bone regeneration and infection resistance. However, the mechanisms by which strongly influences this process are not known.
Range of Motion
During recovery from an orthopedic procedure, it’s common to lose joint mobility and flexibility. This is especially true for joints affected by sitting, like the hips, knees, and shoulders. A physical therapist can measure your range of motion in degrees with a goniometer. This device consists of two arms hinged together and placed at a specific point of your body. The range of motion is divided into passive and active contents. Passive range of motion happens when someone else, like a physical therapist, moves your body part throughout its total capacity with no assistance from you.
