Prehab Physical Therapy

Get into Shape with a Prehab Program, Make a Faster Recovery

So you’ve decided to schedule the surgery that you’ve been putting off for months or years.  Your physician has advised you on why he needs to perform the surgery, the potential benefits and risks, and what you should expect.  Following surgery you will undergo rehabilitation to heal and maximize your recovery to the fullest potential.  Will you get there?  Could a prehab program help?

Prior to the surgery, self-admittedly, you have not been exercising due to a busy schedule and the interference of ongoing pain from your injury.  You notice that you are 20-30 pounds overweight.  You also are confused over what exercises you should and should not be doing following surgery.  Do you think that if you were in better shape, 5-10 pounds lighter, and you learned the exercises that are safe for you prior to undergoing surgical anesthesia, you would rehab faster and have a better outcome?  The answer is almost always YES!

A study by researchers at New England Baptist Hospital, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, all based in Boston, found that knee and hip replacement surgery patients who had participated in water- and land-based strength training, and aerobic and flexibility exercises for six weeks prior to their surgeries reduced their odds of needing inpatient rehabilitation by 73 percent.  “Even in a fairly brief time period, the exercise paid off for the participants,” says lead study author Daniel Rooks, PHD, former clinical research investigator and professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. “Their level of function and pain stabilized prior to surgery, whereas those who did not exercise got worse. The benefits of exercise before surgery are very clear.”

Prehab with Our Therapy Specialists Now

Prehab Programs at Synergy Health and Wellness are designed to get you ready for surgeries involving:

• Spine – Cervical, Thoracic, and Lumbosacral
• Rotator Cuff and Shoulder Surgeries
• Knee Replacements
• Hip Replacements
• Shoulder Replacements
• Cancer
• Cardiac

What You Receive in Our Prehab Programs

• Safe Exercise for Maximizing your Strength, Endurance, and Flexibility
• Pain Management to Reduce Your Pain Level in Anticipation of Surgery
• Instruction in Self Management both Pre- and Post-Surgery
• Training in the Use of Assistive Devices or Braces as Appropriate

Surgery for the shoulder, elbow, wrist, or hand? Visit our Occupational Therapy page.

For all other surgeries, visit our Physical Therapy page.