What can reduce your time in physical therapy after knee surgery?

Having knee surgery can be traumatic for your body, and it can also lead to a long recovery period. Fortunately, physical therapy after knee surgery can help reduce your recovery time. 

There are several types of knee surgery that are commonly performed. However, knee replacement is one of the most common knee procedures. This type of surgery is performed to help people with end-stage knee osteoarthritis, and over 790,000 knee replacements are performed annually in the U.S. People typically want to get out of physical therapy as soon as possible after their knee surgery, and there are certain steps you can take to accomplish this goal. 

Three steps you can take to reduce your time in physical therapy after knee surgery

One of the primary goals of both you and your physical therapist will be reducing how much time you spend in physical therapy after knee surgery. After all, physical therapists want you to recover as quickly as possible. Here are three steps you can take to ensure that your time doing post-surgical therapy is as short as possible: 

1. Prepare your body for surgery — Preparing your knee for surgery is an effective way to spend less time rehabilitating afterward. Pre-surgical rehab, or pre-hab, is a type of physical therapy designed to help you prepare for a surgery. A study shows that pre-hab can be very effective for knee replacement patients. In fact, it reports that people who did six weeks of pre-hab prior to their surgery were up to 73% less likely to need inpatient rehab. 

2. Get your questions answered — Patients who have questions about their recovery process or therapy plan should get them answered. Knowledge is power. Knowing more about your care can help you stay more engaged in your recovery, and this increased focus can help speed up recovery. 

3. Don’t skip your at-home therapy — Often, physical therapists will provide patients with therapeutic exercise programs to do at home. The goal is to help the patient recover faster by putting in more work. However, it’s estimated that up to 65% of patients don’t adhere to their exercise program. Skipping these exercises could mean spending more time in physical therapy. 

Need physical therapy after knee surgery? Back in Motion Physical Therapy can help!

Are you looking for physical therapy that can help you recover from a knee surgery? Our team at Back in Motion PT offers post-surgical rehab services that can help you. We can start by doing a free screening before your surgery to determine what issue(s) you’re dealing with. Then, our physical therapists can build you a pre-hab plan to get your knee ready for surgery. 

Our team can also design a post-surgical rehab plan for after your surgery that’s personalized to you. Even better, we offer at-home care and virtual therapy services that can allow you to do your rehab from home. 

Contact us today for more information about our pre- and post-surgical rehab services or to schedule your initial appointment.