Post-op rehab is an important part of recovering from a total hip replacement. When you have a total joint replacement, you need to exercise your joint to regain full range of motion and muscle strength. However, your exercises need to match your stage of recovery so you don't do too much too soon. Here's a look at some exercises that might be involved in total joint replacement post-op rehab after you have hip surgery.
Bed Exercises
Your doctor and physical therapist will probably encourage you to begin simple and gentle exercises right after your surgery. These exercises might be for your ankles only. Exercising your ankles keeps blood flowing through your legs to prevent blood clots. You might be instructed to rotate your ankles frequently and do ankle pumps to stimulate blood flow. You can do these while you're still in bed in the early part of your recovery.
When you're ready, your therapist may advance you to doing leg exercises while you're in bed. You don't need to lift your legs too high, just slightly off of the bed can be enough to start working your muscles. Be sure to follow your therapist's instructions on how to do the exercises and how many times per day you should do them.
Standing Exercises
Your doctor will want you out of bed as soon as you can tolerate it. Your therapist can teach you how to move your legs over the side of the bed and stand after your surgery. You'll need help getting out of bed and standing at first. You may just take a few steps to a chair and sit for a while before returning to bed.
Once you're strong enough to stand and take a few steps, your physical therapist might have you do exercises at your bedside that could include knee raises and lifting your leg to the side and back.
Mobility Exercises
Walking is an important exercise for total joint replacement post-op rehab. Walking helps your overall health and exercises your hip joint and other joints. Walking also helps prevent pneumonia and blood clots from being inactive.
You'll walk with assistance at first and increase your distance each time you walk. You'll probably need to use a walker, so learning to use the walker properly while you're in the hospital makes you safer at home.
Post-op rehab begins while you're still in the hospital and continues once you go home. You'll have exercises to do at home, and you'll probably need to go to the physical therapy clinic to do more advanced exercises as you heal.
Although you might have pain and not feel like doing anything, following your doctor's orders for movement and exercise is extremely important to help your hip heal properly. For more information, contact a total joint replacement post-op rehab service.
Share26 April 2022
When was the last time you went to an optometrist? If you are like most people, you only go when your glasses break or you run out of contact lenses. Very few people actually follow the guidelines of having their eyes checked each year. Not sure why it is necessary to visit your optometrist each year? You can learn all about the different exams and tests that your optometrist runs and why they are done. Knowing what can go wrong with your eyes and what can be done if the ailments are detected early could help to encourage you to get to the optometrist more often.
