Why Physical Therapy Is Important After Surgery.

Once surgery is scheduled, it’s easy to focus all your attention on the hours you’ll spend at the hospital and lose sight of what comes after. If your doctor has prescribed physical therapy following your operation, it’s because rehabilitation is a key part of your recovery, not an optional add-on. Here’s what physical therapy actually does for you after surgery.

It Helps Your Body Heal Properly

This is the most common reason doctors prescribe physical therapy after surgery: to make sure your body heals the way it’s supposed to. That might mean minimizing scar tissue after arthroscopy on a knee or shoulder, or retraining muscles after a major repair like an ACL reconstruction. Because the factors involved vary so much from patient to patient, it’s important to work with a physical therapist on a plan built specifically for your situation. Your surgeon’s specialty is diagnosing and repairing the injury, while your physical therapist is the musculoskeletal expert who helps you actually feel and function better afterward, with the time for the coaching and follow-through that healing requires.

It Helps You Regain Mobility

Surgeries on the lower extremities, particularly the knees and hips, often require physical therapy to regain mobility, whether that means getting back to everyday activities like walking and gardening or returning to more vigorous exercise like running. Physical therapists understand the different stages of healing and know how to progress a treatment program without risking injury or delaying recovery. Your plan takes into account both your fitness level before surgery and your goals afterward. A good physical therapist will also check the joints and muscles above and below the surgery site, since problems there are common too. For example, after a knee injury, the ankle can become less mobile, or the trunk muscles can grow stiff and weak, which forces the body to work harder and tire more quickly during everyday movement.

It Speeds Up Recovery

Doing the necessary rehabilitation helps your body recover more quickly than it would on its own. For total joint replacements specifically, starting physical therapy as soon as the recovery room, meaning as soon as you wake from anesthesia, has been shown to lead to shorter hospital stays and quicker recoveries overall.

It Keeps You Involved in Your Own Recovery

Working with a physical therapist keeps you actively engaged in your own healing, and research shows that patients who stay engaged in their healthcare tend to have better experiences than those who don’t. Time spent in therapy after surgery can vary a lot from patient to patient, but staying on that path is important for your long-term health. Many doctors also send patients for a few sessions of physical therapy before surgery, which helps strengthen the body ahead of time. Talking with your physical therapist beforehand about what to expect, including how long rehab might take and what levels of pain are normal, can make a real difference: one study found that back surgery patients who had even a single pre-operative physical therapy session had a smoother recovery afterward. Being this involved also means you can weigh in on which physical therapist you want to work with after surgery, since you know your own needs and preferences best.