Pre-habilitation Prior to Surgery

22 Oct Pre-habilitation Prior to Surgery

Pre-habilitation prior to surgery is key in ensuring the body is properly prepared and ready for recovery.

If you’re due to have surgery in the near future, be it a total knee/hip/shoulder replacement, ligament repair, arthroscopy or spinal surgery, we cannot stress strongly enough the importance of pre-habilitation (or ‘prehab’ for short!).  Pre- habilitation is the most important tool in the preparation for surgery process (in our honest opinion of course!)

Knowledge is Power

A key role in the prehab process is education.  As physios, we pride ourselves in using patient friendly jargon to assist with this teaching process. It is important all patients have a clear understanding on the nature of their condition, the surgical procedure they are about to undergo and what this entails, symptoms they may experience and how to best manage these, and an understanding of the body’s remarkable recovery process.  With this knowledge, patients can feel empowered and confident before surgery, they will be able to manage their expectations and importantly, understand why rehabilitation is pivotal in the recovery process.

Tailored Exercise Program

There are several reasons why it is important to exercise on a daily basis before surgery. We believe the following points are key to why exercising should start at least 3 months prior to surgery:

• The correct exercises reinforce joint function and mobility, strengthen muscles and improve balance and coordination
• Regular exercising improves endurance and tolerance to exercise ready for the post op exercise programmes
• A clear understanding of the aim of an exercise allows for greater compliance
• Improved overall fitness reduces possible post-op complications as the body can cope better with the stress of an operation.
• Routine; starting exercises before surgery allows for good habits to form – the 2 words my patients will hear me say are consistency and commitment.  It takes time to see results, but committing to the program will produce the right results!

Support

At Halo we have assisted many patients in prehab. Our knowledge and experience expands across both in- and out-patients, and along with our understanding of orthopaedic surgical procedures, we believe we are in a prime position to assist patients before, and of course, after their surgery.

We are able to provide support by answering questions patients may have regarding their surgery, what the surgery entails and assist patients to understand timescales post operatively.  Receiving clear answers allows a patient to feel in control.  They can plan, feel confident in their progress and achieve the results they want.

Please contact us to discuss your specific upcoming surgery and to plan your individual pre-habilitation program.

Blog complied by Rachael Adams, Principal Physiotherapist & Co-Owner of Halo Physio