Surgery Scheduled? Call Your PT! 4 Benefits of Post-Surgical Physical Therapy

Recovering from surgery involves more than just lying around and waiting for your body to heal. While rest is important, appropriate movement and exercise is vital to regaining full function. It is important to be mindful of your activity level to avoid straining the surgical site, delaying healing, and increasing the risk of additional injury and long-term disability. 

With all the confusing information, it is key to call in the experts! Physical therapists are the key to success post-surgery to help patients safely rebuild strength, flexibility, and mobility while minimizing the risk of strain, reinjury, and other complications.

At Advantage Physical Therapy in Reston and Falls Church, Virginia, our team offers customized post-surgery physical therapy programs focused on each patient’s individual needs, supporting optimal recovery and greater peace of mind. 

Here, learn four ways physical therapy can benefit you following surgery.

1. Reducing pain and swelling

After surgery, most people experience some pain and swelling. These symptoms are typical and tend to lessen with healing. Early on, however, they can limit mobility and cause emotional stress in addition to physical discomfort.

Physical therapy helps relieve these symptoms with techniques designed to improve circulation, reduce inflammation, and relax tight muscles, providing comfort and promoting more rapid healing. 

Your physical therapist has tools in their toolbox that will help to decrease the need for pain medications. That means, less medication side effects like constipation, stomach aches, and sleep disturbances, while protecting your kidneys and liver! 

2. Regaining strength and mobility

Surgery and healing place a lot of strain on your body, so it’s not uncommon to experience a loss of strength and movement as you recover. 

While you certainly don’t want to overdo it immediately after surgery, staying inactive for too long can lead to significant strength deficits. That makes it harder to get back to your usual routines.

Physical therapy involves special exercises and routines to help patients regain strength and mobility following surgery, with custom treatment plans focused on restoring pre-surgery mobility without straining or stressing your body as it heals. 

Throughout your therapy sessions, we evaluate your progress, changing your routines over time to promote ongoing improvements while protecting overall health and recovery.

3. Preventing complications and setbacks

Early rehabilitation with a custom physical therapy program helps avoid complications, like scarring or stiffness, that can delay healing and lead to long-term disability. 

Physical therapy helps reduce these risks by keeping the body active in a way that’s safe, controlled, and tailored to your needs and capabilities. 

Physical therapy can also help prevent reinjury. By improving strength, flexibility, and resilience, our team sets a path toward long-term recovery based on progress, not problems.

4. Supporting a return to daily life

Physical therapy sets the stage for long-term wellness and a quicker return to the activities you love. During your first visit and throughout your sessions, you work with your therapist to ensure your plan stays focused on your body’s needs and your personal goals.

Whether you want to resume daily activities (walking or climbing stairs), return to a sport, or workplace duties, we can help. Regular evaluations enable us to work together to adapt your routine — and celebrate successes along the way.

Recovering with comfort and confidence

Recovering from surgery may pose challenges, but physical therapy can help you get back to your healthy, active life as quickly and comfortably as possible.

To learn more about post-surgery physical therapy programs and how we can tailor a program to your needs and goals, call Advantage Physical Therapy today to request an appointment.

Author

Alana Hamilton Alana Hamilton is a physical therapist at Advantage Physical Therapy in Falls Church, Virginia. She is a proud Hokie from Virginia Tech with a major in Biology and a minor in psychology and sociology. Following graduation, she immediately got her doctorate in Physical Therapy from Radford University. She is an avid fan of Pilates, running, and hiking. On the weekends, she can be found hanging out with her family and babies as well as doing Spartan races with her old physical therapy classmates and friends. She is a big believer that during rehabilitation, "Motion is the Lotion" and that staying active is key to remaining healthy.