{"id":1182,"date":"2012-09-05T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2012-09-05T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ati.local\/?p=1182"},"modified":"2024-12-17T17:33:10","modified_gmt":"2024-12-17T17:33:10","slug":"return-to-an-active-life-after-joint-replacement-with-physical-therapy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.atipt.com\/return-to-an-active-life-after-joint-replacement-with-physical-therapy\/","title":{"rendered":"Return to an active life after joint replacement with physical therapy"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A new knee, hip, or shoulder can be a huge blessing for someone who has lost function or mobility due to joint disease. However, joint replacement surgery is just one aspect of returning to an active life. \u00a0Physical therapy is crucial to a full recovery.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThrough physical therapy, patients are able to restore function and get back to what they were doing before surgery,\u201d says John Lemen, physical therapist at ATI Physical Therapy in Bear, DE. \u201cThe goal is always to improve a patient\u2019s strength and flexibility to get them back to living life.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>First and foremost, patients should remember that the rehabilitation process often begins before the actual joint replacement. Patients should ask their surgeon about how to best prepare for surgery through physical therapy and exercise.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe stronger you are before you go into surgery, the better mobility you\u2019ll have after surgery,\u201d John says.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn addition, an evaluation with a physical therapist prior to surgery provides a base line measurement of function and helps to determine the treatment plan and progress following surgery,\u201d says Jean-Christopher Sales, physical therapist at ATI Physical Therapy in Woodridge, IL.<\/p>\n<p>Here are a few other things joint replacement patients should keep in mind:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Patients should expect to be in physical therapy for at least two months.<\/strong>\u00a0There are many factors that determine how long a patient will require rehab, including age, gender, prior level of function, goals and the reason for joint replacement. Patients often begin therapy in the hospital, then transition to a week or two of home care or therapy at a specialized in-patient rehab facility. \u00a0Approximately, four weeks after surgery, patient begin outpatient physical therapy which generally lasts four to six weeks, but can continue for many months if needed.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Physical therapy starts immediately.<\/strong>\u00a0For most patients, physical therapy begins only a day after surgery. Beginning therapy early helps expedite the healing process.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Early treatment is usually very conservative.<\/strong>\u00a0Your physical therapist will initially concentrate on increasing flexibility, range of motion, and reducing pain. \u201cTypically after surgery, the joints are stiff and the muscles are hyper-sensitive. We use manual therapy to relax the joint and reduce swelling,\u201d says Jean-Christopher. \u201cElectrical stimulation and ultrasound may also be used to stimulate the lymphatic system to reduce swelling and relieve pain.\u201d<\/li>\n<li><strong>Functional Exercises begin with the core.\u00a0<\/strong>Following conservative treatment, your therapist will begin functional exercises to build strength, increase flexibility and help you return to an active life. Jean-Christopher is a big proponent of first focusing on the core muscles to create stability.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Continued home therapy is an important part of the recovery process.<\/strong>\u00a0One of the best things patients can do is perform home therapy on their days off, John says. Since patients only come to therapy about three days per week, it\u2019s important to keep up with exercises the other four days of the week.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Stay motivated by setting short and long term goals.<\/strong>\u00a0Your therapist will help you set short term, attainable goals to help monitor your progress. With joint replacement surgery, it is important to take many precautions and not push too hard, too quickly.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Be honest.<\/strong>\u00a0The patients who have the best physical therapy results are always honest with their therapist and doctor, says Jean-Christopher. Explain your pain and let your therapist know if you are having difficulties with an exercise.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Activity shouldn\u2019t stop after physical therapy stops.<\/strong>\u00a0Once a patient is able to return to the activity he or she originally hoped to do, it\u2019s okay to step away from the home therapy program. However, patients should continue regular exercise and physical activity to stay in good shape.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A new knee, hip, or shoulder can be a huge blessing for someone who has lost function or mobility due [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1182","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Return to an active life after joint replacement with physical therapy | ATI<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A new knee, hip, or shoulder can be a huge blessing for someone who has lost function or mobility due to joint disease. However, joint replacement surgery is just one aspect of returning to an active life. Physical therapy is crucial to a full recovery.\u201cThrough physical therapy, patients are able to restore function and get back to what they were doing before surgery,\u201d says\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.atipt.com\/return-to-an-active-life-after-joint-replacement-with-physical-therapy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Return to an active life after joint replacement with physical therapy | ATI\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A new knee, hip, or shoulder can be a huge blessing for someone who has lost function or mobility due to joint disease. 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Physical therapy is crucial to a full recovery.\u201cThrough physical therapy, patients are able to restore function and get back to what they were doing before surgery,\u201d says\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.atipt.com\/return-to-an-active-life-after-joint-replacement-with-physical-therapy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"ATI\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ATIPhysicalTherapy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-09-05T00:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-12-17T17:33:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"abbymccallsmith\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@atipt\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@atipt\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"abbymccallsmith\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.atipt.com\\\/return-to-an-active-life-after-joint-replacement-with-physical-therapy\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.atipt.com\\\/return-to-an-active-life-after-joint-replacement-with-physical-therapy\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"abbymccallsmith\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.atipt.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/e2e6098ef9dcfe7041d906350eb43d21\"},\"headline\":\"Return to an active life after joint replacement with physical therapy\",\"datePublished\":\"2012-09-05T00:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-12-17T17:33:10+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.atipt.com\\\/return-to-an-active-life-after-joint-replacement-with-physical-therapy\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":618,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.atipt.com\\\/#organization\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.atipt.com\\\/return-to-an-active-life-after-joint-replacement-with-physical-therapy\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.atipt.com\\\/return-to-an-active-life-after-joint-replacement-with-physical-therapy\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.atipt.com\\\/return-to-an-active-life-after-joint-replacement-with-physical-therapy\\\/\",\"name\":\"Return to an active life after joint replacement with physical therapy | ATI\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.atipt.com\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2012-09-05T00:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-12-17T17:33:10+00:00\",\"description\":\"A new knee, hip, or shoulder can be a huge blessing for someone who has lost function or mobility due to joint disease. 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