Arthroplasty – Prehab Program

Transcript

Congratulations on scheduling a joint replacement surgery. You’re one step closer now to improved quality of life with your new hip or knee replacement. A few things we want to go over prior to the surgery itself is we want to really encourage you to improve your mobility and continue to enhance your function even prior to your joint replacement. We have a lot of data that demonstrates that this is very important. Part of your recovery even is to improve your function prior to surgery, even starting. What we want to really focus on is strength as well as mobility of the joint. Sometimes it can hurt because the pain still hasn’t been eliminated because your joint hasn’t been replaced and you still might be having some difficulty due to pain from the arthritis process. What’s important is to enhance your function prior to surgery, in order to improve your mobility and function after surgery.

We have a lot of data that demonstrates that if we improve and focus on certain exercises, that you’ll be continuing even after your surgery, then that can help a lot with your recovery process. You’ll be given a list of exercises that you can do either on your own at home, or a formal physical therapy program may be offered as well. What you may be able to accomplish in your prehab program will be very variable depending on your prior level of function and the amount of deconditioning you’ve had coming up to your joint replacement surgery. So make sure you discuss all of these things with your provider.