Surgeries can make your body frail. After all the risk you’ve had on the operating table, it’s only normal that you will experience side effects such as pain or discomfort, leading to body weakness. While surgeries can help cure your condition, most surgeries may leave you feeling uncomfortable immediately afterward. So, you need to help your body get back its energy and strong physical mobility to get on with your life before your condition or pre-surgery.
One way to effectively do this is through physical therapy. To help you in your recovery process, you need to have a physical therapist knowledgeable about surgical procedures and treatment for post-surgical patients.
Here are the benefits of physical therapy on your post-surgery recovery that you should know about:
1. It Can Improve Your Mobility, Balance, and Strength
After surgery, your body will experience trauma that can cause muscle/tissue tightness, swelling, spasms, and a limited range of movement. It’s your body’s natural response since it has been in a harsh environment. As a result, your body will lack strength, balance, and mobility. The good news is that physical therapy can help you regain these functions.
There are physical activities, such as strengthening exercises, myofascial release, and other manual techniques, you can do to achieve physical recovery. However, you must do these activities with the supervision of a physical therapist to know whether it’s appropriate for post-surgical patients.
2. It Can Ease Pain and Swelling
Physical therapy can also help ease the affected area’s pain and swelling because of the exercises and movement. When your body has reduced swelling and pain, you can expect that your body is on its way to recovery, and you’ll regain full mobility in no time. Physical therapy can also prevent surgical pain from becoming chronic, so you need to take the treatment seriously to avoid further complications.
3. It Can Reduce Scar Tissue Formation
The doctors who performed your surgery have probably made many incisions and stitches, leading to scarring. While scarring may be a good sign because it means your body is healing, you may not like the appearance, especially if the scar is on the visible part of your body. The excess scar tissue may also reduce your function and movements for months after the procedure.
Don’t worry; your physical therapist can do something about the scar tissue formation. They can perform many types of mobilization techniques like massage and ultrasound therapy to soften the scar tissue so that you can regain your normal flexibility as soon as possible.
4. It Can Reduce the Risk of Other Complications
Post-surgery is still a delicate phase since it may lead to complications such as infection, blood clots, and other issues. Physical therapy can help prevent these risks for as long as proper exercises and movements are done. So, you need to have a physical therapist who can tailor fit movement and exercises for post-surgery patients.
5. It Can Improve Your Flexibility
Since surgeries will make your body frail, resulting in less movement and inactivity, physical therapy can help you stay active through gentle stretching exercises. It can make your muscles flexible and keep your vulnerable muscles limber.
Conclusion
Physical therapy can help speed up your recovery process. If you don’t want to lie on your bed for a long time after your surgery, you need to help yourself be active so that you can go back to the life you had and return to your normal activities with a stronger and healed body. Just remember that you need to work with a licensed physical therapist because they know the proper treatment suitable for post-surgical patients.
If you’re looking for a physical therapist in New Jersey, Agile Urgent Care has got you covered! We offer affordable, personalized rehabilitation plans and therapy sessions done by our qualified therapists. Contact us today to know more!