Strivept - Physiotherapy Kitchener Massage Therapy Improves Your Pain and Stress Leve | Page 6

Getting from post-hip and knee
surgery pain to performance with
physiotherapy
• A Harvard expert has explained the implications of hip and knee replacement surgery
and how to best manage symptoms pre and post intervention. When comparing the
two, hip replacement comes as the least painful and complicated surgery as the
replacements are put straight into the bones. Knee replacement on the other hand
requires releasing ligaments and working with bone components and many times
additional joint conditions such as arthritis which raises other risks. When it comes to
recovery, hip replacement will call for the use of crutches while a knee replacement
may take anything between six month to a year to even remotely feel the joints are
back to normal.
• What’s a given in both cases is that physiotherapy is a must in the continuum of care.
Rehabilitation is the most important thing to do following total joint replacement to
ensure pain is relieved and as best as possible function is regained. And it should be
started as soon as possible.
• Physiotherapy is a fundamental part of the recovery process and it has been for many
years due to its effectiveness and improved patient outcomes reported. It’s important
to start gently moving the knee or hip as quickly after the surgery, unless otherwise
told so by the doctor or physiotherapist. Studies point out that various types of
physiotherapy are needed to reach optimal results. For instance, one research showed
that accelerated physiotherapy improved activity a week following the operation as
well as after 6 weeks and 3 months. Another one revealed that hydrotherapy combined
with land-based therapy resulted in cardiovascular and nervous systems changes, thus
enhancing recovery and reducing joint load.