4 Rehabilitation tips after bone and joint surgery

Many people are well aware of the importance of preparation before surgery. However, few people know that rehabilitation after surgery is just as important, especially for patients who have undergone bone and joint surgery.

Rehabilitation after bone and joint surgery can help reduce the swelling from incisions and build muscle strength, as well as protecting against shrinkage of the connective tissues, locking of the joints, and muscle atrophy. Most importantly, it can build strength in the bones which are healing together. All of these will enable patients to return to their day-to-day lives much more quickly.

With so many benefits, we have created 4 easy rehabilitation tips after bone and joint surgery that you can try yourself at home.

While recovering after surgery, you should raise the part of your body in which the break has occurred to help improve blood circulation to both that area and the heart. Doing so can effectively help reduce pain and swelling. This is such a simple but effective rehabilitation tip after bone and joint surgery, yet many overlook it.

Recovering after surgery does not only involve the use of the affected area; other parts of the body nearby are equally as important because every part of the body is always working together. This means that while you are recovering, you should try moving other parts of your body too. In the case of a broken arm, for example, doctors may prohibit you from moving certain parts of your body after surgery. Other parts where movement has not been prohibited, however, should be moved. If you are still able to make and release a fist, you should try doing this often to improve blood circulation, reduce pain and swelling, and build muscle strength in the arms, helping the bones heal faster.

Another easy rehabilitation tip after joint surgery is to exercise by doing some slow rotations of the joints as prescribed by your doctor. If at first you are unable to rotate your joints by yourself, ask someone to help you. Start by doing 2–3 rounds of rotations per day before increasing the number of rounds. Doing these exercises will help strengthen the joints and prevent them from locking.

When it comes to rehabilitation after surgery, in the case of leg and ankle breaks, practicing with walking aids early on is crucial. You should practice walking without putting your weight on the affected area by using various equipment to get you used to it first. Practicing with this equipment beforehand will help you spread your weight correctly, and further promote the bone’s healing.

Even though, nowadays, bone and joint surgery uses MIS (Minimally Invasive Surgery)—a much less worrisome procedure that uses a camera to assist in the surgery, reduces the size of the incisions, and improves patients’ recovery times—we must still rely on the understanding and attention of patients and those close to them when it comes to strengthening healing bones.

Rehabilitation after bone and joint surgery is therefore something we cannot ignore. If you would like to get back to your normal life, try these 4 simple rehabilitation tips for orthopedic surgery, and you will see the results really are better than you think.