Importance of rehabilitation before surgery – Mangiarelli rehabilitation
Prehabilitation has many benefits for pre-surgery patients. Prehabilitation is an individualized exercise conditioning program that prepares the body for the stresses of surgery, manages symptoms, and helps restore function to the injured area as much as possible prior to surgery. Prehabilitation, or “prehab,” works on improving a patient’s range of motion, flexibility, and strength prior to surgery to set them up for a successful recovery after surgery. Prehab has been shown to reduce recovery time and a patient’s hospital stay, reduce surgical pain and swelling, and increase strength, stamina, and mobility.
What is prehabilitation?
Prehabilitation, or preventive rehabilitation, is an individualized exercise conditioning program that prepares the body for the stresses of surgery, manages symptoms, and helps restore function to the injured area as much as possible prior to surgery. Often, there is a loss of strength, mobility, and function in the part of the body that requires surgery after an injury. If the injured area is swollen, it can contribute to atrophy and loss of strength in the muscles surrounding the injury, which can lead to reduced range of motion and flexibility. Neuromuscular activity at the site of injury may also be altered, leading to decreased muscle activation. Overall, this can lead to body decompression as patients awaiting surgery engage in reduced movement.
Prehabilitation, or “prehab,” works on improving a patient’s range of motion, flexibility, and strength prior to surgery to set them up for a successful recovery after surgery. During prehab, the physical therapist evaluates the patient for any deficits in strength, stability, range of motion, and balance that may hinder their ability to recover from surgery. The physician establishes a baseline assessment of functional capacity and designs a customized prehab exercise program for the patient to address these deficits as much as possible prior to surgery. Exercise programs typically include a combination of strength and aerobic exercise to build muscle strength and cardiorespiratory fitness, as well as functional task training.
Benefits of prehabilitation before joint replacement surgery
Prerehabilitation has many benefits for pre-surgery patients, especially those awaiting joint replacement surgery. In fact, there is strong data supporting the benefits of prehab before knee replacement surgery. In one study, about 20% of people who participated in prehab improved so much that they canceled their surgery. Other patients who had knee replacement surgery after prehab in the study had a shorter hospital stay and improved pain immediately after surgery. Several studies have shown that patients who complete strength, aerobic and flexibility exercises prior to joint replacement surgery require less inpatient rehabilitation and generally recover faster. The benefits of prehab can be seen as early as 24 hours after surgery, with patients achieving key milestones that allow them to return home faster than those who did not complete the prehab program.
Research on hip replacement surgery prehab shows that prehab patients had improved pain after surgery, better functioning after hip replacement, and, after six weeks, a higher likelihood of being able to go home after surgery rather than at a rehab facility. There was a possibility. A four- to six-week prehab program prior to ACL reconstruction surgery has been shown to improve quadriceps strength, increase range of motion, and reduce re-injury rates. A study of 523 patients who underwent prehab prior to surgery versus 1000 patients who did not receive prehab showed that prehab patients were more likely to go straight home after surgery rather than a skilled nursing facility and the overall cost of their care . At three months after surgery, they had an average of $3,200 less than those who didn’t get prehab.
Prehabilitation helps patients strengthen their muscles and improve flexibility prior to surgery so that they can move faster through the recovery process and have a stronger baseline of strength and mobility going into surgery. Strong muscles also heal faster and can better tolerate exercise and stretching. Prehab also helps reduce the risk of surgical complications. This is because complications usually arise after surgery because pre-existing conditions weaken or strain muscles, tendons, and ligaments. Without rehearsal to address these issues, the body’s tissues must heal simultaneously from injury, inflammation, and surgical trauma.
7 Benefits of Rehab
Prehab shortens recovery time.
Prehab reduces post-operative pain and swelling.
Prehab increases strength and stamina.
Prehab improves joint mobility and range of motion.
Prehab minimizes the complications of surgery.
Prehab reduces patient anxiety about surgery.
Prehab shortens your hospital stay.
