If you have surgery, you'll likely be prescribed physical therapy afterward. The period of rehabilitation may be anywhere from six weeks to several months, depending on the type of surgery you receive and how quickly you heal. While this process can be hard and sometimes uncomfortable, it's essential to maximize your results from surgery.

Physical Therapy Enhances Treatment

Surgery and physical therapy go hand in hand. The surgery helps alter or remove troublesome tissue or replace damaged joints, but if you don't approach the healing process correctly, stiffening scar tissue can leave you with even less range of motion than before.

Physical therapy during recovery helps preserve range of motion so you can get the full benefit of the surgical intervention. For example, if you tore a ligament in your knee, reconstructive surgery is the first step in the healing process. You’ll need physical therapy so that the ligament will stretch correctly. With the right therapy, it should only take a week after surgery to regain mobility.

Physical Therapy Offers Several Benefits

When you get the right amount of exercise after surgery—enough to keep the joints from stiffening, but not enough to cause damage—you recover more quickly. Not only can you keep joints from stiffening, but you'll actually experience less pain.

Physical therapy helps strengthen muscles and bones that would otherwise grow weaker without use. For example, with a knee injury, muscles in your thigh will be weakened by your injury and by the period of going unused during your diagnosis, surgery, and early recovery.

Physical therapy will aim to shorten that period of disuse by encouraging mobility and training the muscle back to a healthy condition. The physical therapist will monitor your progress, keeping the healing on track. They will likely be the first to notice any unexpected problems during recovery that might need further treatment.

To recover from surgery and injuries, choose Step By Step Physical Therapy in Warsaw, NY. Serving all of Western New York from Wyoming to Erie counties, they have over 30 years of experience. Their friendly staff and home-like atmosphere will make each visit more comfortable. Call (585) 786-8700 to make an appointment or visit their Facebook to browse reviews.