Three reasons why you need physical therapy after knee surgery

Knee instability that makes it hard to walk. Chronic joint pain. Locking of your knee joint. Such symptoms could be related to serious knee issues like osteoarthritis, anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears or meniscus tears. 

Often, serious conditions like these can require a surgery to repair or treat them. In fact, knee surgeries are very common among Americans. For instance, a 2015 study reveals that almost five million people had had a knee replacement. Recovering from surgery can be a long process. But, physical therapy after knee surgery can offer several benefits. 

Physical therapy after knee surgery can offer these three benefits 

A physical therapist is committed to helping you find the most effective possible recovery plan after your knee surgery. Your physical therapist will start by evaluating the affected knee. They’ll ask you questions about the type of surgery you had and your recovery goals. 

Using this information, your physical therapist can build you an individualized therapy program that offers benefits like: 

1. Reducing pain — Pain is a common result of most types of surgery. After all, skin, fascia, muscles and other soft tissue are typically cut or damaged. Luckily, physical therapists have techniques at their disposal to help reduce post-operative pain. One study shows that a combination of therapeutic exercises and dry needling led to a more than 36-point drop in pain intensity after four weeks. 

2. Improving range of motion (ROM) — Post-surgical stiffness in the knee can reduce ROM. This means it can be tougher to extend or bend the knee to do normal daily tasks. Physical therapy can help improve your knee ROM faster than you might think. A study of post-knee surgery rehab reveals that it allowed patients to regain full knee ROM after just four weeks. 

3. Getting help from home — Telerehabilitation, or telerehab, is a relatively new type of physical therapy; it can help you get beneficial physical therapy without leaving your home. One study reveals that telerehab helped patients achieve a 66% improvement in their WOMAC scores. 

Find effective physical therapy after knee surgery at Advent Physical Therapy

Need to find effective physical therapy after knee surgery? Our Advent Physical Therapy team can help you find top-notch post-surgical rehab. We offer complimentary screenings that can reveal the issues you’re facing after knee surgery. In addition, our therapy specialists excel at creating personalized rehab plans that can reduce pain and recovery times. 

Want to get a jump-start on your rehab? You can start working with our team before you even have surgery. Our physical therapists offer pre-surgical rehab services that can help ready your body for surgery. These services can also help you spend less time rehabbing after surgery. 

Contact our team today for more information about how we can help you after knee surgery or to schedule an initial appointment.