New Physical Therapy Techniques for Faster Orthopedic Recovery

Regaining Mobility: New Physical Therapy Techniques for Faster Orthopedic Recovery

It’s fair to say that orthopedic rehabilitation has come a long, long way. Gone are the days when after fracture surgery a patient was instructed to stay in bed for six weeks and avoid all movement of the operated joint. More priority has been given to making sure that the patient is up and about as soon as possible, and this has been backed by surgeons across the globe and by multiple studies and research outlets. Of course, technological advancements have also made this goal far more attainable, with new breakthroughs in the surgical devices used, postoperative nursing protocols in the hospital, intraoperative anesthetic management and pharmacological support.

Postoperative Goals and Innovative Approaches

Apart from patient safety, the ultimate goal of orthopedic surgery is to get you functioning as close as possible to where you were before the injury or condition, and there are many ways of getting there nowadays. In this article, we will touch upon a few innovative techniques that can be started in the postoperative period, to help regain mobility and help achieve superior outcomes for the patient.

Importance of Early Mobility Exercises

A large component of successful orthopedic rehabilitation is the initiation of mobility exercises after orthopedic surgery. Of course, the specific type of mobility exercise varies according to the severity of the initial diagnosis, patient condition and surgeon preference. It is obviously much more difficult to mobilize a patient with multiple fractures compared to one who had a total knee arthroplasty, so there are a few factors that must be kept in mind when instituting rehabilitation programs, as well as managing expectations of the patient.

Blood Flow Restriction Therapy

With respect to total knee replacement, arthroscopic surgeries of the knee, Achilles tendon repair and fracture surgery, a novel method known as blood flow restriction therapy has been used. This involves the patient exercising the operated limb with a pumped blood pressure cuff applied to the limb, the intention of which is simulate an environment where there is minimal oxygen available for the muscles. This stimulates muscle growth and causes muscular hypertrophy, which works together with postoperative knee mobility exercises, along with the ankle mobility exercises prescribed in the postoperative Achilles tendon rehabilitation.

Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation (NMES)

Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation (NMES) is a technique that applies electrical stimulation to the peripheral areas of the body, which results in contractions of the skeletal muscles. This helps to improve muscular strength in conditions that require an extended period of immobilization, also helping to maintain muscle mass and train selective muscles. This can be used in patients who have undergone spinal surgery, and has shown an increased activation of core muscles, better motor recovery and a higher increase in muscle mass. These improvements allow for an improved results with the prescribed spinal mobility exercises, helping to a quicker return to normal function. NMES has also shown promising results in patients who have undergone wrist surgery, playing an adjunct role along standard wrist mobility exercises.

In Conclusion

There are various exercise modalities that have been proven to have beneficial results for patients who have undergone orthopedic surgery. It must be remembered that these modalities are meant to be supplemental in nature, and they must be accompanied by the main rehabilitation protocols that are specifically designed according to the condition and the surgery performed. In case you are a candidate for some of these innovative modalities to help regain your mobility post-surgery, schedule a consultation through our Appointments page today.