Total Joint Replacement Rehabilitation

Total joint replacement surgery is a major surgery requiring careful preparation and an effective post-surgical rehabilitation program to ensure pain-free function and mobility of the joint. Total joint replacement surgery removes the entirety of the damaged joint, replacing it with artificial parts to maintain joint function. Physical therapy plays a critical role in successful rehabilitation of the new joint and restoring movement, strength, flexibility, and range of motion to the joint for a timely return to daily activities, work, and sport.

What is Total Joint Replacement Surgery?

Your joints bear your weight and allow your body to move; however, overtime wear and tear on your joints is inevitable. Degeneration of the cartilage of the joints is common as you age, particularly if you suffer from arthritis or a severe trauma to the joint. If degeneration and joint pain becomes too severe and are unresponsive to more conservative treatments, joint replacement surgery is used to address pain, improve function, and restore mobility.

Total joint replacement surgery is a surgical procedure that removes the entirety of the damaged joint, replacing it with a metal, plastic, or ceramic device (prosthesis) to help patients maintain function of the joint. While total joint replacement can occur in any joint of the body, it is most common in the hip, knee, and shoulder joints.

In a total joint replacement of the hip, damaged bone and cartilage of the head of the thigh bone and the socket where it is attached are removed and replaced by prosthesis or artificial parts. In a total joint replacement of the knee, the arthritic part of the bones of the knee joint (tibia, femur, and patella) are removed and replaced with artificial parts.

“Pre-Habilitation” Before Total Joint Replacement Surgery

 Pre-surgery physical therapy, or “pre-habilitation,” is recommended prior to a total joint replacement operation to strengthen the muscles around the joint and create stability around the joint. Studies have shown that patients who engage in pre-habilitation regain function and get back to daily activities faster and more easily than those who do not do pre-hab. Pre-habilitation patients have less operative pain, fewer complications, and decreased hospital stay and recovery time.

Pre-habilitation is an exercise conditioning program that increases the patient’s stamina, joint mobility, and flexibility; establishes and normalizes movement patterns prior to surgery; and enhances overall fitness. The physical therapist also coaches the patient in the use of assistive devices and helps the patient prepare the home for safety post-surgery through patient education.

Rehabilitation After Total Joint Replacement Surgery

Physical therapy after total joint replacement surgery is critical to ensure pain-free function of the joint and a safe return to daily activities, work, and sport. Physical therapy helps restore strength, mobility, flexibility, endurance, and range of motion in the joint safely and gradually. Post-operative rehabilitation focuses on restoring movement and strength in the artificial joint; reducing pain, swelling, and stiffness; and speeding up the recovery process for full functionality of the new joint.  

Post-surgical rehabilitation includes pain-reducing modalities, manual therapy, gait analysis and training, movement re-education, posture education, and balance, agility, and coordination training specific to the new joint. The patient receives training in the safe use of assistive devices during the preliminary weeks post-surgery. The physical therapist also designs a therapeutic exercise program involving flexibility, strengthening, and stretching exercises to build joint strength, improve range of motion, and increase flexibility. The patient is then progressed to functional training for daily activities, work-related tasks, and sports activities to ensure a safe return to daily living.

Total joint replacement surgery is a major surgery requiring careful preparation and an effective post-surgical rehabilitation program to ensure pain-free function and mobility of the joint. Physical therapy plays a critical role in successful rehabilitation of the new joint and restoring movement, strength, flexibility, and range of motion to the joint for a timely return to daily activities, work, and sport.