Healing Steps: The Crucial Role of Physiotherapy in Post-Surgical Pain Management
Surgery is not a decision someone makes lightly. It’s a highly invasive procedure that puts a tremendous amount of stress on your body, and it can take a long time to fully rehabilitate. Many people struggle with pain in the weeks after their surgery, too, which is why Physio for Seniors includes post-surgical pain management among our services.
In the last several years, you’ve heard more and more about opioids–the powerful prescription painkillers often prescribed to combat post-surgical pain. While these medications are generally safe when used for a brief period, they do bring a high risk of dependency and other issues when used incorrectly.
Physiotherapy is one tool to help patients minimize prescription pain medicine use after surgery. Our in-home therapy sessions offer alternate methods of post-surgical pain management that make it easier for you to transition off prescription medication as you move through the stages of rehabilitation.
Curious about how physiotherapy handles postoperative pain? Keep reading, or call our Vancouver-based team to learn more!
Post-Surgical Pain Management Techniques
After you leave the hospital, your rehabilitation begins in earnest. Our therapists meet with you in your home to guide you through a customized treatment plan to improve mobility and restore strength and function. But to do that effectively, you’ll first need to manage your pain.
Fortunately, we offer several unique approaches to do just that:
- Joint Mobilizations: It’s essential that you begin moving as soon as possible after an orthopedic surgery. If you don’t, you risk developing scar tissue that can cause restrictions and chronic pain down the line. Our therapists can help you through this process with joint mobilizations, in which we guide your joint through its current range of motion, gradually working to increase it. This process also helps decrease pain in the short term.
- Soft Tissue Manipulation: Another hands-on technique we might use involves manipulating the soft tissue–muscles, tendons, and ligaments–around the affected joint. This process promotes blood circulation to the area, which helps reduce pain, minimize adhesion limiting soft tissue mobility, and facilitates healing at the surgical site.
- Therapeutic Exercise: Remember how we said you should begin moving as soon as you can after surgery? Our physiotherapists can guide you on the most appropriate movements and exercises for your needs. We can show you gentle stretches and strengthening exercises or help you walk around your room for a few minutes (with a mobility aid if needed).
- Pain-relieving modalities: Besides our hands-on approaches, we can offer various pain-relieving modalities, such as hot or cold therapy or electrostimulation. These technology-assisted techniques complement our other approaches.
Find Post-Surgical Pain Relief–All In Your Own Home!
Of course, post-surgical pain management is only one piece of the puzzle. Our compassionate physiotherapists will also help you regain strength, mobility, and function, especially after your surgical site heals. But we’re here to help get you through the pain in those early days after surgery, too.
If you or a loved one has an orthopedic surgery coming up, request an appointment with Physio for Seniors. We offer in-home physiotherapy services throughout the Vancouver area, and we’d love to be part of your surgical care team!