Surgical Rehabilitation

What is hip replacement surgery?

The hip is a ball-and-socket joint. This type of joint allows a good range of movement in any direction.

The ball of the hip joint is known as the femoral head, and is located at the top of the thigh bone (the femur). This rotates within a hollow, or socket, in the pelvis, called the acetabulum.

Hip replacement surgery involves removing parts of the hip joint that are causing problems – usually the ball and socket – and replacing them with new parts made from metal, plastic or ceramic.

The most common reason for having a hip replacement is osteoarthritis. Other possible reasons include rheumatoid arthritis, a hip fracture or hip dysplasia; a condition where the hip joint hasn’t developed properly.

Many thousands of people have hip replacement surgery each year. It usually brings great benefits in terms of reduced pain, improved mobility and a better quality of life.

But as with all surgery it’s important to think about the possible risks and to discuss them with your surgeon before you decide to go ahead

 

Shoulder Rehabilitation

Patients come to our clinic with many different types of shoulder conditions. Your treating Doctor will assess your shoulder and advise on a rehabilitation plan to assist your recovery. An individual rehabilitation plan is developed for every patient. Some patients require surgery, others are managed conservatively.

Patients who Require Surgery: Your surgeon will advise on a plan specific to your surgery. Often the rehabilitation plan will take up to 12 months to complete.

Patients who Do Not Require Surgery: Many shoulder problems do not require surgery and can be managed well with a rehabilitation program.

For both groups of patients the rehabilitation goal is the same, to achieve the best recovery possible. Every patient’s situation is different and consideration is given to your lifestyle in determining your specific rehabilitation plan. Our rehabilitation plans focus on the physical changes required to make to your shoulder function better. Your shoulders strength, movement and control will often need to improve.

It is important to understand that for you to obtain the best recovery possible that you need to follow your rehabilitation plan closely. The following guidelines provide a general overview of what you need to do.

Rest/Protect

Often you will be asked to protect your shoulder whilst it is recovering by avoiding, where possible:

• repetitive activities, eg, sustained manual tasks such as, housework, gardening, renovation, overhead sports and keyboard use

• lifting more than a few kilograms

• overhead activity

• reaching behind your body

• any activity that aggravates your shoulder pain

The time these restrictions apply for depends on your individual situation. Often they will apply for 3 months. These restrictions provide the rest that your shoulder requires to allow the inflammation in your shoulder to reduce. As well, where possible, this will allow scar tissue to form at the area of injury and help with healing.

If you have had surgery, post operatively, your surgeon will provide a plan and timeframe with regard to specific use and lifting restrictions.

Patience/Commitment/Exercise Plan

After shoulder surgery, it often takes 3 to 6 months to obtain reasonable use and comfort.  Full recovery may take up to 12 months.

For those patients managed without surgery, often the rehabilitation plan takes three to six months to complete.

Commonly, you will be asked to undertake a specific exercise plan. When a shoulder has a problem with pain, weakness, stiffness or instability, the muscles around the shoulder can change.  These changes can affect your shoulders strength, flexibility and, specifically, the internal control of the shoulder. These changes need to be addressed with a specific exercise program.

Usually this program is home based, that where possible needs to be performed 3 to 4 times a day, often for many months. This requires commitment on your part in order to obtain the best possible outcome.

Exercise therapy is considered to be one of the most reliable types of treatment for shoulder problems.  There is quality research available that indicates that specific strengthening and flexibility exercises for the shoulder will help to reduce shoulder pain and improve function.

 

Knee Surgery

You may need surgery when your knee has structural damage. You may also need it if your knee pain has not responded to other methods of pain relief for structural damage or other conditions, such as osteoarthritis. If you choose surgery, a physician anesthesiologist will prevent you from feeling pain during the operation. As pain management specialists, physician anesthesiologists also play a key role in pain relief and recovery after surgery. This postsurgical pain relief is critical for effective participation in physical therapy and rehabilitation.

Knee replacement

In a knee replacement operation, the surgeon removes damaged parts of the knee joint and replaces them with new parts made of materials such as metal, ceramic or plastic. Contrary to the name of the procedure, the surgeon does not replace the entire knee joint.

After knee replacement surgery, you may have some temporary pain in the new joint. Nonetheless, physical therapy can often begin the day after surgery. Physical activity after surgery is considered a key to success. That makes postoperative pain relief particularly important, so you can be active and participate effectively in physical therapy.

Knee replacements can be expected to last at least 15 years; some last 20 years or longer. Because knee replacements do not last forever, age is a factor in deciding between surgery and other pain management alternatives

 

What are foot and ankle treatments?

Foot and ankle treatments are surgeries and procedures to treat several conditions and injuries affecting the feet and ankles. The foot and ankle is a complex area containing bones, ligaments, tendons, nerves and muscles. Amazingly, these components come together to form 33 joints. Treating problems with any of these structures can involve ankle, foot or toe surgery.

Common types of foot and ankle treatments include:

• Ankle arthroscopy is a minimally invasive surgical method of diagnosing and treating many ankle symptoms and problems from torn or weak ligaments to fractures.

• Ankle replacement surgery removes a diseased or damaged joint and replaces it with an artificial joint.

• Foot and ankle fracture and dislocation treatment may be necessary when a bone in the ankle is dislocated out of place or part of the bone has broken off.

• Foot and ankle ligament and tendon reconstruction including Achilles tendon surgery repairs or reconstructs torn or weak ligaments.