While every patient and spine surgery is different, there is a very high likelihood that physical therapy will be part of your rehabilitation plan after your operation. Physical therapy is an incredibly important part of your post-op recovery plan, and we think there are a few things you should know so that you give it your all during your sessions. In today’s blog, we share four things we think you should know about physical therapy after your back procedure.
What Patients Should Know About Post-Op PT
Here are four things we tell each patient so that they have a healthy mindset towards their PT program prior to their spine surgery.
- PT Helps You Become The Strongest Version Of Yourself – Physical therapy is the most important rehabilitation technique in terms of helping to restore functional capability following a surgical procedure. They say that time heals all wounds, but time isn’t going to make you stronger or more flexible following your spinal procedure. Physical therapy can help you become the most functionally capable version of yourself. If you want to get back to doing all the activities you love to the best of your abilities, you need to take physical therapy seriously.
- Your Recovery Window Can Close – While we truly believe that it is never too late for a person to become more physically fit with the help of a PT program, you don’t want to put off PT too long after a surgical procedure. After surgery, scar tissue will form in the areas where incisions were made. This scar tissue is a little thicker than normal skin tissue, and there’s a chance it can envelop or irritate nearby nerves. Physical therapy works to break up scar tissue formation so that it’s not as likely to compress spinal nerves. The first few weeks after surgery is a crucial period for controlling scar tissue formation and reducing the likelihood that it will cause nerve issues down the road, so don’t put off PT once you’ve been cleared for action.
- Helps Your Relationship With Movement – If you opted for elective spine surgery, there’s a good chance that pain and movement restrictions caused you physical discomfort during certain activities. You may have knowingly or unknowingly begun to shy away or even fear certain physical activities as a result of your spinal discomfort. Surgery can start to address the underlying issue, but physical therapy can help you regain a healthy mindset towards certain movements and activities. We can carefully push you out of your comfort zone so that you can take on bigger physical challenges without fear of back problems.
- You Get Out What You Put In – Finally, we tell all of our patients that they’ll get out of physical therapy what they are willing to put in. If you skip your sessions or cut corners on your home-based exercises, you’re only cheating yourself. You won’t regain as much physical function if you only half commit to your physical therapy routine. We understand that PT probably isn’t high on your list of favorite things to do, and while it won’t be easy, we promise you that it will be worth it in the end. Really give it your all, and we think you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the results.
For more tips on mastering your physical therapy program after spine surgery, or to talk to a specialist about a back problem you’re dealing with, reach out to Dr. Sinicropi and the team at The Midwest Spine & Brain Institute today at (651) 430-3800.
