Just under 1 million knee surgeries are performed every year in the United States. Physical therapy services are a great way to work through the recovery process. It is a common surgery for the elderly, who often lose knee function due to osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis can cause stiffness and pain, making using the knee for everyday activities like walking, climbing stairs, or bending almost impossible.
If your aging loved one has recently received knee surgery, the recovery period is an important time for helping your loved one gain back some of the mobility she had previously lost. The recovery time will vary depending on which type of surgery she had but there are specific processes that everyone recovering from knee surgery should expect to complete while on the road to recovery.
Time to get moving with physical therapy guidance
Physical Therapy Bellville OH – Helping Your Loved One After Knee SurgeryFrom the very beginning of recovery time, your loved one will be expected to get moving, even while in the hospital. Having someone visit the home for physical therapy can help your parent continue that important exercise once she gets back home. Physical therapy is an essential part of the healing process and a home nurse trained in physical therapy can ensure that your loved one has skilled nursing care providing safe and effective mobility steps.
A physical therapist can show your loved one how to get in and out of bed, and how to use her assistive device until her knee regains its strength. Her assistance device may be a cane, a walker, or crutches.
Learn to manage personal care
After knee surgery, activities such as using the toilet, taking a shower, or getting dressed may be a bit more difficult to do. Your loved one might need some assistive devices such as a bathtub chair or railings by the toilet. She might need someone to physically help her put on her pants or tie her shoes. Having a home care assistance provider that comes to the home to help with daily tasks such as these could be beneficial in those first weeks back at home.
Pain should begin to reduce
In just a few short weeks, your loved one should start to notice less pain when moving and be able to do things such as go up and down the stairs, go for walks around the neighborhood, and do light chores. She might be reducing the number of pain medications she is taking and be able to sleep better at night.
Assistive devices can be put away
Continued recovery means that the walker, bathtub chair, and other assistive devices may be able to be stored away. She’ll still need to be careful about what she does and about carrying objects up and down stairs, but your loved one will begin to feel like she can use her knee again in everyday activities.
Don’t rush recovery but also remind your loved one that with consistent physical therapy and rehab, her knee will be healed and she’ll feel like she can do many activities that she hasn’t done for years because of the knee pain.
https://www.healthgrades.com/right-care/bones-joints-and-muscles/types-of-knee-surgery-and-recovery-timelines
If you are considering hiring Physical Therapy Services in Bellville OH, call the caring staff at Central Star Home Health at (419) 610-2161. Providing services for families in Mansfield, Lexington, Bellville, Crestline, Galion, Shelby, Ashland, Ontario, Bucyrus, Mt. Vernon, Marion, Willard, and the surrounding areas.
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