Staying Disciplined With Your Physical Rehab Treatments

Many patients go into surgery knowing that there will be an overall gain in quality of life, whether it’s a knee replacement or hip surgery. On the other hand, patients also know that getting to that point requires a lot of hard work, physical therapy sessions, and staying disciplined throughout the process. Unfortunately, many patients recovering from surgery don’t fully invest in their physical therapy or even complete their therapy treatments.

There’s no doubt that physical therapy, especially directly after the surgery, can be incredibly challenging and even painful. But it’s essential that patients get help and guidance from professionals who understand the best techniques and what equipment to use that will ensure the highest chance of success and that will enable to them have a higher quality of life.

If you are in the initial stages of recovering from surgery, The Medcom Group can help. We supply health care facilities and patients with a variety of rehabilitation equipment, including bracing, cold/heat therapy, SCD machines, CPM machines, and more. With our equipment — and self-discipline — whether you use the equipment in the comfort of your own home or with the expert guidance of a nurse or physical therapist, we’re confident that we can help you regain your mobility, range of motion, and quality of life sooner. Get in touch with The Medcom Group team today for more information.

How to Stay Disciplined Through Physical Therapy Treatment

Set Attainable Goals

Any type of growth starts by setting goals that are attainable, yet challenging, so that you are continuously pushing yourself to work harder. After your surgery, work with your physical therapist to create a list of goals for each week. Your goals will vary depending on the surgery and how much progress is necessary, but it’s OK to start small and grow from there. After each session, write down what you achieved that you weren’t able to do before. Write down in a notebook the level of pain you experienced, your range of motion, how far you walked, or how many stairs you climbed. Week after week, you’ll be able to look back at the notes you’ve made in order to see how far you’ve come.

Develop a Strategy

Anyone can write down goals, but it takes a detailed strategy in order to fully understand how you will achieve those goals. Recovering from surgery can be a long process, making it challenging to stay on track. With your list of goals, determine what will be done in order to get there. It’s not just about what will be done, though, it’s also about when you will do it, how long you’ll do it, and what equipment you’ll use do it with. If your goal is to increase your range of motion in your knee, some exercises can include using a CPM machine, heel slides, wall slides. Work with our physical therapist to determine when to do the exercises, how long, and how often.

Stick With Your Routine

After you have developed a strategy, which is essentially your routine, stick with it! If your therapist instructed one half-hour session with the CPM machine every day for the first three weeks, pick a time during the day and use it at the same time for the whole three weeks. If they instructed three sets of 10 heel slides every other day, do that at the same time each day. These routines will help you create a habit and will ultimately help your body heal faster and stronger.

Be Honest

It’s OK to have a bad day, when you can only do one set of wall slides instead of three, but be honest with yourself about it. Why do you think you had a bad day? Are you experiencing more pain than before; are you just not in the mood; did you forget? Recovering from surgery is hard and takes a lot of conscious effort, but when you can be honest with yourself and determine what is holding you back, it will be easier to overcome that hurdle. While it’s OK for one day to not go as well as you’d hoped, it will ultimately only hold you back from achieving your goals.

Stay Safe

Some patients want so badly to recover quickly that they can actually hurt themselves in the process. Our bodies are adept at healing, but it can still take a long time in order for the body to heal correctly and safely. You may want to sneak in a fourth set of exercises or a second session on the CPM machine, but if your body isn’t recovered enough to safely handle that amount of work, it could set you back. Listen to the advice and instructions of your physical therapist and try not to do anything outside of those instructions. Sustaining an injury during the recovery could actually lengthen the process.

Work With the Right Tools

Whether it’s a resistance band, your own living room wall, or a CPM machine, there are tools that can aid in the recovery and can help the process go smoother and more efficiently. The CPM machine, for example, is designed to apply continuous passive motion to a joint, which will help prevent scar tissue from forming, reduce swelling, and can increase blood flow in your body. These things will help you heal faster so that you can regain your quality of life. Whether for your knee, hip, elbow, ankle, or wrist, having the right tools will help you recover faster.

Recovering from surgery is a challenge and can take months to fully regain your strength and range of motion, but The Medcom Group has what you need to ensure that the process is as smooth as possible. We work with health care facilities and physical therapists to give patients the tools to recover faster. Our CPM machines are durable, affordable, and can help with a variety of issues. If you have any questions about our products or if you’re debating between purchasing or renting a CPM, get in touch with our team and we’ll be happy to help.