What are some steps of preparing for joint replacement surgery?
Dr. Dennis Brown discusses how to prepare for joint replacement surgery. Click play to watch the video or read the transcript.
What are some steps of preparing for joint replacement surgery?
I think the things that you can do is especially with range of motion of the hip or knee joint, you can work on exercises to stretch. You can work on exercises to improve your muscle tone and function and those can have a tremendous benefit after surgery.
Now some people can do that on their own and a lot of people can't. We have a joint class that you attend before a joint replacement, that's throughout Premier and it's standardized and it gives exercises that you can do, shows how to do them.
Some people can participate with that well, others need help. There are prehab treatments that you can be placed in. Usually through the surgical evaluation process, where you can actually go to physical therapy and have training on how to do these exercises and if specific range of motions will better help the patient to get a good outcome, you really need a physical therapist to work with that.
When joint replacement surgery is in your future, you’ll have a few different health care providers to visit, and they’ll likely recommend you take some steps to prepare for your surgery, Premier Physician Network (PPN) physicians say.
Managing some health issues before surgery can help the procedure go well and help your recovery.
Some risk factors your health care providers will likely want you to manage include:
- Diabetes
- Obesity
- Poor muscle development
- Smoking
The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) also recommends avoiding any other procedures, including dental work and even routine dental exams, prior to your joint replacement surgery unless you have the go-ahead from your orthopedic surgeon.
Talk to your doctor for more information about how to prepare for joint replacement surgery.
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