| During your rehabilitation process from either a hip or | | | | promoting excessive pain after surgery actually will |
| knee replacement, you will have been presented with | | | | slow down the healing process and also promotes |
| a host of exercises to complete to assure your | | | | noncompliance with the exercise protocol. |
| success. The exercises should be presented in an | | | | When recovering from your replacement surgery the |
| orderly fashion taking into consideration the date of | | | | ideal exercise frequency that I find with my patients |
| surgery, your overall medical condition and age. | | | | is twice a day. Once in the morning another exercise |
| In the hospital immediately after surgery, most of | | | | session in the afternoon. The timing of these two |
| the exercises you will have been given will be what is | | | | sessions can be critical as well. Proper spacing of the |
| known as isometric in nature. The frequency and | | | | sessions needs to be taken into account to avoid |
| duration that you will be advised to complete these | | | | excessive fatigue and pain. Anything more then three |
| type of exercises will depend on either your | | | | exercise sessions a day is counter productive and will |
| surgeons protocol or, the acting physical therapist | | | | only break the body down physically. |
| assigned to you. | | | | Its is recommended that the exercise sessions be |
| After leaving the hospital, you will then be assigned | | | | spaced approximately 4-6 hours apart. If the exercise |
| to either a skilled nursing facility or out patient clinic | | | | session was intense enough this time frame will allow |
| or,receive home health to continue your physical | | | | your body to recover and be refreshed for the next |
| rehabilitation. It is generally within one of these three | | | | session. |
| settings that your exercise program will intensify and | | | | By properly spacing out the exercise frequency along |
| the ease in which exercise can be carried to far is at | | | | with the duration or time spent exercising you will |
| its most prevalent. | | | | have much better control over your levels of pain |
| Exercise frequency and duration is a key component | | | | along with edema in the affected limb. |
| that needs to be discussed with each patient not | | | | There are many components involved in having a |
| only before but after surgery. There is so much | | | | successful hip or knee replacement. One of the major |
| information out today on how and when to exercise | | | | issues though you will want to understand will be |
| along with the amount that it leaves most people | | | | your exercise frequency and duration. If you can |
| confused. Along with that most information is | | | | master that and listen to what your body is telling |
| conflicting. There is also the old school thinking of " | | | | you will have a successful outcome. |
| no pain no gain" which from my previous writings I | | | | Remember no more then three sessions a day but |
| have mentioned that it is not necessarily the case | | | | preferably two. Total exercise time during your |
| and progress can be made without excessive pain. In | | | | sessions should be no more then 20-30 minutes, with |
| fact, it has been determined in most patients that by | | | | no more then 5-8 exercises total each session. |