Post-Surgical Rehab Wasilla & Anchorage, AK

Post-Surgical Rehab

Carrie L.

The staff are awesome, encouraging. I didn’t think my knees would ever be able to bend to 120 degrees. With the help of Empower Physical Therapy, I can now successfully bend them to 120 degrees. I can almost ride a bike, which was a necessary goal.

Jennifer G.

Thank you Justin, Jessica and the rest of the Empower staff for giving me the exercises and tools to succeed in reintroducing my pre-injury routine and activities! I’m excited to continually gain in strength. Look forward to actively rock climbing again.

Kathy S.

Loved the staff from the front desk to Justin and Jessica. You can tell they cared about my well-being. Took the time to listen to my concerns. Always greeted with a smile.

Caralynn F.

Rotator cuff surgery is not painful until you take off the splint and then the work begins. Surgeons should let people know about the recovery expectations once the splint is removed. Physical therapy is recommended and daily exercises at home including the pulley is required for a more successful outcome of the surgery. Pain is part of the recovery process. When the surgeon says tears are part of the healing process - they were right.

Jackie B.

The entire staff here is amazing. From the first phone call, I felt welcome and comfortable. Jacob started the evaluation and asked my goals. Every visit I felt was based on reaching those goals and the results have far exceeded my expectations. My recovery is better than I thought it would be at this point. Can’t say enough about these folks. Highly recommended to anyone! I feel empowered!

No S.

Justin, Jessica and the whole team were excellent from the first time I hobbled in on crutches from a procedure done on my knee, to the last visit 2 months (12 visits) later when I was running on a treadmill, jumping on one leg, and doing weighted squats. Justin pushed me to keep progressing but never made me push too far to cause pain. I feel that not only have I found a place where I will be going for all my physical therapy needs, but I have gained good friends as well. Thanks, guys!

Tracie K.

After two years of pain and frustration following a joint fusion in my foot, Justin and the crew at Empower worked wonders for me. Not only did they help me gain strength and endurance back, but they sent me away with the knowledge and understanding to maintain and build on the work I did with them. Highly recommend!

Rebecca T.

Dr. Pollard and Zoey were absolutely the most thorough and encouraging Physical Therapist I’ve used. I had knee replacement surgery in Tucson and three weeks of PT. It was truly substandard to the rehabilitation therapy I received at Empower Physical Therapy. My rehabilitation went much faster than I thought possible at age 68. After three weeks, I was doing great. The strength training worked! Now it’s two years later, and my knee is absolutely 100%.

Find Relief After Surgery with Post-Surgical Rehab

Do you have an upcoming surgery? Are you concerned about the recovery? Are you wondering if you’ll bounce back stronger than you were before? If so, post-surgical rehab can help. At Empower Physical Therapy, one of our Wasilla or Anchorage physical therapists will design a treatment plan to best fit your needs, so you can maximize your outcomes and bounce back as quickly as possible from your surgical procedure. Contact us today to find out how!

When is surgery necessary?

When conservative treatment options for an injury or health condition fail to provide effective relief, many physicians will recommend surgical correction. Some common conditions that may lead to surgery include, but are not limited to:

  • ACL, MCL, and/or meniscus repairs
  • Rotator cuff tears
  • Full or partial knee replacements
  • Total hip replacements
  • Heart surgery (ablations, stent placements, cardiac pacemakers, etc.)

The impact of these surgeries on your body should not be understated. Most surgeries incur at least some degree of pain, inflammation, mobility limitations, and swelling. To complicate matters, you likely were already experiencing pain and dysfunction prior to your operation!

To accommodate healing tissues and/or to avoid recurring dysfunction, it is likely that you will have to learn how to do certain things all over again, like walking and getting dressed. Our Wasilla and Anchorage, AK physical therapists can teach you how to perform tasks safely while following critical post-operative guidelines. These guidelines are often outlined by your surgeon and could include hip precautions, sternal precautions, spine precautions, non-weight bearing, etc.

Both pre- and post-surgical rehab are essential elements to successful outcomes. Any type of surgery can be considered a form of trauma and can affect the body differently. Even minor and uncomplicated surgical procedures can have a major impact on your health. Because of this, post-surgical rehab with a Wasilla and Anchorage, AK physical therapist is especially important, in order to make sure everything goes smoothly after your operation is done.

Individualized post-surgical rehab with a physical therapist not only minimizes your pain and accelerates your rate of healing, but it can also reduce the chances of postoperative complications, including infections, bleeding, blood clots, muscle weakness, scar tissue, decreased function, and other factors that can negatively impact your long-term health.

Another critical reason for electing post-surgical physical therapy is its ability to help you reduce or completely avoid prescription painkillers, including opioids. An opioid epidemic is currently gripping the country and impacting every socioeconomic class. According to the CDC, an estimated 115 people every day die from opioid overdose, and upwards of 29% of people prescribed opioids will end up misusing these dangerous drugs.

For this reason, the CDC advises people to choose physical therapy over prescription painkillers whenever possible.

Get started with post-surgical rehab today:

Whatever surgery you may be undergoing, physical therapy can help you regain your function once again. Our physical therapist will design you a personalized treatment plan that may include targeted exercises and stretches that will maximize your post-surgical recovery.

While pain-management drugs simply mask the pain, physical therapy helps resolve it at the source. This is done through specialized methods, techniques, and modalities, such as joint mobilizations, home exercise programs, ultrasound, electrical stimulation, and cold laser therapy.

Depending on the limitations your surgical operation brings, our physical therapists can provide you with tips on how to safely move around while you are recovering, such as how to get in and out of a car, go up and down the stairs, or put on your clothes. We can give you adaptive tools to compensate for reduced movement, while simultaneously working to restore your body’s normal range of movement as quickly as possible.

Part of your rehabilitation process will also include education on lifestyle and nutritional techniques that will help in optimizing your long-term health. This will help you avoid re-injury, recurrent surgeries, and prolonged downtime.

If you have an upcoming surgery, make an appointment or free consult with our Wasilla and Anchorage, AK physical therapy office today to see how we can help make your recovery process as smooth as possible. At Empower Physical Therapy, we are here to set you up for post-operative success so you can get back on your feet faster!