Pre or Post Joint Replacement? You need to read this.
October is American National Physical Therapy Month, which raises awareness of all the health benefits physical therapy adds to your quality of life. Due to the destructive nature of the American opioid epidemic, we encourage our members to work with a Physical Therapist or Personal Trainer as a healthy alternative to treating chronic pain.
What is the difference between working with a Physical Therapist or a Personal Trainer?
Physical Therapists are educated experts in the evaluation and treatment of musculoskeletal injuries through a variety of treatment protocols.
Certified Personal Trainers are educated experts in improving strength, flexibility, and overall fitness; they are not diagnosticians.
Each practitioner may also have additional expertise in niche specialties such as athletic and human performance.
Now let’s delve into Joint Replacement and the benefits of having a physical therapist and personal trainer on your team for Pre and Post Joint Replacement treatment.
Are you a candidate for a knee, hip, or shoulder replacement surgery? At Healthtrax you have the opportunity to consult and work with both a Personal Trax Trainer and a Healthtrax Physical Therapist when preparing for or recovering from surgery. The benefits of properly strengthening your muscles, as well as working on flexibility and mobility, is key in getting you back to an active, healthy lifestyle! There are many benefits to working with a Healthtrax physical therapist and personal trainer under the same roof:
You have the guidance to perform full range of motion exercises safely and properly.
Elongating and strengthening muscles prior to surgery will give you a ‘leg up’ for quicker recovery.
Improved fitness levels may help reduce complications during surgery because of your body’s ability to cope better with the stress put on it during surgery.
Studies have shown that individuals who exercise before surgery had better range of motion of the operated joint and were discharged earlier from the hospital after surgery.
Read more of Donna’s Trax Transformation here!
Additionally, working with a Physical Therapist pre-post Joint Replacement in a Therapy Pool has a variety of benefits as well:
Buoyancy not only decreases the amount of stress and weight bearing exerted on the joint and spine, but it also facilitates earlier and easier movement patterns and gait.
Hydrostatic pressure improves vascular and lymphatic flow, as well as body awareness.
Therapeutic warmth of the pool leads to muscle relaxation, improved circulation, and reduced spasms leading to decreased pain.
Working together, physical therapists and personal trainers play an important role in your physical well-being. They combine their knowledge of exercise physiology with their ability to build a program of supervised rehabilitation using safe movements and exercises for prevention, cure, or preparation and recovery.
Healthtrax Physical Therapy is located within 3 Healthtrax Fitness Centers, so be sure to check us out.
Learn more about working with a Trax Trainer.