You have been discharged from hospital – now what?
You’ve had a knee replacement. The physiotherapist in hospital has walked with you and given you a nice little print out booklet of basic exercises on discharge. Arriving home, you have no idea where to start. You struggle on. You then reach a point where although the exercises start to feel too basic, your walking is still not up to scratch. This is not how you imagined things would be. But fortunately, all of the above can be avoided.
Whilst physiotherapy treatment in hospital is of vital importance, rehabilitation and exercise following a stay in hospital is just as important. Multiple studies have shown that without adequate rehab following return home, patients may take anywhere from one to three years to regain their full strength and functional independence.
Although more prolonged hospital stays such as those in ICU or high care may cause more marked weakness, the more ‘straight-forward’ procedures such as a total hip replacements, total knee replacements or lumbar fusions also require rehabilitation. Rehabilitation post-discharge is not only important physically but also functionally – you want to get back to being able to make that cup of tea by yourself, or go to your twice-a-week Pilates class.
In a study done by Coulter et al., it was proven that patients who received physiotherapy following discharge from hospital had improved strength, walking speed and walking pattern compared to those that did not receive any post-hospital treatment.
Following return from the hospital your physiotherapist will assess you and design an individualized exercise programme as well as advising you on tips for coping at home and ‘getting back into the swing of things’. Should there be any post-surgical pain that warrants a need for hands-on treatment, this will also be picked up in your assessment and managed accordingly. As you improve your progress can be monitored closely and exercises can be advanced suitably to avoid re-injury.
Here at Riley Physiotherapists we have a special interest in post-operative treatment and rehabilitation and see many patients following discharge from hospital. Should you not be physically capable of leaving your home we also offer home visits, where you will receive the same high standard of care that you would in our rooms.
So, please do not hesitate – the earlier you seek intervention following discharge, the shorter and more effective your path to recovery.
