Orthopedic medicine relates to the bones, muscles and connective tissue in your musculoskeletal system. More than one in four Americans suffers from a musculoskeletal impairment, according to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. These conditions include injuries such as rotator cuff injuries, sprained or broken bones, hip and knee replacement surgeries, and chronic illnesses such as arthritis and scoliosis. Your doctor will recommend physical therapy including exercise to reduce symptoms and improve your strength and mobility.
Osteoarthritis
Three types of orthopedic exercises can be used to treat osteoarthritis, according to Physiotherapy-Treatment.com. Range of motion exercises maintain normal joint movement and relieve stiffness, making your joints more flexible. You will also participate in exercise designed to strengthen the muscles that support your joints affected by arthritis. Aerobic exercises increase endurance, improve your cardiovascular fitness, control your weight and increase your overall health.
Shoulder
Physical therapists will guide you through orthopedic exercises designed to ease your frozen shoulder symptoms resulting from rotator cuff injury. Therapy goals include pain reduction, improved shoulder mobility and muscle strength. Exercises include forward flexion, abduction and external rotation of your affected shoulder. These exercises help you raise your arm over your head, to the front of your body, or out to the side with your elbow touching your waist.
Scoliosis
Your physical therapist can provide exercises to improve scoliosis. Therapists design workouts to strengthen external oblique muscles that have weakened as a result of curvature of your spine. Abdominal strengthening exercises, like the bicycle or Hitch exercise, increase trunk strength. Your therapist will instruct you in heel lift exercises to correct lateral pelvic tilt associated with a lateral curvature. She will also direct you to perform special exercises if you wear a Milwaukee brace designed to keep your spine straight. Perform some exercises, like pelvic tilts and pushups, with and without the brace. Your physical therapist may recommend yoga poses, such as the passive back arch, the crocodile twist and the supine knee chest twist to relieve your symptoms associated with scoliosis.
Postoperative Therapy
Your surgeon will recommend you participate in physical therapy exercises after orthopedic surgeries, like hip or knee replacement. Therapy returns strength to the affected muscles and bones, restore range of motion to preoperative levels, and promote a return to the activities of daily living. Therapy also decreases the risk for pulmonary embolism, bed sores, deep vein thrombosis and other medical complications associated with postoperative bed rest. Knee exercises include quadriceps sets, straight leg raises, long and short arc quadriceps, heel slides and hip abduction. Hip replacement therapy exercises consist of straight leg raises, gluteal sets, and hip adduction and abduction movements.
