Injuring any joint in your body will often require you to strengthen and stretch the surrounding joints to help your injured joint heal properly. This therapy is often referred to as exercising the entire kinetic chain. This kinetic chain treatment uses physical and occupational therapy to rehabilitate the entire muscle and skeletal group surrounding an injured joint and strengthen any weak links in your body that result in muscular imbalance.
Strengthening
These exercises begin shortly after you wake from surgery, and are designed to get your joints moving as soon as possible to minimize any muscular trauma incurred as a result of your surgery. The exercises often begin with muscular contractions that require little if any joint movement and progress to using bodyweight exercises to help strengthen the muscles in your hips and legs. Whether your surgery involved your knee or your hip joint, the strengthening exercises prescribed will probably focus on both of these joints.
Stretching
Like the strengthening exercises listed above, you will probably begin performing light stretching exercises almost immediately after coming out of surgery. These can begin with simple movements like sliding your heel toward your buttocks to get your hip and knee joints moving and progress to wider and more focused movements, designed to help restore the range of motion to your ankle, hip and knee joints.
Stabilization
Joint stabilization exercises differ from strengthening and stretching exercises as they help stabilize your joints by strengthening the muscles and connective tissue sufficiently to hold your joints in proper alignment. These exercises can involve standing on a balance board and holding your body still by contracting your muscles in a way that holds your joints in proper alignment. These exercises can involve balance training as well as muscular strength and endurance.
Job/Sport-Specific Therapy
These exercises are often tailored to your specific condition and include exercises designed to mimic the movements performed over and over during your job or specific sport. They can include mimicking cuts and turns on the field or movements that mirror repetitive motions performed at work. If your therapist sees that you are performing these movements in a way that can re-injure your lower body he may help you find a way to perform the movements in a way that is more biomechanically sound, to reduce any chances of re-injury.
References
- University of Maryland Medical Center: Total Knee Patient Pathway
- American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons: Total Hip Replacement Exercise Guide
- Utah Hip and Knee Center: Physical Therapy Following Total Hip Replacement
- Orthopaedic Specialists of North Carolina: Hip Arthroscopy Post-Surgical Rehabilitation Protocol
- Kinetic Chain Physical Therapy
