Spinal Rehab: How To Successfully Approach It After Surgery
If you had a problem with your spine and it required you to have surgery performed, you'll have a recovery process to deal with. If you approach it in the following ways, you can manage spinal rehab like a pro.
Work With a Specialized Physical Therapist
Regardless of why you had spinal surgery performed, you'll probably have to work with a physical therapist. This licensed professional is there to monitor your rehab program, making sure you recover on schedule.
It's just important that you work with a physical therapist who's well-versed in spinal injuries. They can recommend appropriate exercises that ultimately help you get back normal range of motion with your spine.
They'll also know what specific hurdles you'll have to overcome based on the type of surgery you had performed. Just make sure you follow your physical therapist's directions perfectly and adjust if they recommend a change in your rehab plan based on the results they see firsthand.
Talk to Surgeon About Key Benchmarks
After spinal surgery is performed, there will be some key benchmarks that you need to track. It might be when you can sit up, move around, and resume normal activities once again. Just make sure you talk to your surgeon about these key benchmarks.
They can show you a timeframe for what your recovery will look like and how you can expect your body to respond. As long as you take their insights into consideration, you'll set up realistic expectations and then it will be a lot easier to commit to your rehab program.
Don't Neglect Your Mental Health
Something you don't want to neglect after a spinal injury is your mental health. Your body may have been affected by an event, but your mind also can be affected. As long as you remain cognizant of this during spinal rehab, you can keep a healthy mindset and subsequently have an easier time getting through rehabilitation.
You can do a lot of things for your mental health too, such as join a spinal injury support group, talk to friends and family members, and even see a licensed therapist. Just do things you know can get your mind in a healthy state, so that spinal rehab doesn't wear on you too much mentally.
If you injured your spine and the only way to treat it is with surgery, take the right approach to spinal rehab. If you do, you can heal as quickly as possible.