Having Surgery? Bounce Back Faster

With Pre- and Post-Rehab

August Newsletter

If you’re scheduled for an orthopedic surgery (such as a total joint replacement or an ACL repair), you probably already know you’ll need to undergo rehabilitation afterward with a physical therapist. But have you considered working with a PT before your surgery, too?

Pre-rehabilitation, sometimes called “prehab,” is a little less common than rehab, but it’s still an important part of the surgical process. Together, a structured pre- and post-surgical physical therapy program can help you maximize the benefits of your surgery.

We offer pre- and post-rehab here at The Fitness Lab, and today, we want to explore both programs in detail. And if you’d like more personalized guidance, just contact our clinic to speak to our friendly staff!

What You Need to Know About Pre-Op Physical Therapy

Surgery can be incredibly tough on the human body. It’s a highly invasive procedure that brings with it a host of complications, such as blood clots, post-surgical pain, and more.

Standard rehabilitation works to minimize these risks after the fact. However, prehab takes a proactive approach, allowing you to improve strength, fitness, and pain levels before you have your procedure.

Think of it this way: No athlete goes into a big game unprepared. They spend time training to ensure their strength, endurance, and performance are the best they can possibly be. Prehab is the same way—you’re preparing your body for the “big game” of surgery.

What Can I Expect During Rehab?

• Techniques to help manage acute pain and swelling, such as ice, compression, manual therapy, and assisted stretches
• Guided mobility work to help restore movement in the affected joint or area without stressing healing tissues
• Scar tissue management using hands-on therapy or tools to reduce the risk of long-term pain or stiffness
• Targeted, progressive strengthening exercises to rebuild muscle at an appropriate pace
• Balance or gait training to help restore stability in surgeries that affect your movement patterns
• Functional training that helps you relearn everyday movements like standing, walking, or climbing stairs

Running Analysis Program: Run Better, Last Longer: Unlock Your Potential with a Personalized Running Analysis

Everyone’s running style and form is unique; therefore, your running analysis should be too. We create personalized recommendations to improve your running form, reduce the likelihood of injury, and enhance performance. Fitness Lab’s running analysis process involves a formal consultation, extensive physical assessment with muscular force testing, video treadmill analysis, personalized exercise prescription, and repeated video analysis with form adjustments.

In many cases, strength training is overlooked by the majority of runners in their training plans. Our program tests the strength of major muscles that aid in running to determine where imbalances lie that may impact your performance. We provide personalized recommendations on strength programs and exercises to correct those imbalances and decrease your risk of injury. By incorporating strength training into your running program, you can become a more efficient, faster runner and increase your longevity in the sport.

Completing a running analysis at some point in your running journey can also extend your time in the sport. Our bodies absorb forces from the ground in various ways, depending on our running form and the ability of our muscles to withstand those forces. Form training may include cues to correct poor mechanics, cadence training, and suggestions for modifying your running program to avoid overtraining. A combination of form training and strength training to improve your running mechanics is the key to a long, successful running career.

Ready to run smarter, faster, and with less risk of injury?
Schedule your personalized Running Analysis today and take the first step toward better form, stronger performance, and a longer running career!

Your body is strong, and with the right support, it can stay that way through adolescence, pregnancy, postpartum, and beyond. At The Fitness Lab, our Pelvic Floor Rehabilitation & Performance Program is designed for women who want to stay active in fitness and sport while addressing common, but often overlooked, pelvic floor challenges (pregnancy-related or not)!

We help active women manage and overcome:

• Urinary leakage during exercise or daily activity
• Pelvic organ prolapse symptoms
• Diastasis recti and core dysfunction
• Cesarean section recovery and related core weakness
• Pelvic pain with movement, intimacy, or posture
• Low back, hip, and SI joint pain
• Heaviness, pressure, or instability in the pelvis
• Return-to-sport and activity readiness after childbirth

Whether you’re lifting weights, running, playing sports, taking your favorite workout class, or chasing little ones around the playground, we provide individualized care that restores strength, coordination, and confidence from the inside out. Our expert physical therapists specialize in helping active women manage changes throughout the lifespan. This includes, but is not limited to, developing safe exercise programming during pregnancy and assisting with safe postpartum recovery.

From diastasis recti and incontinence to pelvic pain and performance plateaus, we offer personalized, movement-based rehab to support your goals. Our individualized evaluations may include an internal pelvic exam, strength and mobility assessment, functional movement evaluation, and an in-depth discussion of your goals to develop a rehab and fitness plan specifically tailored to you.

Stay active. Feel strong. Move confidently.
Contact us today to book your pelvic health assessment.