Rehabilitation

Rehabilitation is all about getting back to normal. Recovering from spinal surgery is difficult, painful and often slow. But, with the right advice, instruction, and guidance, a patient can usually return to normal activities. This may take a few days, or several months depending on the problem and its severity.

 

What is the benefit?

Not only does this process allow the patient to get over the surgery, but it guides them into the right habits, exercise patterns and lifestyle adjustments, which will prevent further problems occurring with their spine.

 

How is it done?

Patients leaving the unit are advised both by their surgeon and the in-house physiotherapists about care of the wound, care of their back and some early exercises that they can undertake on their own at home, to start the often slow process of getting their muscles firing again. These should be done carefully; this is a time to go at the pace the body requires, not the [pace set arbitrarily by a therapist. Do not overdo it in
the early days, usually meaning the first six to eight weeks.
Some patients need to wear a brace after surgery, so part of their rehabilitation will be the process of weaning off the brace, gradually using it less and less over a set time.