When it is time you need to get back to your old daily activities after an operation, some rehabilitation tends to be necessary for you to become physically strong once again.
The key to regaining your strength and being able to take care of yourself is to seek assistance from post-operative rehabilitation specialists. You will learn how to do physical exercise the right way to strengthen your muscles and better the movement of your body organ on which you had an operation.
Here we have put together a brief guide on why post-operative rehabilitation matters to you, how it helps you recover after your surgery and rehabilitation benefit on your health insurance.Â
Why Post-Operative Rehabilitation is Necessary
You need post-operative rehabilitation because it can help make you recover from an operation faster regardless of what type of surgery you have experienced, be it a cancer treatment process, a joint replacement and heart surgery. Post-operative rehabilitation usually starts while you are being hospitalized. A specialist such as a physical therapist will assist you with rising from bed and get back to walk normally. The therapist will also have you perform other exercises to put you in a position where you are ready to return home.
Following your hospital discharge, you are likely to complete your recovery process by continuing to stay at a rehabilitation center. Your stay might take you a couple of weeks or months, relying on the kind of operation you had. Meanwhile, you might be advised to go to an outpatient medical provider one or more times per week. Alternatively, you will just meet a therapist from the comfort of your home.
Aims and Benefits of Post-Operative Rehabilitation
• Enhance movement in your body part on which you had an operation
• Make your muscles stronger
• Lessen your pain
• Assist you in returning to walk normally again (first with a walker or crutches and after that walk by yourself)
• Assist you in being able to do your daily routines on your own. These daily routines may include bathing, getting dressed, climbing stairs, rising from a chair or bed, getting in and out of a vehicle. Â
Rehabilitation Benefit on Your Health Insurance (Convalescent Care Benefit)
Typically, you can take out this benefit only if you meet the following conditions:
• You are hospitalized for three or more consecutive days
• A medical practitioner or specialist has referred you for rehabilitation
• Your rehabilitation begins after your hospital discharge and inpatient treatment or alternatively once you are moved to a rehabilitation unit after your inpatient treatment.
• Your first session must be at a maximum of 14 days after your discharge or your transfer.
This benefit varies from health insurer to health insurer but typically provides you with coverage for inpatient, daycare and outpatient physiotherapy, speech and language therapy and occupational therapy. Accommodation expenses at the rehabilitation unit are also covered when medically necessary.
Takeaway
Recovering from a surgery can take you many months so you need to stay patient. You are advised to collaborate closely with your post-operative rehabilitation team (physiatrist, physical therapist, occupational therapist, dietician, speech therapist, nurse, psychologist or counselor) and follow their tips. It will eventually be worth your efforts.