Thanks to modern innovation, many patients who require surgery will be offered an alternative approach called minimally invasive surgery. This option is less severe of a solution as compared to traditional surgery.
It holds many benefits, but no matter how little minimally invasive spine surgery intends to disrupt your life and body, physical therapy is still a must in the days and weeks following the procedure. There are several focuses of post-operative PT that are necessary. PT will help you maintain the health and pain-free qualities you desire after correcting your spinal issues.
Strengthen the Spine
In the aftermath of a minimally invasive procedure, the musculature surrounding the spine needs to be strengthened in order for it to properly support the spine in its newly repaired state. These muscles are referred to as the deep trunk muscles, and they play a vital role in keeping you pain-free following your spinal correction.
The type of physical therapy your doctor will recommend to strengthen your deep trunk muscles is called segmental stabilization. The concept suggests spine stabilizers to help engage these muscles more actively during all types of exercise.
Improve Stamina Through Cardio
As much as strengthening back muscles can help to stabilize and improve the function of the spine, cardiovascular training can be just as essential to the health of the spine.
The body’s muscle systems actually begin to decondition as activity levels drop off. When patients have procedures performed and become too sedentary, they often have difficulty picking up the pace on their aerobic activity.
With cardio being a very vital part of maintaining the muscular support required to stabilize the spine, PT will include cardio in order to be wholly beneficial to the recovering patient.
Enjoy Flexibility and Mobility Again
After spinal surgery, it is not at all uncommon that the individual suffers a loss of mobility at the incision site. Flexibility is sacrificed quite readily where the spine is concerned because the spine can affect so many areas of the body.
It is not always as simple as having surgery performed and then seeing mobility return without the work of physical therapy. One of the most common problems associated with a noticeable lack of flexibility is when the spinal problems relate to sciatica.
The physical therapist will focus on the joints individually in order to restore functionality to the various parts of the body that are compromised from the spinal injury and repair.
Control Symptoms Better
Not all symptoms and pain will be immediately resolved directly following minimally invasive surgery. One of the primary methods that physical therapists will recommend to alleviate pain from spinal issues is the correction of various postures and motions that tend to lead to discomfort. Poor posture can frequently cause many of the spinal issues most commonly suffered by patients following minimally invasive surgery.
If you are slated to undergo minimally invasive spinal surgery, or if you are experiencing a spinal issue which you think might require surgery to address, contact our team to learn about your physical therapy needs and to begin to craft a regimen that works for you. The doctors and specialists at AICA Orthopedics can help to relieve your pain and get you back to your previous best through the use of minimally invasive spinal surgery. Call today to schedule an appointment with one of our team members!
