PREHABILITATION

Prehabilitation is a proactive approach to avoiding pain and injury. There have been studies conducted to show that the process of prehabilitation four to six weeks prior to surgery accelerates the speed at which patients recover post-surgery.

What is prehabilitation?

Prehab is a type of rehabilitation that can help avoid injuries from exercising or reduce the risks of surgery. It can be as simple as additional exercises or a range of motion exercises to ensure that an injury does not occur. The goal of prehab is to reduce the risk for injury and improve overall physical capacity.

When do I need prehabilitation?

If you’ve suffered an injury, dealing with chronic pain, or surgery is on your horizon, there’s a chance that your GP or Physiotherapist will recommend prehabilitation for you.

Benefits of prehabilitation

Our prehab programme will:

Ensure that the exercise you’re doing is not just effective but also safe, sustainable and appropriate
Include regular monitoring and assessment along with physiotherapy and/or sports massage sessions to resolve any current injuries and underlying issues
Be pre-emptive, addressing any lifestyle-related or historic imbalances to minimise future injuries
Deal with aches and pains early before they become something more serious
Enable prompt treatment of any future injuries (some are always going to be unavoidable) to reduce their severity and impact

What to expect at your appointment

The first session will 45-60 minutes long and subsequent sessions will be approximately 45 minutes long. The first session will include an evaluation and a discussion of your current condition – including your lifestyle, activities, goals, strengths, weaknesses, balance and any previous injuries.

Your second session will focus on treatment, and Alewyn will take you through various training exercises, such as dynamic stretches and foam rolling. Your training may include exercises for balance, strength and body weight, depending on your specific needs.

Prehab before having surgery

Alewyn can assess you a month or two before having surgery to speed up your recovery afterwards. He’ll be able to find any weaknesses or inflexibilities present and then prescribe exercises to practice for a few minutes each day. For example, doing exercises to build stronger quad muscles in the thigh before a knee operation will not only improve the results of your operation but also quicken your recovery.