Post-Operative Physical Therapy

Physical therapy is an essential part of your recovery after surgery. Without physical therapy, your range of motion, biomechanics, and strength may not be restored, which can lead to long term limitations. Therefore, it is required that you attend physical therapy following your procedure.

On the day of your surgery, you will go home with a post-operative folder from Dr. Chahla’s office. This folder will include a physical therapy order as well as a physical therapy protocol that is unique to the surgery that you underwent. Please bring these documents to your initial post-operative physical therapy visit so that your physical therapist can provide you with the care that is required specifically for your procedure.

For most of our procedures, we ask that patients begin physical therapy 1-2 days following surgery (scheduling for Monday if your surgery is on a Friday is okay). You will be informed by a member of Dr. Chahla’s team if your surgery does not require physical therapy to be scheduled 1-2 days after surgery. Because physical therapy clinics can fill up quickly, we ask that you contact your physical therapy office as soon as possible to schedule your initial post-operative appointment. If you are looking for a physical therapy facility, find a list of the Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush Physical Therapy locations here.

Please note, if you will be using crutches after your surgery, it may be beneficial to schedule a one-time pre-operative physical therapy session in addition to your post-operative sessions to learn how to properly use crutches in your home/on stairs if you have never used crutches before.