Strategies for Working with Post Surgery Patients

Working with post-surgery patients may be challenging as your patient is adjusting to their lifestyle after surgery and might be going through many changes in their life. Often, patients may be a little hesitant to participate in post-operative therapy because they are unsure of their physical abilities after surgery. It is important to be patient and encourage patients to participate in therapy. Below, we outline some strategies that might be helpful when working with post-surgery patients.  

• Collaborate  

  • Make their post-operative therapy a collaboration and encourage them to get involved in the planning process of their therapy. Having the patient make some of the decisions can encourage participation and could potentially speed up the recovery process.  

• Create a Personal Plan  

  • Going off collaboration, it is important to make a personalized plan for your patient. Customizing and personalizing different aspects of their plan will not only help them but will also be beneficial for you as the therapist as well. This will make the patient feel cared for and ensure that you are taking the time to help them post-surgery.  

• Stay Empathetic  

  • It is important to remember that your patient might be going through things that you do not understand. Remaining empathetic and actively listening to your patient will show that you are understanding and have their best interests in mind. 

• Make the Homework Reasonable  

  • Most of the time the plan you create for the patient will include exercises to do at home. It is important to remember when working with post-surgery patients to make sure the homework you are prescribing is reasonable for the patient. If you prescribe something too unreasonable, the patient may feel discouraged and not motivated to accomplish those exercises at home.